Roseboro Sees Better Chances for Minorities

John Roseboro, hired by the Dodgers as a part-time minor-league hitting instructor five weeks after Al Campanis’ controversial remarks about blacks in baseball, said Sunday that he believes minorities have more opportunity to advance in baseball management in the aftermath of the incident.

Roseboro, a participant in Sunday’s old-timers’ game at Dodger Stadium, also said he would like to become a full-time Dodger employee with a chance for advancement.

“After all that crap that came down, that level of opportunity (for blacks in management positions) has been raised 100%,” Roseboro said. “The opportunities suddenly are there that weren’t before.”

Roseboro, a catcher for the Dodgers from 1957 to 1967, had been out of baseball for 10 years before being signed by the club to a 90-day contract as a minor league hitting instructor. The agreement runs out at the end of August, and Roseboro said he wants to stay in the organization, if there is a chance for advancement.

“I’ve just got to wait and see what kind of doors are open,” Roseboro said. “I think I’d (prefer) to be upstairs (in management) rather than (as a field manager).

“Not many of us get a chance to choose. We take what’s offered, or take whatever we can find. In my previous encounter with baseball, there were certain limitations for how far I could go. It seems those limits are off, but we’ll have to wait and see on that.”

Roseboro, who said that Dodger owner Peter O’Malley was concerned about his long absence from baseball before hiring him, has made trips to Dodger minor league teams in Albuquerque, N.M., Great Falls, Mont., and Vero Beach, Fla.

“I like (the job), but what I see in talent leaves a lot to be desired,” Roseboro said. “There’s just not enough talent as there used to be. But I guess that’s true with all organizations.”

Fred Claire, the Dodgers’ vice president, said he plans to meet with Roseboro before his contract expires. “We’ll sit down and talk with John, as we would with all people involved in our organization,” Claire said.