Dave Roberts (baseball manager)
Dave Roberts | |||||||||||||||
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Okinawa, Japan | |||||||||||||||
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |||||||||||||||
MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
August 7, 1999, for the Cleveland Indians | |||||||||||||||
Last MLB appearance | |||||||||||||||
September 27, 2008, for the San Francisco Giants | |||||||||||||||
MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||
Batting average | .266 | ||||||||||||||
Home runs | 23 | ||||||||||||||
Runs batted in | 213 | ||||||||||||||
Stolen bases | 243 | ||||||||||||||
Managerial record | 765–451 | ||||||||||||||
Winning % | .629 | ||||||||||||||
Teams | |||||||||||||||
As player
As manager
As coach | |||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Medals
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David Ray Roberts (born May 31, 1972), nicknamed "Doc",[1] is a Japanese-American professional baseball manager and former outfielder who is the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for five MLB teams over a ten-year career and then coached for the San Diego Padres before being named Dodgers manager in 2016. Although he played for the Boston Red Sox for only part of one season, his most notable achievement as a player was a key stolen base in the 2004 American League Championship Series that extended the Red Sox's postseason, which culminated in a championship in the 2004 World Series. Roberts batted and threw left-handed.
The son of a Japanese mother and an African American father, Roberts became the first manager of Asian heritage to lead a team to the World Series in 2017, when the Dodgers captured the National League pennant. He also led the Dodgers to the World Series in 2018 and 2020, winning in the latter year. Roberts is both the first manager of Asian heritage and second African American manager to lead a team to a World Series title.[2][3]
Early life
Roberts was born in
Roberts attended Vista High School as a freshman and was the most valuable player of the junior varsity baseball team.[5] He transferred to Rancho Buena Vista High School when it opened the following year, where he was a standout in football, basketball and baseball.[5] In football, he was a three-year starter at quarterback; as a senior, he helped lead his team to the San Diego Section Class 3A championship.[6] Roberts was recruited to play football for the Air Force Academy as an option quarterback, but declined because he wanted to play baseball.[5]
Roberts decided to attend the
Professional baseball career
Detroit Tigers
The
In 1996, Roberts was assigned to the
Cleveland Indians
In June 1998, Roberts and
Roberts played with the Cañeros de Los Mochis of the Mexican Pacific League during the 1998–99 season before playing for the Criollos de Caguas in Puerto Rico, where he played with Alex Cora, and had Joey Cora as general manager. Almost 20 years later Roberts, as manager of the Dodgers, would go on to meet Alex Cora as manager of the Red Sox in the 2018 MLB World Series.
Roberts was a non-roster invitee at Indians
Roberts spent most of 2000 back in the minors with Buffalo, where he had a .292 average in 120 games with a career high 13 homers, 55 RBI and 39 steals.[13] He also was second in the league with 93 runs scored.[14] He was called up to the Indians briefly from May 26–29 and then was called up when rosters expanded in September.[14] In 19 games for the Indians, he had only two hits in 10 at-bats while being used primarily as a late-game defensive replacement.[24] After the season, he had surgery on his left shoulder to repair a torn labrum and fraying around his rotator cuff, which caused him to begin the following season on the 60-day disabled list.[14] When he returned on June 24, he was optioned back to the Bisons,[14] where he hit .303 in 62 games.[13] His 97 career steals in parts of four seasons in Buffalo ranks as the tops in franchise history and he would eventually be selected to the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame.[19] He was again recalled to the majors in September and had four hits in 12 at-bats in 15 games for the Indians.[11] In parts of three seasons with Cleveland, he hit .242 in 75 games.[11]
Los Angeles Dodgers
On December 22, 2001, Roberts was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor league pitchers Christian Bridenbaugh and Nial Hughes.[25] The 2002 season with the Dodgers was Roberts's first full season on a major league roster. He was the leadoff hitter and starter as a center fielder. He finished the season with a .277 batting average in 127 games with 45 stolen bases.[26] He missed the final seven games of the regular season with a partially torn oblique.[14]
In 2003, Roberts appeared in only 107 games due to hamstring problems but managed to steal 42 bases while hitting .250.[11] He was the 10th Dodgers player in history with consecutive 40-steal seasons. He committed his first career error on April 22 against the Cincinnati Reds, snapping a streak of 205 errorless games.[14] He began the 2004 campaign with the Dodgers and hit .253 in 68 games with 33 steals[14] despite missing most of May because of a recurrence of hamstring issues.[27]
Boston Red Sox
