With the World Series win, Roberts becomes the first manager of Asian heritage to win the World Series (his mother is Japanese American; he was born in Naha, Japan). And he’s the third non-white skipper in a row to win the World Series, after Alex Cora and Davey Martinez. Roberts, whose father is African American, is the Dodgers’ first Black manager.
Despite the craziness of 2020, Roberts said in his postgame press conference Tuesday that he knew this was the year the Dodgers would end the drought.
“I just had a crazy feeling that came to fruition,” he said. “It’s just a special group of players, organization, all that we’ve overcome, I just knew that we weren’t going to be denied this year.”
As happy as Roberts was for his players, they were just as happy for him. They’d seen and heard the criticism their manager had received for not winning a championship, and often times tried to take the blame instead. They stood behind him and bought into the culture he brought to the clubhouse when he was hired.
And the players have been impacted by his faith, because Roberts says he lives boldly for Christ. Prior to the 2019 season, he discussed his faith with the “Think Biblically” podcast hosted by Scott Rae, a professor with the Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, near Los Angeles.
“My faith has impacted the clubhouse because I live my life a certain way,” Roberts said. “There’s no question that I’m a believer. I can quite honestly say I live that the way I should, and I’m bold about that. But I am respectful of the profession and the job that guys have to do. So there’s a couple layers: number one, people knowing who I am inside and out, and I am consistent with that, and being open to listening and leading and trying to do things the right way. I think that people see Christ through me, and that’s sort of what we want to create in the clubhouse.”
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SOURCE: Christian Post; Sports Spectrum, Jon Ackerman
