When word spread on Monday that former Dodger and UCLA alum Dave Roberts had entered the race to become the 32nd manager in the 133-year history of the Dodgers franchise, it was difficult to find anyone who didn’t say “huh” or even “wow!” It was even more difficult to find anyone who had anything negative to say about the 43-year-old Naha, Okinawa, Japan native – in fact, I haven’t heard one negative word yet about him, nor do I expect to.

Now before I go any farther I have to admit three things here: First – I have always… always been a huge Dave Roberts fan and was absolutely thrilled when the Dodgers acquired him from the Cleveland Indians during the 2001 off-season. Not only was he an excellent center fielder and outstanding leadoff hitter, he was also a huge fan-favorite and all around great guy.

The second thing I have to admit is that I am not… absolutely not a fan of LA Times antagonist Bill Plaschke and, in fact, I rarely read anything he writes. But when Plaschke’s LA Times colleague Bill Shaikin – who I have tremendous respect for – linked an article that Plaschke had written about Dave Roberts and his quest to become the Dodgers’ next manager, my interest was piqued. Not only did I enjoy Plaschke’s article, I actually – and it pains me to say this – agree with him on it.

The third thing I have to admit – and I make no bones about it – is that I was furious, I mean absolutely livid, when then Dodgers general manager Paul DePodesta – who I still consider the worst general manager in Dodgers franchise history (he’s the guy who refused to re-sign future Hall of Famer Adrian Beltre) – traded Roberts to the Boston Red Sox at the July 31, 2004 trade deadline for 26-year-old minor league outfielder Henri Stanley, who never made it past Triple-A.

Dave Roberts shares a laugh with teammates during spring training 2014.
(Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

Although Plaschke’s article plays heavy on the race card – which I absolutely abhor (I believe that the most qualified candidate should get the job regardless of race), it clearly enumerates the many excellent qualities that Roberts brings to the table. Not only was Roberts an excellent center fielder for the Dodgers, he is perhaps the best people-person among the known Dodgers managerial candidates. And though Roberts has no previous MLB managerial experience (except for one game in which he filled in for Bud Black, who the Padres fired on June 15, 2015 and who is also vying for the Dodgers managerial job), he served as the Padres’ bench coach in 2014 and 2015; this after three seasons as the Padres’ first base coach.

It is impossible to talk about Dave Roberts without mentioning “The Steal,” which is arguably the most important stolen base in MLB history. And while many will say that Jackie Robinson’s steal of home in Game-1 of the 1955 World Series holds that sacred distinction, the Yankees actually won that game, so Robinson’s historic (and highly disputed) steal was basically moot. In stark contrast, when Boston Red Sox pinch-runner Dave Roberts stole second base during Game-4 of the 2004 American League Championship Series, it changed the course of history.

With no outs in the bottom of the ninth and the Red Sox trailing the highly favored New York Yankees by a score of 4-3 and trailing them three games to none in the series, soon-to-be Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera gave up a rare lead-off walk to Red Sox first baseman Kevin Millar. Without hesitation, Red Sox manager Terry Francona brought Roberts in to pinch run for Millar. After three consecutive pickoff attempts, Roberts stole second base on a very close play and came around to score on Bill Mueller’s single up the middle to tie the game.

The Red Sox ended up winning the game on David Ortiz’s walk-off two run home run in the bottom of the 12th inning and ended up winning the next three games to steal the American League pennant away from their archrival Yankees. It was the first time in MLB history that a team down three games to none came back to win a Championship Series. Boston would go on to swept the St. Louis Cardinals in four games to win their first World Series title since 1918 (86 years) and finally bring an end to “The Curse of the Bambino.”

Roberts’ historic steal in Game-4 of the 2004 ALCS helped break The Curse of the Bambino. Ruth is seen here in an extremely rare photo taken shortly before being sold to the Yankees on December 26, 1919 which, of course, started  The Curse. (Photo courtesy of Tom Eldridge)

But as we are reminded of all too often in the greatest game on earth, it’s not about what you did, it’s about what have you done lately. And while Roberts and the San Diego Padres haven’t faired well in a very long time, Roberts is very highly regarded among major leaguers – including Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez with whom Roberts played in 2006. Roberts brings with him an intensity that has been seriously lacking in the Dodgers clubhouse and on the field for a very long time; the kind of intensity that we recently witnessed by the newly-crowned World Champion Kansas City Royals.

Although the list of candidates for the vacant Dodgers manager post seems to be growing daily, Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman and General Manager Farhan Zaidi are going to be hard-pressed to find someone who is a better fit for the job than Dave Roberts.