On July 31, 2004, the Dodgers traded Roberts to the
San Diego Padres
The Red Sox traded Roberts to the San Diego Padres on December 20, 2004, in exchange for outfielder Jay Payton, infielder Ramón Vázquez, minor league pitcher David Pauley, and cash.[32]
Roberts played center field for the Padres in 2005, hitting .275 in 115 games
San Francisco Giants
In December 2006, Roberts signed with the
Roberts's career with the Giants got off to a slow start because of injury. He spent most of May and early June on the disabled list. Roberts was batting only .216 before he went on the
On March 5, 2009, the Giants released Roberts even though they owed him money for the last year of his contract.[37]
Player profile
Roberts had above-average knowledge of the
Broadcasting career
In May 2009, Roberts retired from baseball and joined NESN as a studio analyst and occasional color commentator for Red Sox telecasts.[40] After one season as a broadcaster, he left the network to join the Padres as a Baseball Operations Special Assistant, where he would work with players in the organization on outfield defense, base running and bunting.[41]
Coaching and managing career
San Diego Padres
On October 18, 2010, Roberts was hired by the San Diego Padres as the first base coach replacing Rick Renteria when he was promoted to bench coach.[42] When Rentería was named manager of the Chicago Cubs after the 2013 season, Roberts once again succeeded him, named as manager Bud Black's bench coach for the 2014 campaign.[43]
On June 15, 2015, Roberts filled in as the Padres' manager for one game when Black was fired after starting 2015 at 32–33 and six games behind in the National League West.[44] The Padres lost that game 9–1 to the Oakland Athletics.[45] Pat Murphy was named as the new manager the next day and Roberts returned to his bench coach role for the rest of the season.[46]
Los Angeles Dodgers
Roberts was named manager of the
In 2017, Roberts led the Dodgers back to the playoffs, where they swept the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2017 NLDS and then defeated the Chicago Cubs in five games in the 2017 NLCS. Roberts became first manager of Asian heritage ever in the World Series, as well as the fourth African-American manager.[50] The Dodgers faced the Houston Astros in the 2017 World Series, where they were defeated in seven games. It was later determined that the Astros illegally stole signs during the 2017 regular season and postseason.
In 2018, the Dodgers got off to a rocky start at the beginning of the season with a 16–26 record, but rebounded to win the NL West, finishing 92–71. Roberts led the Dodgers to the 2018 World Series after the Dodgers defeated the Atlanta Braves three games to one in the 2018 NLDS and then defeated the Milwaukee Brewers in seven games in the NLCS. The Dodgers faced one of Roberts's former teams, the Boston Red Sox, and former Dodgers teammate Alex Cora for the championship. Boston won the series in five games, giving the Red Sox their ninth World Series title and the Dodgers a second consecutive World Series loss.
On December 3, 2018, Roberts and the Dodgers agreed to a four-year contract extension, through the 2022 season.[51]
In
In 2020, Roberts led the Dodgers to the playoffs once more. They swept the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2020 National League Wild Card Series and the San Diego Padres in the 2020 NLDS, both of which had modified schedules due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After coming back from a 3–1 deficit against the Atlanta Braves in the 2020 NLCS, the Dodgers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in six games in the 2020 World Series. Roberts became the first African-American manager of a World Series-winning team since Cito Gaston and the first manager of Asian heritage to win the World Series.[2]
On March 25, 2022, Roberts signed a three-year contract extension with the Dodgers through the 2025 season.[52] The Dodgers won 111 games in 2022, a mark only reached by four other teams in MLB history. It was the fourth time Roberts had a 100 win season, after doing it in 2017, 2019, and 2021. However, they lost in the 2022 National League Division Series to the San Diego Padres. This meant that the 2022 Dodgers had the most wins of a team to fail to win a postseason series in the division era. In the past four full seasons, the Dodgers won 100 games each time but only reached the NLCS once. They repeated as NL West champions with 100 wins in 2023 but lost yet again in the NLDS, this time to the 84-win Arizona Diamondbacks in a straight sweep. It is the third season in a row that the Dodgers had lost a playoff series to a team that had at least 15 more losses than the Dodgers.[53]
Managerial record
- As of games played on April 16, 2024
Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
SD | 2015
|
1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | Interim manager | – | – | – | |
SD total | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | – | – | – | |||
LAD | 2016
|
162 | 91 | 71 | .562 | 1st in NL West | 5 | 6 | .455 | Lost NLCS (CHC) |
LAD | 2017
|
162 | 104 | 58 | .642 | 1st in NL West | 10 | 5 | .667 | Lost World Series (HOU) |
LAD | 2018
|
163 | 92 | 71 | .564 | 1st in NL West | 8 | 8 | .500 | Lost World Series (BOS) |
