The San Diego Padres rid themselves of Bruce Bochy in 2006, after the only consecutive postseason appearances in franchise history. The Padres have not returned to the playoffs since then, but Bochy has led the San Francisco Giants to three World Series championships.
The Padres replaced Bochy with Bud Black, who was astute enough to retain his job under four general managers and win one manager of the year award. In 2015, the new owners agreed that a fresh face would be best in the dugout; the Colorado Rockies just snapped up Black as their new manager.
Dave Roberts was Black’s bench coach. The Padres passed up Roberts twice — as the interim manager and, without so much as an interview, as the permanent replacement for Black. But Roberts dazzled the Dodgers in an interview and won the manager’s job in Los Angeles, then led the Padres’ fiercest rivals to the National League West championship.
On Tuesday, as the Padres continued to dig out from the wreckage of a last-place season in which their general manager was suspended and their team president was fired, Roberts was honored as National League manager of the year.
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