{"id":8354,"date":"2024-12-07T03:29:30","date_gmt":"2024-12-07T03:29:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=8354"},"modified":"2024-12-07T03:29:30","modified_gmt":"2024-12-07T03:29:30","slug":"after-world-series-win-dodgers-dave-roberts-makes-emotional-return-to-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=8354","title":{"rendered":"After World Series win, Dodgers\u2019 Dave Roberts makes emotional return to Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"caas-body-section\">\n<div class=\"caas-content\" data-wf-sticky-boundary=\"caas-body-section\" data-wf-sticky-offset=\"165px   10px\" data-wf-sticky-target=\".caas-share-buttons\">\n<div class=\"caas-content-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"caas-body\">\n<figure class=\"caas-figure\">\n<div class=\"caas-figure-with-pb\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"caas-img-container caas-img-lightbox\" data-lightbox-src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/Wx455g.8qVuzMFTfU1.O7A--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTI0MDA7aD0xNjAwO2NmPXdlYnA-\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/nbc_news_122\/8d47f11e5af2587c8e20bb2591b0443e\"><span class=\"caas-img-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"caas-img has-preview\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/5xzgB6LyGordxWvXB.ORnA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/nbc_news_122\/8d47f11e5af2587c8e20bb2591b0443e\" alt=\"Dave Roberts. (Kyodo via AP)\" data-src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/5xzgB6LyGordxWvXB.ORnA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/nbc_news_122\/8d47f11e5af2587c8e20bb2591b0443e\" \/><button class=\"link caas-lightbox\" aria-label=\"View larger image\" data-ylk=\"sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;elm:expand;itc:1\" data-rapid_p=\"12\" data-v9y=\"1\"><\/button><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"caption-wrapper caption-aligned-with-image\">\n<div class=\"caption-wrapper caption-aligned-with-image\"><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"caption-collapse\" data-id=\"m-0\">Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts in Naha on Thursday upon receiving a special honorary award from the city in the southern Japan island prefecture of Okinawa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts finished off an epic year with a proverbial grand slam.<\/p>\n<p>Roberts, who was born in Naha on Japan\u2019s island of Okinawa, returned to his hometown to accept an honorary award from the city last week after his team won the World Series against the New York Yankees in October. The emotional visit, Roberts\u2019 first in more than two decades, was the ultimate capstone to his championship season, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWinning the World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, for the city of Los Angeles, was incredible, an incredible challenge. But the final piece for me was to come to Naha, to be with my people and celebrate with you guys together,\u201d Roberts said during the ceremony. \u201cSo now, my journey for 2024 is finally complete.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roberts, whose mother is Japanese and father was a U.S. Marine stationed in Okinawa, accepted the award in front of hundreds of locals, officials and fans. Naha\u2019s mayor, Satoru Chinen, said during the ceremony that the skipper inspired Okinawans to be proud of who they are. Roberts also reiterated his pride for his hometown.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was born in Naha,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cI have Okinawan blood and Okinawa will always be home for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While Roberts spent little time in Naha, moving to the U.S. when he was a child, he has long been open about his love for his heritage. Far before his coaching career, Roberts made the trek out to Japan while he was a center fielder for the Dodgers 20 years ago and held a baseball practice for Okinawan children.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI also play for the people in Okinawa who support me and watch me on TV,\u201d he told the\u00a0<a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/okinawa_nhk\/status\/1735438269536481281\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-ylk=\"slk:NHK Okinawa Broadcasting Station;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"13\" data-v9y=\"1\">NHK Okinawa Broadcasting Station<\/a>\u00a0at the time. \u201cI\u2019ve gotten letters, and just hearing the people watch me late at night, watching the Dodgers play. I\u2019m just proud to be from Okinawa.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While Roberts has a significant fan base in Japan, his team is also home to Japanese baseball icons including two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who have drawn in a burgeoning audience from the country. Adam Burke, the president and CEO of Los Angeles\u2019 tourism board,\u00a0<a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2024\/oct\/26\/dodgers-ohtani-little-tokyo-fans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-ylk=\"slk:told The Guardian;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"14\" data-v9y=\"1\">told The Guardian<\/a>\u00a0that the number of Japanese tourists to the city could exceed 400,000 in 2024, Ohtani\u2019s first year with the team, almost doubling the number of visitors last year.<\/p>\n<p>Roberts\u2019 visit to Japan comes after his second World Series win as Dodgers manager. He took home a ring in 2020 against the Tampa Bay Rays during a pandemic-shortened season. He also won a championship with the Boston Red Sox in 2004, playing a pivotal role as a pinch runner, helping the team take home its first World Series title since 1918.<\/p>\n<p>This article was originally published on\u00a0<a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/asian-america\/dodgers-dave-roberts-world-series-returns-japan-rcna183249\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-ylk=\"slk:NBCNews.com;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"15\" data-v9y=\"1\">NBCNews.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"caas-aside-section caas-slotted-aside\">\n<div class=\"caas-non-sticky-sda\">\n<div class=\"caas-slotted-rr-sda wafer-managed\">\n<div class=\"caas-da wafer-caas-ad-visited wafer-benji-boundary-success\">\n<div id=\"sda-LREC-195f718e-3549-37d1-9dbe-ea8460aae11a\" class=\"caas-sda-benji-ad uba-container wafer-destroyed\" data-wf-benji-page-context=\"{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/world-series-win-dodgers-dave-013145511.html&quot;,&quot;spaceid&quot;:&quot;2146352327&quot;,&quot;site&quot;:&quot;sports&quot;,&quot;hashtag&quot;:&quot;baseball;mlb;sports&quot;,&quot;lmsid&quot;:&quot;a0a0W00000LRNm8QAH&quot;,&quot;lpstaid&quot;:&quot;195f718e-3549-37d1-9dbe-ea8460aae11a&quot;,&quot;pt&quot;:&quot;content&quot;,&quot;pd&quot;:&quot;non_modal&quot;,&quot;pct&quot;:&quot;story&quot;}\" data-wf-benji-wafer-config=\"{&quot;updateI13n&quot;:true}\" data-wf-benji-config=\"{&quot;positions&quot;:{&quot;LREC-195f718e-3549-37d1-9dbe-ea8460aae11a&quot;:{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;LREC-195f718e-3549-37d1-9dbe-ea8460aae11a&quot;,&quot;inView&quot;:&quot;onLoad&quot;,&quot;path&quot;:&quot;\/22888152279\/us\/ysports\/ros\/dt\/us_ysports_ros_dt_top_right&quot;,&quot;region&quot;:&quot;index&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:[[300,250],[300,600]],&quot;kvs&quot;:{&quot;loc&quot;:&quot;top_right&quot;}}}}\" data-wf-boundary=\"caas-da\" data-wf-trigger=\"onLoad\" data-wf-margin=\"400 0\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts in Naha on Thursday upon receiving a special honorary award from the city in the southern Japan island prefecture of Okinawa&#8230;. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - 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