The Los Angeles Dodgers have found their next manager.
The franchise named Roberts as manager on Monday, a day after Dylan Hernandez, Bill Plaschke and Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times first reported the decision.
Roberts said in a statement, via MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick:
It’s hard for me to put into words what it means to be named manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. This is truly the opportunity of a lifetime. The Dodgers are the ground-breaking franchise of Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Sandy Koufax, Maury Wills, Fernando Valenzuela and Hideo Nomo. When I put on this uniform as a player, I understood the special responsibility to honor those that played before me as well as the amazing bond between the Dodgers and their fans. I feel that I have now come full circle in my career and there is plenty of unfinished business left in L.A.
Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reported an introductory press conference will be held on Dec. 1.
With Roberts’ hiring, he is the first minority manager in Dodgers history (his mother is Japanese and his father is African-American).
Multiple veterans on the team told management they wanted Roberts to be their next manager once he made it to the final stages of the selection process, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
Molly Knight, author of The Best Team Money Can Buy: The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Wild Struggle to Build a Baseball Powerhouse, agreed with the decision:
Roberts joined the San Diego Padres staff in 2011 as the team’s first-base coach, and he was most recently the bench coach for the Dodgers’ National League West rivals.
Roberts played in the major leagues for 10 seasons and famously kept the Boston Red Sox alive in Game 4 of the 2004 American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees when he stole a base and scored a critical run late in the contest. The Red Sox proceeded to win the game and come back from a 3-0 series deficit on the way to a World Series title.
Roberts was also an outfielder for the Dodgers early in his career and will become the first manager hired by Andrew Friedman after he took over as president of baseball operations last year.
Hernandez, Plaschke and Shaikin noted Gabe Kapler was the initial favorite for the Dodgers position given his status as the franchise’s farm director. Friedman hired Kapler to work in the Tampa Bay Rays front office and brought him with him when he joined the Dodgers.
Hernandez, Plaschke and Shaikin also suggested “like Mattingly, the new manager can count on guidance from front-office executives on everything from the team’s lineup to bullpen decisions.”
Roberts will inherit a team Don Mattingly led to a division title in 2015. Mattingly held the position with the Dodgers for five seasons, but the franchise and manager split ways this offseason before he signed a four-year deal with the Miami Marlins.
While this will be Roberts’ first time as a major league manager, Los Angeles will have World Series expectations firmly in place behind a pitching staff that includes three-time Cy Young winner and former MVP Clayton Kershaw and an offense spearheaded by power hitter Adrian Gonzalez.
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