For most of the 1970s, there were two MLB players named Dave Roberts. Fortunately, one was a pitcher – who finished his career with the Mets – and one was a position player. Roberts the position player was a former top overall pick in 1972 and he went straight from college to the majors. He spent six years with the Padres and two more with the Rangers. He was nothing special, as he amassed an 85 OPS+ and was more known for his ability to play multiple positions, including catcher.
In 1980, his final season with the Rangers, the minimum MLB salary was $30,000. Yet, somehow, Roberts pulled down a 5/$1.3 million deal with the Astros, which worked out to $260,000 per year. Not a bad job by his agent, getting over eight times the minimum for a guy who wasn’t a starter. It would be like signing Luis Guillorme to a 5/$23 million deal today.
It didn’t work out too well for the Astros, as Roberts played just 27 games for them in 1981. Somehow, the Astros were able to trade Roberts to the Phillies, where he played 28 games in 1982 before retiring. Still, the Astros felt the effects of the signing, as by inking Roberts they forfeited their first-round pick. Allegedly, the Astros wanted to draft Tony Gwynn in 1981. But signing Roberts and Don Sutton cost them their first two picks and Gwynn was gone before they finally made a selection.
That’s interesting and fine and dandy – but what does it have to do with the Mets?
Well, the Mets just signed James McCann, who Keith Law just referred to as a backup catcher, to a multi-year deal at significantly more years and dollars than most people expected. And on top of that, McCann has a lifetime OPS+ of 86 – or nearly identical to what Roberts posted before his big payday.
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