Robert Michael Aubrey (born April 15, 1982) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

Early career

Aubrey attended Southwood High School (1997–2000) where he won the Gatorade Player of the Year award as a senior. He attended

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

from –. In 186 games with

Tulane The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it be ...

, Aubrey hit .368 with 38

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 200 RBI. As a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

in 2001 and , he won 11 games and lost 2 with a 4.88

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

. In 2001, he was named National Freshman of the Year by ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

'', ''

Collegiate Baseball ''Collegiate Baseball Newspaper'' (also known as ''Collegiate Baseball Magazine'' and ''Collegiate Baseball'') was an American publication based in Arizona that considered itself the "voice of amateur baseball" and was published for over 40 yea ...

'' and ''

The Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

''. In 2002, as a member of the USA National Team, he led the team in batting average, home runs and RBI. As a junior at Tulane in 2003, he was named

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

Player of the Year and was a finalist for the

Golden Spikes Award The Golden Spikes Award is bestowed annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States. The award, created by USA Baseball and sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association, was first presented in 1978. It is given to ...

, given annually to the top amateur baseball player in the United States. Aubrey's talents were originally discovered by Brad Somrak while he was throwing a ball at a dunk tank at the Allegheny County Fairgrounds in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. This was first reported by the Razor's Edge in the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public university, public research university in Akron, Ohio, United States. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM fields, STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advance ...

student newspaper, the ''Buchtelite''.

Professional career

Cleveland Indians

The

selected Aubrey in the first round (11th overall) of the

2003 Major League Baseball draft The 2003 Major League Baseball draft, was held on June 3 and 4. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams. ''Source:MLB.com 2003 Draft Tracker' First round selections Supplemental first r ...

. On June 16, 2003, he signed a contract with the Indians, and was assigned to the

Single-A Single-A, formerly known as Class A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A, Double-A (baseball), Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams cl ...

Lake County Captains The Lake County Captains are a Minor League Baseball team in Eastlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, that plays in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The Captains joined the Class A Midwest League following ...

to begin his professional career. After getting injured in his second game and missing a month with a strained quad, Aubrey heated up at the end of July, hitting .385 from July 29 until the end of the season. Overall, Aubrey batted .348 with five home runs and 19 RBI in 38 games with Lake County. Aubrey began the 2004 season with the Single-A

Kinston Indians The Kinston Indians were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League (CL) located in Kinston, North Carolina, from 1978 to 2011. They played their home games at Grainger Stadium, which opened in 1949. The team began play in 1978 as the Kin ...

, batting .339 with 10 home runs and 60 RBI in 60 games. He was named to the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

All-Star team and was ranked fourth in the league in RBI and fifth in batting average before being promoted to the Double-A

Akron Aeros The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,63 ...

on June 21. On July 8, Aubrey was placed on the disabled list with a strained hamstring. He was activated on August 13. In the final game of Akron's season on September 6 against the

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team who play in the Eastern League, and are the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The team is based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at FNB Field on Cit ...

, Aubrey finished 3-for-4 with two home runs and 5 RBI. In 38 games for the Aeros, he batted .261 with five home runs and 22 RBI. After the season, Aubrey was named Cleveland's second-best prospect by ''

''. Aubrey's injury problems continued in 2005. He was limited to only 28 games with Akron, and hit .283 with four home runs and 20 RBI. On May 10, he was placed on the disabled list with lower back inflammation, and although he was activated on June 10, he was limited to two at-bats in Akron's game that night due to continued soreness. He eventually was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his lower back, ending his season. On November 18, Aubrey was added to the Indians' 40-man roster. Aubrey did not participate in spring training activities in due his continued rehab from his back injury. He played in 14 combined games with Single-A Kinston and Double-A Akron, batting .278 with three home runs and 12 RBI. While playing with Akron, Aubrey suffered a right knee strain, which proved to be season-ending. He was recalled as a

September call-up A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

for the Indians on September 21, but did not appear in a Major League game due to his injury. After recovering from his injury, Aubrey played out the season with Kinston and Akron, hitting a combined .277 with 12 home runs and 45 RBI in 65 games. Aubrey began the season with Akron, batting .277 with two home runs and 16 RBI in 24 games. On May 2, he was promoted to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

for the first time, and hit .341 with four doubles and 5 RBI in his first 11 games. On May 17, Aubrey was recalled from Buffalo. He made his major league debut that day against the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

, appearing as a defensive replacement at first base in the eighth inning and popping out in his first at bat. Aubrey collected his first major league hit, a home run, in his first career start on May 18. He hit another home run in his next start on May 21 against the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

. On June 2, he was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo after batting .185 in nine games. Aubrey was recalled again on September 2 when the active rosters expanded. He batted .200 with two home runs and 3 RBI in 15 games with Cleveland in 2008. On January 6, 2009, Aubrey was designated for assignment by the Indians to make room on the 40-man roster for

Carl Pavano Carl Anthony Pavano (born January 8, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player. A Right-handedness, right-handed pitcher, Pavano played in Major League Baseball from 1998 to 2012 for the Montreal Expos, Miami Marlins, Florida Marl ...

. Six days later, he cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Columbus. He attended Indians

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

in 2009 but was sent to minor league camp on March 24. Aubrey began the season with the Triple-A

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, merch ...

, batting .293 with five home runs and 29 RBI in 57 games.

Baltimore Orioles

On June 24, 2009, Aubrey was traded to the

for a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

, and he was assigned to the Triple-A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's loc ...

. Aubrey was recalled by the Orioles on August 18. In 31 games, he posted a .289 average with four home runs and 14 RBI. On April 1, 2010, Aubrey was designated for assignment after the Orioles acquired infielder

Julio Lugo Julio Cesar Lugo (November 16, 1975 – November 15, 2021) was a Dominican professional baseball shortstop. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, St ...

. He was later assigned to Norfolk, and spent the entire season with the Tides, hitting .235 with 22 home runs and 68 RBI in 102 games.

Washington Nationals

Aubrey signed a minor league contract with the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

on December 20, 2010. On May 14, 2011, Aubrey hit four home runs and drove in seven runs in four at-bats for the Triple-A

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

. He finished the season batting .273 with 11 home runs and 35 RBI in 82 games.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aubrey, Michael 1982 births Living people Baseball players from Shreveport, Louisiana Major League Baseball first basemen Cleveland Indians players Baltimore Orioles players Tulane Green Wave baseball players Lake County Captains players Kinston Indians players Akron Aeros players Surprise Rafters players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Columbus Clippers players Norfolk Tides players Syracuse Chiefs players