The origin story of Dave Roberts
By Jon Weisman
In the hours before Major League Baseball announces its 2016 National League Manager of the Year, we are running a couple of our big features on the Dodgers’ finalist for the award, Dave Roberts. Here is our story on Roberts from the 2016 Dodger Yearbook.
The New Manager: Dave Roberts
’Twas three nights before Christmas in 2001 when Dave Roberts first became a Dodger. A mouse would have made more noise.
Acquired for two minor-leaguers, half a year shy of his 30th birthday, Roberts had 40 Major League hits to his name, along with a dozen stolen bases. To say the least, this wasn’t a big headline in Los Angeles.
Entering Spring Training, Roberts was fourth on the Dodgers’ depth chart in center field, behind Marquis Grissom, Tom Goodwin and McKay Christensen. With Brian Jordan and Shawn Green in the corners, it was a stretch to think of Roberts as anything more than a spare part.
By Opening Day, Roberts was the starter.
“Playing in the big leagues was a dream come true, but to play on Opening Day in Los Angeles is off the charts,” Roberts told the Los Angeles Times at the time. “This is something I can’t describe. It didn’t even seem like this was possible.”
The Dodgers’ manager, Jim Tracy, said Roberts “sent a clear message” that he was the guy.
“We weren’t asking for things from that position,” Tracy said, “we were demanding things. From the beginning of camp, his instincts, his intelligence, his willingness to do things for the club to be successful stood out.”
Hmm … what an interesting collection of traits. Basically, they’re exactly the ones that have brought back to the Dodgers, 13 years later — and with considerably more attention.
On November 23, the Dodgers officially hired Roberts as their 10th manager in Los Angeles, succeeding Don Mattingly. Born of African-American and Japanese parents, Roberts is also the first minority manager in the history of the franchise that brought Jackie Robinson to the big leagues.
“This is obviously a huge day for me, speaking personally and on behalf of my family,” Roberts said when he was introduced to the media December 1. “To have an opportunity to put the Dodger uniform on again, it’s come full circle.”
It’s a circle that puts Roberts right in the center. He’s no longer a bit part, nor even a cog in the starting lineup. Leadership radiates from him.
He is the rise and fall guy.
Last season, the Dodgers reached the playoffs for the third consecutive year — an unprecedented feat in the franchise’s history. But at the same time, they fell short of reaching their first World Series since 1988.
Expectations remain at their highest, meaning that as Roberts said, he doesn’t have the luxury of looking at the job merely as an opportunity.
“I look at it as a responsibility,” he said. “Everyone in a Dodger uniform and in the fan base (wants) to win a world championship. That’s first and foremost.”
Fitting his previous tenure with the Dodgers, Roberts wasn’t initially seen as a favorite to win the managerial job. But like the leadoff hitter he was (with a .342 on-base percentage and 118 stolen bases in 302 games as a Dodger), he made a first impression to remember.
“We met with a lot of very impressive guys,” Dodger president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “Going into it, I didn’t know Dave very well, other than to say ‘hello,’ and I actually told him this the other day: After the first-round interview, it was almost like he had our answer key to the answers we would have wanted to hear.”
Added Dodger general manager Farhan Zaidi: “There’s no way Dave walked out of that interview not thinking, ‘I totally nailed that.’”
Roberts comes across as the managerial equivalent of a Swiss Army Knife, offering all kinds of nifty and useful tools. He’s open-minded and eager to collaborate, embracing all kinds of scouting, statistical information and organizational expertise. But he also preaches effort and accountability, for individual players as well as their teammates.
“To me, the culture is going to be more positive-driven, energy-driven,” Roberts said. “Guys have got to care about one another. If you can care about the guy next to you, and really want the best for him, then I think everything else takes care of itself.
“When these fans that show up every single night to support our ballclub and our franchise, home and away — there’s Dodger fans everywhere — I think there’s a responsibility for us to put together a team that shows that we’ll go out there and play our tails off.”
Maybe those sound like the same platitudes you’ve heard from every new manager. Friedman believes Roberts has a special ability to make them come true.
“What really stood out was his commitment, his desire to get the most out of each and every player,” Friedman said. “It’s easy to say, it’s harder to do, (but) I think his ability to connect with people and create genuine relationships is what’s going to allow him to do that as an effective leader.”
Roberts’ playing career ended in 2008, four years after a midsummer trade by the Dodgers to Boston led to another unlikely moment. With the Red Sox one inning from being swept by the Yankees in the American League Championship Series, Roberts stole second and scored the tying run in the bottom of the ninth, the turning point in Boston’s drive to its first World Series title in 86 years.
Soon after his retirement from the field, Roberts pondered what to do next.
“My wife and I talked numerous times about what would be (my) dream job. Without question, it’s been to be the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“When I was in my first year coaching in the Major Leagues, I realized I loved being on the field. I’ve done the front office and did some TV. But when I had the opportunity to get back in the dugout in a coaching capacity, I knew right then and there at some point if the opportunity presented itself, I’d love to manage. And when you’re thinking pie in the sky, this is it. I went to school here. I’m a Southern California guy. I’m a former Dodger. I understand what it means to wear this uniform. I think speaking bluntly, this is my dream job.”
Becoming the Dodgers’ first minority manager wasn’t a pursuit in and of itself, but it’s a byproduct that Roberts, who honors Maury Wills by wearing No. 30, humbly feels grateful for.
“When this opportunity presented itself, and I was so focused on talking through things with baseball ops … that honestly I didn’t realize the magnitude of this,” Roberts said. “I am who I am. But I think that to (not) step back and realize that this situation is much, much bigger than me would be completely irresponsible of me. There were a lot of people who paved the way for me to have this opportunity.”
Now, here he is, back in the Dodger blue that means so much to so many.
“I did believe when I donned this Dodger uniform in 2002, my goal was to play for the Dodgers the rest of my career,” Roberts said. “It didn’t work out that way, (but) I got the opportunity to wear this uniform again. My plan is to never take it off again.”
