A look at one of the World Series managers … and his life-changing moment thirteen years ago, after the jump …..
But first: Top Comments appears nightly, as a round-up of the best comments on Daily Kos. Surely ... you come across comments daily that are perceptive, apropos and .. well, perhaps even humorous. But they are more meaningful if they're well-known ... which is where you come in (especially in diaries/stories receiving little attention).------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Send your nominations to TopComments at gmail dot com by 9:30 PM Eastern Time nightly, or by our KosMail message board. Please indicate (a) why you liked the comment, and (b) your Dkos user name (to properly credit you) as well as a link to the comment itself.
I have no real rooting interest in this year’s World Series: should the Houston Astros win … well, it would be their first championship. If the Los Angeles Dodgers win their first title in 29 years …. well, it’d be nice to see their manager reach the pinnacle. And his life is interesting enough to merit this profile (and not just his most famous moment).
Dave Roberts was a journeyman outfielder who played for five major league teams. After retirement he stayed with the game … and has been the Dodgers manager the past three seasons. He was born in 1972 in Okinawa to a US Marine (an African-American who died earlier this year) and a Japanese woman his father married while being stationed in Japan. The military family was always on the move, settling in San Diego eventually.
Dave Roberts was a quarterback for his high school football team, and the Air Force Academy was interested in him … but he declined in order to play baseball at UCLA. A fleet runner, he set the school record for stolen bases (which still stands) and in time earned his degree from UCLA.
He was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 1994, yet never playing in the big leagues with them. That took place in 1999, after he had been traded to Cleveland.
In Cleveland from 1999 to 2001He was traded to the Dodgers in time for the 2002 season, and remained there for the majority of the 2004 season. He then played for his hometown San Diego Padres (2005-2006) and finished his playing career with San Francisco (2007-2008). Over the course of his career, he hit .266 with 23 homers and 243 stolen bases.
After retirement he stayed in the Padres organization: first on special assignments then as a coach (2010-2015). In fact, he had a one-game stint as San Diego’s manager in 2015 (losing that game 9-1) after the team’s manager was fired mid-way into the season before a new manager was hired. And then, he was hired as the 32nd manager of the Dodgers (dating back to its days in Brooklyn) — the team’s first African-American manager .. and he also is the first manager of Asian descent (for any franchise) to reach the World Series.
L.A. Dodgers manager (since 2016)As of this writing, the Dodgers are tied 1 game apiece with the Houston Astros — and Dave Roberts is going against an old friend, A.J. Hinch. The Astros manager Hinch played against Roberts at Stanford University, then the two were fellow coaches at San Diego before each found their way into managerial roles. They admit it will take time to repair their relationship after one man’s teams loses. Yet each seem to have a bright future in their early to mid-40’s.
The two before World Series game 1I mentioned before that Dave Roberts played with the Dodgers for the “majority of 2004”. At the August 1st trading deadline, he was dealt to the Boston Red Sox, whose team he only played for three months with. But wotta three months.
While it has faded from memory: in 2004, the Boston Red Sox were on an 86-year run of failure. Those who cheered-on the Chicago Cubs (who broke a 108-year drought last year) could relate. And not just ancient history: the previous year of 2003, the Red Sox and Cubs had agonizingly fell short of the World Series: the Red Sox on a blown Game 7 lead (when manager Grady Little left his starting pitcher too long, and the Cubs collapsed after a foul ball in Game 6 caught in the stands by a fan led to an epic collapse.
In fact, before the 2004 season, a documentary was released in theaters in New England: Still We Believe featured several fans throughout the region, alternating between undying faith and despair. And signs like this appeared in Boston:
Other signs had player’s faces, tooThe Red Sox struggled during the season they expected to win, and made several moves at the trade deadline — notably dealing long-time star Nomar Garciaparra. The Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein (who was at the helm for the Cubs breakthrough last year) said:
"We were swamped with the Nomar trade and had put our pursuit of a pinch-runner on the back burner. Earlier in the day I had asked for a list of possible pinch-runners we could acquire -- guys who could steal us a base when we absolutely had to have one. Roberts was one of the names at the top of (our) list, and he suddenly became available” (due to the Dodgers making a trade).
But although the team perked-up, made the playoffs and were set to face their arch-rivals from New York: the season looked to be over when the Red Sox lost the first three games of a best-of-seven series … and while it has happened a few times in ice hockey: no major league basketball or baseball team had ever lost the first three games yet came back to win.
Game 4 saw the Red Sox down to their last three outs (with Yankees ace Mariano Rivera, a future Hall of Famer, on the mound) when the opening batter drew a walk. Dave Roberts was sent-in as a pinch-runner …. and made history.
