Dave Roberts calls managing Dodgers 'the opportunity of a lifetime'

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers made official their hire of Dave Roberts as manager on Monday, the 28th manager in franchise history and 10th in Los Angeles.

The club plans to introduce Roberts in a news conference after Thanksgiving, on Tuesday, Dec. 1 at Dodger Stadium.

Roberts, whose father is African-American and whose mother is Japanese, is the first minority manager in Dodgers history. He is the second Japanese manager in major league history, along with former Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu, and the first one born in Japan.

Roberts was signed to reported a three-year contract, plus an option for 2019, per Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times.

"It’s hard for me to put into words what it means to be named manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers," Roberts said in a statement. "This is truly the opportunity of a lifetime. The Dodgers are the ground-breaking franchise of Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Sandy Koufax, Maury Wills, Fernando Valenzuela and Hideo Nomo.

"When I put on this uniform as a player, I understood the special responsibility to honor those that played before me as well as the amazing bond between the Dodgers and their fans. I feel that I have now come full circle in my career and there is plenty of unfinished business left in L.A."

Roberts, 43, played in the majors for 10 seasons (1999-2008) for five teams — Indians, Dodgers, Red Sox, Padres and Giants. He joined the Padres as a special assistant to the baseball operations department in 2010, then joined the major league coaching staff in 2011 as first base coach. Roberts was the bench coach in 2014-2015.

Dodgers senior vice president of baseball operations Josh Byrnes was in the Padres front office from 2011-2014, while Roberts was on the coaching staff.

"We’re extremely excited to bring Dave Roberts on board as the next manager of the Dodgers," president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. "We could not have been more impressed with him through this process. His energy is infectious and he has the rare ability to make a genuine connection with every person he comes across."