The Dodgers family received some tragic news on Friday morning when it was announced that Waymon Roberts, father of manager Dave Roberts, had died at the age of 68.
Roberts immediately left the teams spring training facility at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona, to be with his father and the team released a statement that bench coach Bob Geren and Triple-A Oklahoma City manager Bill Haselman will manage the Dodgers two split-squad games on Friday night.
The last we saw Roberts' father was during his introductory press conference in December 2015. At the time, Roberts' father was asked about how he felt that his son was the first minority manager in Los Angeles Dodgers franchise history.
"We didn't talk about race," Waymon told reporters that day. "And we didn't talk about racism either."
The elder Roberts was referring to his family and how they were raised. Waymon Roberts hailed from Texas and was a member of the United States Marines Corp. He met his wife Eiko, while he was stationed in Japan and they gave birth to their son, Dave, in Okinawa in 1972.
The family settled down in San Diego, California, where the Roberts family would reside for many years. No further details as to cause of death were given.
Dodgers are saddened to learn about the passing of Waymon Roberts, Dave Roberts’ father. Our thoughts & prayers are with the Roberts family. — Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 17, 2017
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