In the week since he guided the Los Angeles Dodgers to a World Series title, after a bizarre, pandemic-shortened, partially-bubbled season, Dave Roberts received more than 800 congratulatory phone calls and texts from friends and distant admirers.
The messages were reminders that the win extended far beyond his personal relief of finally breaking through, or even the gratification of Dodger fans experiencing glory for the first time in 32 years. And one voice mail especially – from Cito Gaston, a man he’s never met but always respected – reminded Roberts that he had also extended a legacy for Black managers that had been stranded in the 20th century.