It started out as a joke but it soon became serious. A dear friend of mine and I would joke about how long it would it take Dodgers center fielder Dave Roberts to get his uniform dirty, and then we began wagering on it. At stake was a Dodger Dog or a chocolate malt or whatever the winner wanted. Like I said, it became serious.

As season ticket holders, most of the games that we watched Roberts play were home games which, of course, usually meant that Roberts – the Dodgers’ leadoff hitter – wouldn’t get dirty at least until the bottom half of the first inning – but not always. On more than one occasion our friendly wager would end in a draw because the 5′-10″ – 172-pound speedster would make a dramatic diving catch in the top half of the first inning and get dirty, thereby nullifying our bet. But without exception – and I mean never – would Roberts escape the first inning with a clean uniform if he got on base on a walk or a base hit to lead off the bottom of the first. If (or more like when) he did, he would immediately draw pickoff throws from the opposing pitchers which, of course, led to a dirty uniform. And even if there were no pickoff throws, he would soon be sliding into second (or third) base – again, dirtying his uniform.

Dave Roberts rarely made it out of the first inning with a clean uniform.
(Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

It was fun, it was exciting to watch and I occasionally got a Dodger Dog out of the deal. But aside from our friendly little wager, what we learned is that there wasn’t a Dodger player with more heart, hustle and grit that Dave Roberts. As a result, he quickly became one of my all-time favorite Dodgers.

In his two and a half seasons with the Dodgers, Roberts had a slash-line of .262 / .342 / .341 for an OPS of .683 with seven home runs – definitely not Hall of Fame-caliber numbers. But what Roberts lacked in offensive power, he more than made up for with his on-base percentage and his 118 stolen bases as a Dodger while being caught only 25 times – a 79% success rate. You certainly couldn’t ask for more from a leadoff hitter.

But what was often overlooked was Roberts’ defensive skills. In the 302 games he played as a Dodger – most of them in center field – he committed only eight errors in 591 total chances for an excellent .986 fielding percentage while picking up 10 outfield assists. Again, not Hall of Fame numbers but well above the league average. In fact, it was Roberts’ game-saving / home run-robbing eighth-inning catch of Lance Berkman’s drive to deep center field at Houston’s Minute Made Park (atop Tal’s Hill) on August 28, 2003 off of Dodgers closer Eric Gagne that preserved Gagne’s 44th consecutive save en route to his record-setting 84 consecutive saves – a mark that will most likely never be broken.

“I knew it was going to be a tough play, but I had to find a way to make that play,” Roberts later said. “It’s hard to keep your footing when you’re going up the hill, but I practiced it a little in [batting practice] and just kind of got used to it.”

Like most Dodgers fans, I was absolutely devastated, heartbroken and thoroughly confused when then Dodgers general manager Paul DePodesta traded Roberts to the Boston Red Sox at the July 31, 2004 trade deadline. Not only did the Dodgers lose their fastest runner and star leadoff batter, they also lost the very heart and soul of their team. In exchange for the then 32-year-old Roberts the Dodgers received a 26-year-old minor league outfielder named Henri Stanley who never made it past Triple-A and was out of the organization a year later and out of the game entirely three years later. DePodesta also traded away catcher Paul LoDuca – the other heart and soul of their team – and refused to re-sign star third baseman (and future Hall of Famer) Adrian Beltre. Needless to say when DePodesta was fired by the Dodgers following their atrocious 2005 season in which they were 71-91, he was arguably the most hated man in LA.

What came as a surprise to absolutely no one (except perhaps Paul DePodesta), Roberts became an immediate success and instant fan-favorite in Boston – which is no easy task. He etched his name in Red Sox (and baseball) immortality during Game-4 of the 2004 American League Championship Series with that will forever be known as The Steal.

But in spite of his heroics, the Red Sox did not re-sign Roberts and he spent the next two seasons with the San Diego Padres, where he became (wait for it) an instant fan-favorite. He then spent two seasons with the San Francisco Giants (ditto) and retired after the 2008 season with a career slash-line of .266 / .342 / .366 and .708 OPS.

After retiring, Roberts returned to the Padres as their first base coach for three seasons. It was during this time that the now 38-year-old Naha, Okinawa native and UCLA alum was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. But after a year of aggressive treatment, Roberts remains cancer-free.

It was during this time – 2012 to be exact – that myself and fellow Dodgers fan Ray Metoyer would always holler and wave to Roberts whenever the Padres were in town as he would hit practice fly balls to the Padres outfielders during batting practice from behind the protective screen at second base. Almost without exception, when he was finished, Roberts would walk out onto the field and take a couple minutes to chat with Ray and me.

Roberts generously signed this ball for me back in 2012.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Roberts was certainly under no obligation whatsoever to do so – especially since he was no longer with the Dodgers. But he didn’t let that stop him because that’s just who Dave Roberts is. He is as genuine and sincere and down to earth as a human being can be.

Roberts would always find time to chat (and take an occasional selfie) with Dodgers fan Ray Metoyer.
(Photo credit – Ray Metoyer)

When all is said and done and when baseball historians look back on Andrew Friedman, Farhan Zaidi, Stan Kasten, Mark Walter and the rest of the Dodgers brass and ownership, hiring Dave Roberts to be the 32nd manager in franchise history could be what they will best be remembered for.