Dave Roberts Hired by L.A. Dodgers, Becomes First Minority Manager in Franchise History

Dave Roberts, a former Los Angeles Dodgers player, has been hired by the team to take over as manager, the Dodgers announced Monday. His position will officially be announced on Dec. 1 at Dodgers Stadium.

Roberts, who is superseding Don Mattingly, will become the franchise's first minority manager in history. His father is African-American and his mother is Japanese.

"It's hard for me to put into words what it means to be named manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers," Roberts, 43, said in a statement. "This is truly the opportunity of a lifetime. The Dodgers are the ground-breaking franchise of Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Sandy Koufax, Maury Wills, Fernando Valenzuela and Hideo Nomo. When I put on this uniform as a player, I understood the special responsibility to honor those that played before me as well as the amazing bond between the Dodgers and their fans. I feel that I have now come full circle in my career and there is plenty of unfinished business left in L.A."

"We could not have been more impressed with him through this process. His energy is infectious and he has the rare ability to make a genuine connection with every person he comes across," Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. "He has developed strong leadership qualities and accumulated a breadth of baseball experience over his career as both a player and coach. He is a 'baseball man' and 'people person' in the truest sense of those words. We feel fully confident that he will effectively lead our team in pursuit of its ultimate goal -- bringing a world championship back to the city of Los Angeles."

According to USA TODAY Sports, Roberts and the Dodgers agreed to a three- year deal with a fourth-year option.

Roberts played in the outfield for the Dodgers from 2002 to 2004. Throughout his 10-year long career, he has also played for the Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants.

Roberts does not have a lot of experiencing managing, except for being an interim manager for one game in 2015. He has served as the Padres bench coach for the last two seasons. Roberts also interviewed for the manager position for the Seattle Mariners but the job ended up going to Scott Servais.