Is Dave Roberts a Future Hall of Famer? A Look At His Career and Rookie Cards
Dave Roberts was a solid ballplayer in his day, and he was known for his speed on the base paths and good range in the outfield. His most memorable moment as a player came in the 2004 World Series when he stole second base in the bottom of the ninth inning for the Boston Red Sox, down 4-3 in the game, and down 3-0 in the American League Championship Series to the New York Yankees.
Roberts would be singled in by the next batter, Bill Mueller, and the Red Sox would win the game and the series with a historic comeback. The Red Sox later won their first World Series since 1916. Roberts would play four more uneventful seasons in the majors before starting his coaching career in 2011 with the San Diego Padres.
In 2016, Roberts moved from bench coach in San Diego to the Dodgers manager, where he has remained ever since. In 2020, Roberts led the Dodgers to their first World Series title since 1988 in a COVID-19-shortened season.
Now, Roberts is on the verge of a second title. While winning two World Series isn't a guarantee of induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, winning championships is part of the resume-building required to be enshrined in Cooperstown as a manager. A hall-of-fame manager's resume should also include a lot of wins and a high winning percentage.
"It's a credit to the coaching staff and the entire organization... there's still a lot of fight in us."@Dodgers manager Dave Roberts joins #MLBTonight to talk about rebounding from trailing in the NLDS to now, along with an update on Shohei Ohtani.#WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/4JUmGQTKYx
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 28, 2024
Roberts has 851 career regular season wins with an astounding .627 win percentage. He is also 6th all-time in career postseason wins with 55. As a manager, he's also only 52, which means he has an entire managing career still ahead of him - more time to win and get more titles.
Every eligible manager with at least three World Series titles has been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Roberts has also guided the Dodgers to four National League pennants.
One of the most wonderful parts of The Hobby is seeing seemingly irrelevant cards shoot up in value. This often happens when players with average to good careers become great managers. Just look at the rookie card values for Joe Torre, Bruce Bochy, and Dusty Baker. Now, it seems like Roberts is on that trajectory. Here are a few rookie cards to consider.
1. 1999 Topps Traded Certified Autograph
The only autographed rookie issue of Dave Roberts. The card has increased in value as the Dodgers have continued their postseason run. About a month ago, these cards were selling for less than $10 on eBay. Now they're going for about $40.
2. 1999 Bowman Chrome
Bowman also has a base issue, but Chrome gets higher values. People like shiny cards. These ungraded cards are selling for about $3. Only 24 cards have been graded, with 12 receiving a PSA 10.
3. 1999 Bowman Chrome International Edition Refractor /100
This is a beautiful card from the 1999 Bowman Chrome set. The International subset was an insert found in 1 out of every 50 packs. The cards honored a player's heritage, and Roberts is Japanese-American. The front and back of the card contain Japanese script. Unnumbered refractors and International base cards were featured in 1 out of every 12 packs. Gold refractors numbered out of 25, were found in every 200 packs.
