(Photos by Todd Olszewski/Orioles)

Roberts, other O's bring early holiday

Twenty-ninth annual party hosted for 90 area school children

By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com

BALTIMORE -- Christmas came early for 90 area kids Monday, as the Orioles held their 29th annual holiday party for students. All-Star second baseman Brian Roberts led a delegation of current and former players who greeted children from George Washington Elementary School and played host for the day's festivities at the ESPN Zone.

Four Orioles -- Roberts, Jay Gibbons, Jeremy Guthrie and Jamie Walker -- spent the day serving lunch, signing autographs and playing assorted video games with the children. Former Orioles catcher Rick Dempsey served as a jolly Santa Claus, belting out karaoke versions of holiday hits and handing out gifts at the end of the day.

"Maybe you let them experience something they don't get to experience during the holidays," said Roberts. "They may not have Santa and they may not have gifts. Some of them may not even get to eat like this at home every day.

"It's important for them to experience something good during the holidays, and it's fun for us to see them smile, go up there, play games and have a good time. It kind of puts everything in perspective."

Roberts is well known for his many community endeavors -- a list that includes but isn't limited to his appearances at and fundraising work for a local children's hospital -- but the annual holiday party draws other players into action.

Walker, the team's 2007 nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, came from his home in Kansas, where he said he's been "spending time with my family and spending time in the woods." The southpaw reliever said he enjoys getting out in the community and relishes his chance to be a positive role model.

"Whether we want to be or not a role model or not, I feel that this is our duty," he said. "It's the least we can do. You look out at the kids and how happy they are. We'll beat them up on some video games, and it's always nice to do this."

Guthrie, who won't pick up a baseball for a few weeks, came into town expressly for the event. He said it was just as fun for him to be around the kids as it was for them, and he said he never really had a similar opportunity during his childhood.

"We have the opportunity as professional athletes to touch a lot of kids and inspire them to give their best efforts at life in general -- in the classroom or in sports," he said. "It's fun to be able to do do that, because they are impressionable. If I had the chance to meet professional athletes growing up, it would've been something I would've remembered for a long time."

Perhaps the only familiar face not in attendance was the late Elrod Hendricks, a fixture for decades at the annual event. Hendricks donned the Santa outfit for several years in a row, and Gibbons noted his absence at one point.

"This is great. It's about the kids," said Gibbons, who flew in from California. "Elrod got me into this about five years ago and I love it. Seeing the kids smile and playing games with them, I wouldn't miss it for anything."

Spencer Fordin is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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