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Dave Roberts (baseball manager)
David Ray Roberts (Japanese: 池原 礼, Ikehara Rei, born May 31, 1972), nicknamed "Doc", is an 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 an African American father and Japanese mother, 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, 2020, 2024, and 2025 winning in 2020, 2024 and 2025. Roberts is the first manager of Asian heritage and second Black manager to lead a team to a World Series title following Cito Gaston and preceding Dusty Baker.
David Ray Roberts was born on May 31, 1972, in Naha, Okinawa in Japan, to Waymon, an African American United States Marine stationed in Japan and Eiko, a Japanese woman native to Okinawa. He has a younger sister, Melissa. His childhood was spent moving from one military base to another in two- and three-year sequences, first in Okinawa and then in multiple bases in California, to Okinawa again, to North Carolina, to Hawaii, and finally back to California eventually settling in San Diego.
Roberts attended Vista High School in Vista, California as a freshman and was the most valuable player of the junior varsity baseball team. He transferred to Rancho Buena Vista High School when it opened the following year, where he was a standout in football, basketball and baseball. 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. Roberts was recruited to play football for the Air Force Academy as an option quarterback, but declined because he wanted to play baseball.
Roberts decided to attend the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and joined their Bruins baseball team as a walk-on outfielder after impressing coaches with his speed and enthusiasm. He hit .331 as a sophomore with 36 stolen bases and as a junior he hit .296 with 28 stolen bases.
The Cleveland Indians selected Roberts in the 47th round of the 1993 MLB draft. He was disappointed with being drafted so low, behind seven other UCLA juniors, and his coach told him he needed to improve his defense and that his weak throwing arm was hurting his draft stock. He improved by getting to the ball quicker and was able to lead the Bruins in outfield assists as a senior, while also hitting .353 with 45 steals. He left UCLA as the school's all-time stolen-base leader and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1995.
The Detroit Tigers selected Roberts in the 28th round of the 1994 MLB draft and signed him on June 9, 1994. He began his career with the Jamestown Jammers, the Tigers' short-season class A team in the New York–Pennsylvania League. Roberts hit .292 with 12 steals for the Jammers, who won the division title with a 42–32 record. For the 1995 season, he was promoted to play for the Lakeland Tigers in the Florida State League, where he hit .303 in 92 games with 30 stolen bases, fourth best in the league.
In 1996, Roberts was assigned to the Visalia Oaks of the California League. The Oaks were a co-op team made up of players from several organizations. He was frustrated with the assignment and thought about quitting baseball but his father talked him out of it. In 126 games, he hit .272 with 65 stolen bases, which led all of minor league baseball and he scored 112 runs, tops in the Cal League. He appeared in three games for the AA Jacksonville Suns of the Southern League at the end of the season and had two hits in nine at-bats. He also hit a three-run home run in the 15th inning to help the Suns win Game 1 of their playoff series. He remained at Jacksonville the next season, playing in 105 games for them, with a .296 average and 23 steals. In 1998, Roberts once again began the season with the Suns. He played in 69 games and hit .326 with 21 stolen bases and was named to the Southern League mid-season all-star team.
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Dave Roberts (baseball manager)
David Ray Roberts (Japanese: 池原 礼, Ikehara Rei, born May 31, 1972), nicknamed "Doc", is an 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 an African American father and Japanese mother, 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, 2020, 2024, and 2025 winning in 2020, 2024 and 2025. Roberts is the first manager of Asian heritage and second Black manager to lead a team to a World Series title following Cito Gaston and preceding Dusty Baker.
David Ray Roberts was born on May 31, 1972, in Naha, Okinawa in Japan, to Waymon, an African American United States Marine stationed in Japan and Eiko, a Japanese woman native to Okinawa. He has a younger sister, Melissa. His childhood was spent moving from one military base to another in two- and three-year sequences, first in Okinawa and then in multiple bases in California, to Okinawa again, to North Carolina, to Hawaii, and finally back to California eventually settling in San Diego.
Roberts attended Vista High School in Vista, California as a freshman and was the most valuable player of the junior varsity baseball team. He transferred to Rancho Buena Vista High School when it opened the following year, where he was a standout in football, basketball and baseball. 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. Roberts was recruited to play football for the Air Force Academy as an option quarterback, but declined because he wanted to play baseball.
Roberts decided to attend the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and joined their Bruins baseball team as a walk-on outfielder after impressing coaches with his speed and enthusiasm. He hit .331 as a sophomore with 36 stolen bases and as a junior he hit .296 with 28 stolen bases.
The Cleveland Indians selected Roberts in the 47th round of the 1993 MLB draft. He was disappointed with being drafted so low, behind seven other UCLA juniors, and his coach told him he needed to improve his defense and that his weak throwing arm was hurting his draft stock. He improved by getting to the ball quicker and was able to lead the Bruins in outfield assists as a senior, while also hitting .353 with 45 steals. He left UCLA as the school's all-time stolen-base leader and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1995.
The Detroit Tigers selected Roberts in the 28th round of the 1994 MLB draft and signed him on June 9, 1994. He began his career with the Jamestown Jammers, the Tigers' short-season class A team in the New York–Pennsylvania League. Roberts hit .292 with 12 steals for the Jammers, who won the division title with a 42–32 record. For the 1995 season, he was promoted to play for the Lakeland Tigers in the Florida State League, where he hit .303 in 92 games with 30 stolen bases, fourth best in the league.
In 1996, Roberts was assigned to the Visalia Oaks of the California League. The Oaks were a co-op team made up of players from several organizations. He was frustrated with the assignment and thought about quitting baseball but his father talked him out of it. In 126 games, he hit .272 with 65 stolen bases, which led all of minor league baseball and he scored 112 runs, tops in the Cal League. He appeared in three games for the AA Jacksonville Suns of the Southern League at the end of the season and had two hits in nine at-bats. He also hit a three-run home run in the 15th inning to help the Suns win Game 1 of their playoff series. He remained at Jacksonville the next season, playing in 105 games for them, with a .296 average and 23 steals. In 1998, Roberts once again began the season with the Suns. He played in 69 games and hit .326 with 21 stolen bases and was named to the Southern League mid-season all-star team.