Thirty-three days and nine candidates later, the Dodgers officially announced the hiring of Dave Roberts as their new manager Monday. Our story forecasting the hire, which ran in today’s editions, is here.
“We’re extremely excited to bring Dave Roberts on board as the next manager of the Dodgers,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said in a statement. “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. 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.”
The Dodgers will introduce Roberts in a press conference Dec. 1.
“It’s hard for me to put into words what it means to be named manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers,” Roberts said in a statement released by the Dodgers. “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.”
Update (11 a.m.): Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti released the following statement:
We are thrilled to welcome Dave Roberts back to Los Angeles as the new manager of our beloved Dodgers. Dave brings passion and a championship pedigree to an organization that is built to contend for the World Series each year. With Dave in the dugout, the team not only secures a top notch baseball mind, but it also makes history, bringing the first person of color to this important post. It is good to have Dave back home, ready to inspire Angelenos on and off the field.
Update (11:45 a.m.): Gabe Kapler, the runner-up for the job, posted this note on his Twitter account this morning in support of Roberts: