Dave Roberts picked to manage Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers have picked Dave Roberts as their next manager. Following a flurry of reports, the team made it official today.

Roberts, 43, will be the first minority manager of the Dodgers franchise, according to the Los Angeles times, which first reported that Roberts would be hired on Sunday. He also played for the Dodgers from 2002 to 2004.

USA Today reports that the Dodgers will sign him to a three-year contract and will make a formal announcement after the Thanksgiving holiday. However, since the decision leaked, the Dodgers did confirm the move on Twitter.

During the 2004 season, Roberts was traded to the Boston Red Sox and became a part of baseball immortality by stealing second base during the ninth inning of Game 4 of the ALCS. Many consider that the spark that started the Red Sox’s comeback against the New York Yankees. The Red Sox went on to win the World Series for the first time since 1918.

Now, the Dodgers are hoping that Roberts can help the Dodgers out of their own World Series drought. They haven’t even made it to the World Series since 1988.

Roberts, who has never managed but has been a coach for the San Diego Padres, replaces Don Mattingly. Despite a 446-363 record with the Dodgers, Mattingly only lead the team past the NLDS once. This past season, they lost in the NLDS to the eventual NL pennant winners, the New York Mets.

Roberts played in the MLB for 10 years, retiring in 2008 with the San Francisco Giants. He was drafted by the Tigers, but made his Major League debut with the Indians in 1999.