LOS ANGELES -- Dave Roberts said it didn't fully hit him that he was the first minority manager of the team that broke baseball's color barrier until his father brought it up a few hours before he was introduced as the Los Angeles Dodgers' next manager at a Tuesday afternoon news conference.
"It's important," Roberts said. "Sometimes, I think, you're guilty of thinking you just do your best at your job and see where it gets you, but if you look at this organization and the people who have come before me, I have to give that a lot of weight and acknowledge it because it's big."
Roberts, the son of an African-American retired Marine father and a Japanese mother, is one of only three minority managers in the major leagues. He joins the Washington Nationals' Dusty Baker and the Atlanta Braves' Fredi Gonzalez.
The Dodgers were the team that broke baseball's color barrier by signing Jackie Robinson nearly 70 years ago. They hired Roberts because they thought he was the best of the nine candidates they interviewed to get the most out of a talented, expensive roster that has come up short in the playoffs in three straight seasons.
The team introduced Roberts on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium with two of the team's owners, including Magic Johnson, on hand, in addition to former star players Maury Wills and Don Newcombe. Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who played with Roberts in San Diego, also attended to support his former teammate.
Roberts, a former player for the Dodgers and other teams and a former San Diego Padres bench coach, had to work against long odds because he had no major league managerial experience and scant connections to any of the Dodgers' primary decision-makers and because Gabe Kapler was widely considered the top choice of president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. Nonetheless, Roberts pushed his way to the front of the pack with an impressive first interview, then cemented the job by repeating that strong performance with owners Mark Walter and Peter Guber.
"Going into it, I didn't know Dave very well other than to say, 'Hello,'" Friedman said. "Coming out of that first interview, it was almost like he had our answer key, the answers that we wanted to hear going into it. After that first round, it was incredibly impressive."
The Dodgers were in need of a manager after they mutually agreed with Don Mattingly, shortly after the team lost the National League Division Series to the New York Mets, that a parting of ways was in order. Mattingly quickly worked out a deal to manage the Miami Marlins.
The Dodgers interviewed nine candidates before announcing last week that Roberts would be the team's 10th manager since it moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. Walter Alston and Tommy Lasorda each managed the team for 20 years, but the Dodgers have had eight different managers since Lasorda stepped down after the 1996 season.
Roberts said he will go into the job with an open mind and will forge his managerial philosophy around the team he is given. The Dodgers are in negotiations to retain Cy Young runner-up Zack Greinke, but they could have a far different look going into the 2016 season. They have said they want to get younger, and they view Roberts as a good leader for a young team. At times over his five seasons in L.A., Mattingly said the Dodgers were difficult to manage because of star players' sometimes conflicting agendas.
"I like grit. I wasn't a great baseball player, and so I had to do a lot of things and grind and try to create opportunities for myself. Grit is something I believe in. It's an unrelenting passion and desire for a common goal, and you're not going to waver from that. For me, grit and accountability play big for me -- and guys playing for one another." Dodgers manager Dave Roberts
It's believed the Dodgers hired Roberts, in part, because they think he can enforce a more business-like atmosphere in the clubhouse and on the field. Being the son of a Marine could have something to do with that.
"I like grit. I wasn't a great baseball player, and so I had to do a lot of things and grind and try to create opportunities for myself. Grit is something I believe in," Roberts said. "It's an unrelenting passion and desire for a common goal, and you're not going to waver from that. For me, grit and accountability play big for me -- and guys playing for one another. "
One of Roberts' biggest challenges -- as was the case for Mattingly -- will be dealing with talented but unpredictable right fielder Yasiel Puig, who is being investigated by Major League Baseball for his role in a fight last week at a Miami night club. Friedman said the team is concerned about Puig's latest brush with the law -- he has been pulled over for reckless driving twice -- but he doesn't feel compelled to trade him because of off-the-field issues.
Puig had several run-ins with Mattingly, some involving Puig ignoring team rules, including showing up late to the clubhouse, and others stemming from his behavior on the field.
Roberts said he will keep an open mind about Puig and he plans to meet with him in January, when Puig comes to Los Angeles. Roberts already spent a day with Gonzalez and said he will spend Sunday in Dallas with staff ace Clayton Kershaw before traveling to Nashville for the winter meetings. Andy Van Slyke, the father of Dodgers outfielder Scott, said on a St. Louis radio station last week that the Dodgers' highest-paid player -- presumably Kershaw -- asked Friedman to trade Puig last year.
Gonzalez predicted Roberts will have a good rapport with his new right fielder.
"From my experience, Puig responds well to genuine people, when he understands there's no agenda and people just really care for him," Gonzalez said.