GLENDALE, Ariz. — Waymon Roberts, father of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, has died at age 68.
Dave Roberts left the Dodgers’ camp in Arizona Friday to be with his family. Dodgers bench coach Bob Geren and Triple-A Oklahoma City Bill Haselman will manage the teams in tonight’s split-squad games.
Waymon Roberts grew up in Texas and enlisted in the Marines as a teenager in 1968. He met and married a Japanese woman, Eiko, while stationed in Japan and four years later in 1972 Dave Roberts was born in Okinawa, Japan.
Waymon Roberts remained in the Marines until retiring as a Master Gunnery Sergeant in 1998, transferring to bases around the world during his service and raising his son and daughter, Melissa, along the way.