Roberts hire by Dodgers doubles number of black managers in MLB

Before Dusty Baker was hired by the Washington Nationals, Major League Baseball was in danger of having no African-American managers something that hadn’t happened in almost 30 years.

Then last week, the Los Angeles Dodgers doubled the number of blacks managing teams by hiring Dave Roberts.

The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida tracks minority hires in major sports and found that baseball is well below its peaks of 2002 and 2009, when there were 10 minority managers among its 30 teams.

Lapchick said the Roberts hire was key from a franchise that is steeped in diversity, most notably with Jackie Robinson signing with the Dodgers and becoming Major League Baseball’s first black player.

“Not only is it important for the Dodgers to have hired somebody of color to manage the team, there is also the opposite thought,” Lapchick said.

Lapchick said professional baseball, football and basketball all have been suffering from low numbers of minorities managing or coaching.

With Roberts, Los Angeles has three African-Americans coaching professional teams: Doc Rivers with the Los Angeles Clippers and Byron Scott of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Since 1999, Major League Baseball has required teams only to consider minority candidates, but Lapchick said it needs to be strengthened when the sport gets so close to having no minorities in managerial roles.

Seeing minorities managing and playing has a direct effect on how kids view their chances of doing similar jobs, former Dodger Maury Wills said.