ESPN has a wonderful “30 for 30” series — with Once Brothers (about the dissolution of the Yugoslavian Olympic basketball team on ethnic lines) being an absolute gem — and they produced a one-hour story about Games 4-7, entitled Four Days in October. Here is a 3-½ minute clip of how Dave Roberts was able to become part of New England folklore (with help from others, of course).
x xVimeo Video-----—
Standing on first base, Dave Roberts recalled the words of former Dodger legend Maury Wills (a stolen base king himself) who gave Roberts this advice:
“DR, one of these days you'll have to steal an important base when everyone in the ballpark knows you're gonna steal, but you've got to steal that base and you can't be afraid to steal that base.' So, just kind of trotting out on to the field that night, I was thinking about him. So he was on one side telling me 'this is your opportunity'. And the other side of my brain is saying, 'You're going to get thrown out, don't get thrown out.' Fortunately, Maury's voice won out in my head."
It was a very close play at second … with veteran umpire Joe West calling Roberts safe, and earlier this year West admitted, “Even today when I see Dave Roberts, he says, “You made me famous.’”
Derek Jeter almost made the tagHad Roberts been thrown out, most people believe the series was over. Instead, it wound up being a turning point: Roberts was singled-in to tie the score … and the Red Sox won in 12 innings. They went on to win their next seven games: after eliminating their league rival NY Yankees they won the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals (against whom they had lost two previous epic World Series).
Scoring the tying run in Game 4As a lifelong Mets/Red Sox fan, I can tell you how people throughout New England were all thinking of dead aunts and uncles when that elusive championship happened. (Surely many Upper Midwesterners felt the same way last year).
As noted, I truly do not have a rooting interest in this year’s Series. If the Dodgers win, it may not even be the biggest triumph for Dave Roberts — he is a Hodgkin’s lymphoma survivor (from 2010). Regardless, he knows this:
“People see me in Boston – not even just in New England, but wherever there are Red Sox fans – and come up and thank me. They want to shake my hand or give me a hug. Believe me, I’m the one who feels honored. “
Let’s close with Dave Roberts looking back … and about his team of today.
x xYouTube Video-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now, on to Top Comments:
(Nothing from the field today).
And from Ed Tracey, your faithful correspondent this evening ........
In the diary by iowagirl about the documentary film The Brainwashing of My Father— Joker2101 has a literary analogy for the offerings of right-wing media.And lastly: yesterday's Top Mojo - mega-mojo to the intrepid mik ...... who rescued this feature from oblivion:
1) Brought to you by the party of “keep ‘em ignoran … by Shippo1776 +138 2) Yep. The Hate Hillary Train has left the station … by quaoar +122 3) It’s an epidemic! … by Tamar +105 4) Breaking News: Trump revives Obama-killed Ben LA … by exlrrp +98 5) So many people are fighting so hard to discredit … by ConspiracyQueen +96 6) Yep. Our ability to shelter savings from tax get … by lgmcp +94 7) "I now understand from these accounts that my be … by gramofsam1 +90 8) The dossier is salacious, but irrelevant. … by WI Lurker +89 9) Actually no, the dossier is not irrelevant. Some … by Ga6thDem +85 10) Puerto Ricans are fighting back. … by AKALib +82 11) This is too late. Imo, we cannot bear another ye … by Jodyhuston +80 12) 300 bucks an hour. 300 bucks a day for lodging. … by bleeding blue +78 13) Amen to your last sentence. I love libraries. Pr … by LizinPA +76 14) After they killed the defined-benefit pension, n … by Older and Wiser Now +72 15) From the “You Can’t Make This Shit Up” files Mar … by ontheleftcoast +69 15) A week ago, I almost ran over Pepe. It was nearl … by foresterbob +69 17) Good post. As an aside, I hate the word snowflak … by TomP +68 18) Double condolences to his mom, for losing a belo … by Cali Scribe +64 18) Not getting any takers so far, but still trying. by jwinIL14 +64 20) And I’m sure it had something to do with the Cli … by anon004 +63 21) I get it, I use it to piss them off and thanks. … by Kristina40 +62 22) I’m not really sure what you’re attempting to sa … by Dfh1 +61 23) Let’s ask if he knows any Photoshop geniuses. by jwinIL14 +60 23) How do you know this is uncharacteristic behavio … by Jen Hayden +60 23) Hey, if they're pissed off at Ryan and his buddi … by Centrist Dem +60 26) US attorneys prosecute federal, not state charge … by Wednesday Bizzare +59 26) Because nothing says ‘diplomacy’ like appointing … by Hadida +59 26) This was re-tweeted by Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz. by AKALib +59 26) Delightful, as always, ZT! by samanthab +59 26) No shit- I’ll defend Secretary Clinton any day o … by skyounkin +59 26) David Corn is claiming first report credit by MTmofo +59 26) He also tweeted this: by Tamar +59