“I want to lead the Olympic team,” Roberts said. “That’s what I want to do. In LA, I want to manage that team.”
The 53-year-old manager further listed why he is qualified to lead the team.
“I went to school here,” the UCLA graduate said. “I manage the Dodgers. It’s a no-brainer.”
Baseball returns for the first time since the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Roberts knows a thing or two about taking teams to the mountaintop. He has done this three times as manager of the Dodgers and has a good chance of doing it a fourth time this coming 2026 season.
Moreover, Roberts is familiar with the international setting of the game. He represented the United States at the 1999 Pan American Games. In those games, Roberts and Team USA finished second, helping them qualify for the 2000 Olympics. At the 2000 Olympics, Team USA came out on top, led by legendary Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda.
Roberts played ten seasons in the Majors, from 1990 to 2008. He was a key member of many of his teams in the league, including the 2004 Boston Red Sox, the team that ultimately won the entire season to break the dreaded Curse of the Bambino.
As for his time as manager, it started abruptly when he replaced Bud Black as San Diego Padres skipper a little less than halfway through the 2015 season.
His reign did not last long as he was replaced by Pat Murphy the next day after his managerial debut. Roberts returned to his role as bench coach for the remainder of the season. After the 2015 season, the Dodgers hired Roberts and haven’t looked back since.
As Roberts prepares to lead his 11th season with the Dodgers, he believes he is ready to take the next step and lead Team USA back to the top.
The former player turned manager possesses all the attributes necessary to lead, something he has proven time and time again during his tenure with the Dodgers. Whether Team USA ultimately decides to take a chance on Roberts remains to be seen, but there is strong evidence that he is the best manager in the game.
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