LAD | 2019
|
162 | 106 | 56 | .654 | 1st in NL West | 2 | 3 | .400 | Lost NLDS (WAS) |
LAD | 2020
|
60 | 43 | 17 | .717 | 1st in NL West | 13 | 5 | .722 | Won World Series (TB) |
LAD | 2021
|
162 | 106 | 56 | .654 | 2nd in NL West | 6 | 6 | .500 | Lost NLCS (ATL) |
LAD | 2022
|
162 | 111 | 51 | .685 | 1st in NL West | 1 | 3 | .250 | Lost NLDS (SD) |
LAD | 2023 | 162 | 100 | 62 | .617 | 1st in NL West | 0 | 3 | .000 | Lost NLDS (ARI) |
LAD | 2024 | 18 | 12 | 8 | .600 | TBD in NL West | - | - | - | - |
LAD total | 1,215 | 765 | 450 | .630 | 45 | 39 | .536 | |||
Total [54] | 1,216 | 765 | 451 | .629 | 45 | 39 | .536 |
Personal life
Roberts married his high school girlfriend, Tricia, in 1997. They have two children, son Cole and daughter Emme. Cole played baseball collegiately for
In March 2010, Roberts was diagnosed with
Roberts is a Christian. Roberts spoke of his faith in 2016 by saying, "I stopped trying to be good enough and earn my way into heaven and accepted God’s gift of eternal life through His Son Jesus Christ in 1988. It wasn’t until just a few years ago, though, that I really understood how much God loved me in sending Jesus to die in my place and really started living for Him, putting Him first in my life, making Him Lord. My relationship with Christ is the most important thing in my life. Beyond the game of baseball, He gives me lasting joy, contentment and peace. That’s the great thing about allowing Jesus to become Lord—He really knows and wants what is best for my life."[60]
He is also a speaker at the annual "MLB Winter Meetings Baseball Career Conference" for the online sports-career training school Sports Management Worldwide, founded and run by Dr. Lynn Lashbrook.
See also
References
- ^ Wulf, Steve (October 9, 2017). "Roberts' return to L.A. "was meant to be"". ESPN. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
- ^ a b Morosi, Jon Paul (October 27, 2020). "Gaston proudly watching Roberts lead LA: Dodgers skipper looks to become second African-American manager to win World Series". MLB.com. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
- ^ Sharkey-Gotlieb, Simon (October 27, 2020). "Roberts becomes 2nd Black, 1st Asian manager to win World Series". The Score. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
- ^ a b Brown, Tim (December 1, 2015). "Dave Roberts is evidence why race can be both important, meaningless". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f Hoornstra, JP (November 25, 2015). "How new Dodgers manager Dave Roberts emerged as a leader at every stop". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ Mitchell, Houston (November 23, 2015). "Eight things you should know about Dave Roberts". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ a b c "Dave Roberts baseball statistics". Baseball Cube. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ "1993 Cleveland Indians Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft". Baseball Reference. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ "Dave Roberts Named Dodgers Manager". UCLA Bruins. November 23, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ "1994 Detroit Tigers Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft". Baseball Reference. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Dave Roberts Statistics & History". Baseball Reference. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ Kindberg, Scott (November 24, 2015). "From Jamestown To Los Angeles". The Post-Journal. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Dave Roberts minor league statistics & history". Baseball Reference. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Dave Roberts bio". mlb.com. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ Hagerty, Tim (January 13, 2015). "Dave Roberts almost retired in Single-A". Sporting News. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ Zellen, Peter (June 15, 1997). "Suns Getting Much-Needed Hot Bat from Roberts". Florida Times Union. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ "Baseball briefs". Deseret News. June 25, 1998. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ a b c Harrington, Mike (July 14, 2013). "Inside Baseball: Bisons gave Roberts a leg up on his career". Buffalo News. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ a b c Buffalo Bisons (July 9, 2013). "Young, Roberts, Harrington elected to Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame". milb.com. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ a b "August 7, 1999 Cleveland Indians at Tampa Bay Devil Rays play-by-play and box score". Baseball Reference. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ "August 30, 1999 Anaheim Angels at Cleveland Indians play-by-play and box score". Baseball Reference. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ "September 24, 1999 Cleveland Indians at Toronto Blue Jays play-by-play and box score". Baseball Reference. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ "1999 AL Division Series (3–2): Boston Red Sox (94–68) over Cleveland Indians (97–65)". Baseball Reference. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ "Dave Roberts 2000 Batting Gamelogs". Baseball Reference. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ "Red Sox Don't Have Any Room for Reese". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. December 22, 2001. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ "Dave Roberts 2002 Batting Gamelogs". Baseball Reference. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ Reid, Jason (May 8, 2004). "Not 100%, Roberts Goes on Disabled List". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
