Dave Roberts, manager of the 2024 World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, receives the Special Honor Award from Naha city, Dec. 5, 2024. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)

NAHA, Okinawa — Dave Roberts, the son of a U.S. Marine father and Japanese mother, was recognized at his birthplace Thursday for his part in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ World Series victory.

Roberts, the Dodgers’ manager, skippered the team to its eighth World Series title and his second as team manager in October. The Dodgers took the title in five games over the New York Yankees.

“Winning the World Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers … was incredible, an incredible challenge,” he said during a ceremony at Naha City Hall. “But the final piece for me was to come to Naha to be with my people and celebrate with you guys, together.”

Dave Roberts, manager of the 2024 World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, greets fans at the city hall in Naha, Okinawa, Dec. 5, 2024. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)

Roberts received Naha’s Special Honor Award in the city assembly room in a ceremony attended by the mayor, all 40 city assembly members, the media and observers in the upper gallery. Afterward, he greeted thousands of Okinawans on the lower level of city hall.

The award is given to people or organizations who contributed to Naha’s standing in Japan, according to the city’s website.

The Dodgers’ win was doubly sweet for Japanese baseball fans thanks to the contributions of Japanese players Shohei Ohtani, who became the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Roberts was born in Naha, Okinawa’s capital city, in 1972 to Waymon Roberts, a U.S. Marine, and his wife, the former Eiko Ikehara, a native of Okinawa. Roberts lived the life of a military child, moving to his father’s duty stations in California, North Carolina, Hawaii and a second stint on Okinawa, according to a 2015 interview with Yahoo News.

The elder Roberts retired as a gunnery sergeant in 1998, according to the interview. He died in March 2017, according to an obituary by the Associated Press.

Roberts’ mother tossed out the first pitch at Japan Night at Dodger Stadium on July 13, 2018, according to ESPN. Her son was the catcher.

Roberts focused on his Okinawan heritage during Thursday’s ceremony, which he attended with his son, Cole Roberts, sister Melissa Parker and niece Mia Parker.

“Okinawan people are different than any people in the world,” he said. “Family is everything. There is respect, there is love, and that’s something, for me — that’s part of who I am. And everything I do with my job — I take the Okinawan people with me.”

Naha Mayor Satoru Chinen presented Roberts with the award certificate, and assembly chairman Yoshitaka Nohara presented him with Okinawan pottery.

“This achievement helped to let the country know about our city,” Chinen said at the ceremony. Roberts’ “flexible strategies, his personality and overall, his smile, which is like the sun of Okinawa, make our citizens proud.”

Afterwards, Roberts met privately with Chinen and U.S. Consul General Andrew Ou.

Roberts played Major League baseball from 1999 to 2008 with a batting average of .266 before becoming the Dodgers’ manager in 2016. He played for the Cleveland Indians, the Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants.

“The award I receive today from the city of Naha, I will hold it right next to my World Series trophy,” he said. “This means just as much as winning the World Series to me. As a young boy growing up to a man, I never would have imagined standing here in front of you.”