Dave Roberts Receives Clean Bill of Health After Battle With Cancer
At 37 years old, Dave Roberts, who is widely regarded as one of the nicest guys in baseball, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Now 38, after a difficult year of treatment, Roberts is cancer-free and preparing for spring training with the San Diego Padres, where he will, appropriately, coach first base.
“The thing that I probably gained the most is I never realized how many people — aside from the fact of being appreciative and when people say ’You don’t know what you have until it can potentially be taken from you’ — cared for me and loved me, from family to friends to fans,” Roberts told the AP. “The e-mails, the cards, all the well wishes, were amazing. I never really had anyone constantly praying for me and my well-being. To feel that wherever I went, from San Francisco to San Diego to Boston and to outside the country, was very humbling.”
Roberts spent just three months in a Red Sox uniform, but he made the most of his time in Boston. He stole second base against the Yankees in Game 4 of the ALCS, eventually scoring the tying run. He once again wreaked havoc on the base paths the following night, scoring the tying run for the second game in a row. The Red Sox won both games in extra innings, eventually becoming the first team in baseball history to come back from a 3-0 series deficit.
Roberts will visit Boston with the Padres on June 20, a trip he’s very much looking forward to.
“For me to make my way back to the field, obviously in a different capacity, I’m looking forward to going back to the cities I’ve played in — L.A., San Francisco, Boston, the Padres here — and seeing those fans and showing my face that I’m OK and I really appreciate their support,” Roberts said. “That’s where I am. I’m a baseball player, and for me to get this opportunity is just great.”
