The Los Angeles Dodgers managerial search came to an end Monday morning as the team announced the hire of Dave Roberts.
At age 43 he becomes the youngest full-time manager in Dodgers history since the club hired Walt Alston as a 42 year old in 1954.
Roberts also becomes the first minority manager in franchise history, and is currently one of two current minority managers in Major League Baseball.
Roberts’ father is African-American and his mother is a Japanese-American. Roberts, who was born in Okinawa, Japan, attended UCLA.
On top of the historic significance tied to the Dodgers’ hire, Roberts has received high praise from current players on the team, and ex-teammates of his.
Maury Wills, whom Roberts worked extensively with during his playing days with the Dodgers, expressed his happiness over the hire, via LA Times reporters Dylan Hernandez, Bill Plaschke and Bill Shaikin:
“I’m so proud of the Dodgers,” said Maury Wills, one of the most prominent African American players in the franchise’s storied history. … “What a Cinderella story.”
Roberts was selected out of UCLA in the 28th round of the 1994 MLB Draft by the Detroit Tigers. He made his MLB debut in 1999 with the Cleveland Indians and played for the Dodgers from 2002-04 under Jim Tracy.
Tracy recalled the role Roberts played on a team that wasn’t projected to accomplish much:
“I remember how there were lots of articles about how this was the worst team in Dodgers history,” Tracy said; “We went on to win 92 games and Dave Roberts was starting in center field for most of those games; that says a lot about the man they just hired.”
Roberts had a .266 career average to go along with 243 stolen bases in 10 seasons before retiring after the 2008 seasons.
He served as a member of the San Diego Padres coaching staff from 2011 until being hired by the Dodgers, with the final two seasons spent as the Padres bench coach.
