On December 1, 2015, MLB Columnist Tim Brown wrote a piece about Dave Roberts and his father Waymon. To say Waymon was a great man would be like saying that Dave Roberts is a good manager. The description does not go far enough. To know about Waymon, all you have to do is look at the son he raised to know that yesterday when he died, the planet is pooreer for it. Dave Roberts is a great manager and a tribute to his father. To me, the fact that he is the Dodgers first minority manager means little to me. I don’t see him of African-American-Japanese descent. I see him as a great man and a great manager and I don’t congratulate the Dodgers on hiring the first minority manager – I congratulate them on hiring the best man for the job! He’s going to be here a long time…. maybe longer than Alston and Lasorda!
I think the Dodgers should wear a commemorative patch on their uniforms this year, in honor of the man who raised their manager to be one of the best in the game! Waymon Roberts, Rest in Peace and when we win the World Series in 2017, your son can say “This was for you, Dad.”
Read Tim Brown’s article – it tells you about Waymon and what made Dave the man that he is. There is also a good write-up in Dodger Insider by Rowan Kavner. Call your Dads or Hug them today, if they are still around. Mine has been gone for 20 years and I still miss him.
That’s all I’ve got… Godspeed to the Roberts family!
Photo from Dodger Insider.
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Discussion (19)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Yes some of the pool play tiebreaker stuff is dumb as well as the extra inning rules but the WBC has been entertaining baseball. Much more than a spring training game. The guys who have been playing will be ready for opening day. Adam Jones’ catch against Machado was something to see tonight.
Please please no more Hatcher. Him and Baez almost made me stick a dull knife through my forehead early last season when they kept trying him in the 8th inning spot(or any other for that matter). The guy reminds me of Broxton back in 2008, 2009 when the league caught up with his right down the pipe fast ball and just raked him in crucial situations. Screw the radar gun, the guy only has one pitch. He would strike out two in a row and have Vin raving about his fastball, then groove one to the next guy who would go deep into the parking lot. Just cut bait and move on, we have so many other options available.
Notes from an early departure from Glendale: 96 degrees, the hottest I’ve seen it down here in the spring. Oh, its still winter. Maeda is a solid #2. Not even close with Hill. Maeda is smart, confident and is an old school type pitcher. I stick a healthy Ryu after him, with Hill #4 right now. Rob Segedin can hit and hit with power. It would be nice to keep him around. This team looks a lot better when Puig doesn’t play. Thompson is a tough cut. Some hot scoop about Trevor Oaks: He was standing around talking to friends before the game. Nice looking, well mannered kid. He said that he is slotted to start the game tomorrow against the Japanese. Hill was supposed to start but won’t. I didn’t get the reason. He also said that there is an open spot in the bullpen, and he thinks the team is giving him a shot at that. He mentioned Stripling as another possibility. He said he thought he would be gone by now, and still is getting ready for OKC. He stopped to talk to these friends, and before too long he was swamped for autographs, which he signed. Nice guy. I saw Austin Barnes working the bullpen for a bit. Hard working guy. Doing drills by himself and with a coach. For some reason, I like Bobby Wilson. Might be the name. Wilson LOOKS like a catcher. Would be nice to keep all 3. Ethier can still play for my team. He gets the nod over Puig. This won’t happen, but Puig is not on my 25. Bellinger had a nice hit to the opposite field in the middle of the game. He’s not trying to pull everything. I think he will be ok.
Please, no more Chris Hatcher
Article discussing our new fave minor leaguer, Walker Buehler (maybe we’ll see him for the freeway series??
http://m.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article/219897116/dodgers-prospect-walker-buehler-creating-buzz/
I’ve lived near two military bases in my life and noticed that career military families are the best kind of people. Exhibit A is the Roberts family.
Also, I am so glad that they got Forsyth, instead of Dozier.
I read Tim Brown’s article in December 2015, and remembered thinking that they were a special family. Thank you for re-posting. RIP Waymon Roberts. Prayers and God’s Blessing to the Roberts family.
Rants:
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I think one of the reasons I haven’t got too excited about Toles is that Thompson got into my mind first. The corner outfield spots are usually where the bigger bats are located along with first and third. Thompson would have the bigger bat and he fills the need for more righty power.
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Toles however is the safer bet to be a plus major leager. No need to rush a decision.
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I like Thompson as a left fielder. I think Ethier is a much better RFer than he is a LFer.
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Verdugo and Toles can both play RF. I think Puig has to play really well to keep the RF job.
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I don’t know how April will sort itself out but by May, I think Thompson will be on the team and starting in LF, Ethier and Gutierez will be released, and SVS playing about a third of the games at first base. Toles could be in RF.
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I really like Forsythe but Taylor could make him a one year Dodger. I said a number of times that I would be fine with Taylor at second if the Dodgers couldn’t make a trade for a second baseman. Taylor is still a question mark though so getting Forsythe was an awesome trade.
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If the Dodgers trade Puig, I hope they get a young player back and not someone like Braun. Let’s keep moving forward.
Semper Fi, Waymon!
I have three sons that have always made me feel better about myself than I otherwise would.
A fitting tribute and deserved salute, nicely done Mr. Timmons.