- ^ Kubatko, Roch (August 1, 2004). "At end of four-team deal, Garciaparra becomes Cub". Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ Crasnick, Jerry (September 15, 2009). "Red Sox fans still as passionate as ever". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ "October 17, 2004 American League Division Series Game 4, New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox play-by-play and box score". Baseball Reference. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ Petraglia, Mike (October 25, 2006). "Remy, Roberts in Red Sox Hall". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ "Red Sox get Payton, Vazquez, prospect and cash". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 21, 2004. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ Krasovic, Tom (April 2, 2006). "Padres put fresh face on future". San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ "2006 NL Division Series (3–1): St. Louis Cardinals (83–78) over San Diego Padres (88–74)". Baseball Reference. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ Schulman, Henry (December 3, 2006). "Third choice, top dollar: Giants sign Roberts for three years, $18 million". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved August 17, 2007.
- ^ Schulman, Henry (June 4, 2007). "Roberts' return could provide spark". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved August 17, 2007.
- ^ Baggarly, Andrew (March 5, 2009). "UPDATED: Giants release Dave Roberts, eat $6.5 million". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ "Career Leaders & Records for SB %". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Breaking down July trades" (Baseball America). ESPN Africa. 31 July 2004. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
Roberts, 32, upgrades Boston's speed, defense and depth. He possesses little power and his arm is below average
- ^ Finn, Chad (April 30, 2009). "Roberts added to NESN roster". boston.com. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ "Dave Roberts leaves NESN to join Padres staff". MassLive.com. Associated Press. December 8, 2009. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ "Dave Roberts now first base coach". ESPN. Associated Press. 7 October 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- ^ "Padres name Dave Roberts as bench coach and José Valentín as first base coach". mlb.com. November 19, 2013. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ Lin, Dennis (June 15, 2015). "Padres fire manager Bud Black". San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on November 24, 2015.
- ^ "June 15, 2015 Oakland Athletics at San Diego Padres play-by-play and box score". Baseball Reference. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ "Former ASU baseball coach Pat Murphy named Padres interim manager". statepress.com. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
- ^ Gurnick, Ken (November 23, 2015). "Roberts is Dodgers' pick to be manager". Dodgers.com. MLB. Archived from the original on November 24, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
- ^ McGuire, Justin (October 24, 2016). "Terry Francona, Dave Roberts voted Sporting News managers of the year". Sporting News. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
- ^ Weisman, Jon (November 15, 2016). "MOY bueno! Dave Roberts is NL Manager of the Year". Dodgers.com. MLB. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
- ^ Walker, Rhiannon (October 11, 2017). "Dave Roberts can join Cito Gaston as the only black managers to win World Series". Andscape. Archived from the original on October 27, 2017.
- ^ Kelly, Matt (December 3, 2018). "Dave Roberts, Dodgers agree to 4-year deal". Dodgers.com. MLB. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
- ^ Harris, Jack (March 25, 2022). "Dodgers extend manager Dave Roberts' contract through the 2025 season". LA Times. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
- better source needed]
- ^ "Dave Roberts". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
- ^ "Cole Roberts - Baseball". Loyola Marymount University Athletics. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
- ^ "Cole Roberts Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News". MiLB.com. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
- ^ "David & Tricia Roberts". Red Stitch Winery. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ Edes, Gordon (May 3, 2010). "Roberts being treated for lymphoma". ESPN.com. Associated Press. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ "Padres 1B Coach Dave Roberts Gets Good Medical Report". WBZ-TV. Associated Press. 20 June 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- ^ Romano, Jason (23 October 2017). "Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says the most important thing in his life is a relationship with Christ". Sports Spectrum.
External links
- Dave Roberts managerial career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)