Roberts was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 10th round (236th overall) of the 1972 Major League Baseball draft.[2] He made his major league debut on September 3, 1974, going 0-for-5 in a 5–4 win over the Cleveland Indians.[3] Roberts eventually earned the dubious honor of replacing Al Kaline in right field for the Tigers.
On February 5, 1983, Roberts was traded by the Blue Jays to the Royals for a young Cecil Fielder.[10] He also pitched one inning for Kansas City in 1984, giving up three earned runs.[6] Roberts played his last game on September 30, 1984 against the Oakland Athletics, recording a pinch-hit RBI single in his final career at bat.[11]
At the end of his career, it was discovered that Roberts had seriously bad eyesight due to an accident when he was a child. "I have real bad eyes," Roberts said, "I stabbed my eye with a knife when I was a kid. I was goofing around with my jackknife. I kept it hidden because I wanted to be a ballplayer. I had bad focusing point in my right eye and bad depth perception in my left eye, but I kept it secret so I wouldn’t be released. I never told anyone that I had such bad vision in my right eye, not a manager, not a teammate, not anyone. When we had our physicals in spring training there would be a long line, just like a cattle call. I would sneak up and read the line they wanted us to read and memorize it. Then when I got up there I’d just recite what I’d memorized. No one ever figured it out. I would always force myself to really concentrate on reading the ball and tracking the ball."[12]
In an 11-season career, Roberts posted a batting average of .267 (731-for-2,737) with 78 home runs and 328 RBI in 901 games played.[6] Following his professional playing career, he began a career managing in the Minor Leagues.
