The Dodgers have made it official, hiring Dave Roberts to be the first minority manager in franchise history.
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The Dodgers are expected to officially name Roberts their new manager Monday, according to a report by Dylan Hernandez, Bill Plaschke and Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, which cited unnamed sources since the news is not yet official. Roberts stole 243 bases in the regular season and played in the postseason four times.
Dusty Baker, who was hired by the Washington Nationals this month, and Fredi Gonzalez of the Atlanta Braves.
For all of Mattingly’s perceived strategic shortcomings, he guided the Dodgers to the three division titles, winning records in every one of his five seasons at the helm and the sixth-most victories of any manager in Dodgers history.
There will be tremendous pressure now on Roberts to take over where Mattingly left off and get the Dodgers over the hump and into their first fall classic since 1988.
Roberts was expected to receive a three-year contract with the team holding an option to keep him for a fourth season, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The early favorite was Gabe Kapler, the Dodgers’ farm director.
Mattingly has said Wallach would join him on the new Marlins staff. He spent two and a half seasons with the Dodgers before being traded to the Red Sox mid-way through the 2004 season. In the 2004 American League Championship Series, Roberts pinch-ran after Kevin Millar drew a leadoff walk from Mariano Rivera. Lasorda had a heart attack on June 24, 1996, took a leave of absence from managing the team while recovering, and announced his retirement on July 29, 1996. Others interviewed included Kirk Gibson, a hero in the Dodgers’ 1988 World Series championship; Nebraska baseball coach Darin Erstad; former Padres manager Bud Black; and Cubs bench coach Dave Martinez.
Former Diamondbacks coach Andy Green was hired as the Padres’ new manager following the season. The two men did play together, and both seem to have pretty solid reputations throughout the game.
Numerous problems Mattingly encountered also remain, including expectations of a World Series championship.
Roberts, of course, is best known for what is simply known in these parts as “The Steal”. He also played for the Giants, Cleveland, Boston and San Diego. The diminutive Roberts squeezed out a ten-year major league career with five different teams by using old-school tools like heart, grit, and hustle.
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, like his predecessor, has publicly expressed his desire to see more diversity among big-league managers and in big-league front offices.
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While working in the Padres front office in 2010, Roberts was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma.
