The celebration on the field was subdued, no dog piles, no dancing, just veteran champions acting like champions.
The Dodgers won their 11th National League West title in 12 years Thursday night at Dodger Stadium the way they expect to be here, firm handshakes, light hugs, the Randy Newman soundtrack accompanying the usual relieved smiles.
Except wait a minute, who was this short, stocky man bouncing out of the pack and suddenly leading the cheers?
Of course. It was Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts. It’s his team. It’s his city. This has been his season.
“The best fans in the world! Here we go! Here we go!” Roberts shouted as he waved his division championship hat to the roaring fans after the game. Dodgers win 7-2 against the San Diego Padres.
Learn more: Dodgers take a different path in winning their 11th NL West crown in 12 seasons
Mookie Betts ran up to Roberts and hugged him.
“I love you, baby,” Roberts shouted and, believe it, Roberts managed this team with that love.
Later, in the clubhouse, Roberts addressed his players: “Nobody said this was going to be easy!” You’ve been through hell and I want to thank you for all staying together, believing in each other and I promise! No team we face will have more of a fight than us.
Moments later, they popped the champagne.
Drink, Doc.
It was your best season yet.
He gave this speech in front of his players, but he could have spoken about himself. He’s been through hell and back and no manager they face will have more of a fight than him.
Certainly, some readers will be furious at this statement, baffled that anyone would openly applaud the most embattled nine-year manager in Dodger history.
Deal with it. Struggling with monumental distractions, hampered by countless injuries, facing real job insecurity, Roberts dove headfirst into the challenges of 2024 and appeared as if he were standing at second base in Boston .
The weight of Shohei Ohtanithe Betts whiplash, the dismal starting pitching, all of it was skillfully handled by a manager who won eight division titles in his nine seasons.
“They all feel sweet, but I’ll tell you man, with what we’ve done this year, it’s a little sweeter,” Roberts said.
Think about it. Roberts has been the manager here for nearly a decade and only once has he failed to win a division title, and even that time the Dodgers finished second by a game.
Like it or not, tear it if you must, guess what you will, the 2024 regular season has proven beyond a doubt that Roberts is in the perfect place in the perfect city for the team perfect.
He wins here. It thrives here. His place is here.
“I’m so proud of these guys, the way they fought through adversity, stuck together, found a way to win this division again, it was hard fought, we deserved it,” Roberts said.
It becomes Tommy Lasorda without bluster, and this season he has never been better at creating a blue paradise on earth.
And understand that those words above were written less than 48 hours after his most pilloried move of the year.
It happened Tuesday evening against the San Diego Padreswhen Roberts controversially removed the bunt sign for Miguel Rojas after a strike and the shortstop promptly launched a game-ending triple play, leaving the big Ohtani to simmer on deck and the title hopes of the Dodgers briefly on the brink.
Come on people. Is Roberts now supposed to act like he’s trying to stay out of a triple play? It’s absurd. Bunting or not, even with his weakest swing, the assumed worst-case scenario would be Rojas launching into a double play, and Ohtani still would have had a chance to tie what became a 4-2 Padres victory.
Roberts was the victim of a perfect storm, which shouldn’t spoil how smartly he’s navigated this season.
Roberts’ strength has always been keeping his players calm and focused amid the constant distractions that plague the Hollywood team. He is the Dodgers’ smiling face to sponsors, their calming voice to the media and a protective cover for its constantly volatile clubhouse.
This season he had to be all of those things, and he did.
The madness began with the offseason acquisition of Ohtani for $700 million, a presence so large that it immediately overshadowed the entire organization and threatened to eclipse Roberts’ influence, as evidenced by his conference call. introductory press.
Learn more: Teen says Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run was stolen from him. He files a lawsuit to stop the auction
Sitting on stage with Ohtani were Dodgers officials Mark Walter and Andrew Friedman, Ohtani’s agent Nez Balelo and then-performer Ippei Mizuhara.
Where was Roberts? He had been exiled in front of the public along with several hundred members of the media, a perceived message about his importance to the future of this organization. Combined with Ohtani’s failure to include the manager in the contract language that guaranteed Friedman and Walter’s future, Roberts’ situation seemed particularly precarious.
To all that, add the enormous extra global attention and heavy presence that accompanies Ohtani on a daily basis, and Roberts could have melted before the season even started.
He didn’t do it. He only got stronger. He only became more charming, patiently answering each of Ohtani’s questions with confidence and direction, deferring to his star while making it clear that Roberts was still the boss.
Then when the scandal broke revealing that Mizuhara had stolen $16 million from Ohtani for gambling purposes? Roberts never changed, supporting the innocent Ohtani from every angle, creating an atmosphere in which his star felt comfortable shining through the cloudy mess.
The Ohtani case was just the beginning. A few days before the season started, Roberts received Mookie Madness.
You see, this was the manager who was responsible for overseeing Gold Glove right fielder Mookie Betts’ sudden move to shortstop, a position he had barely played in the major leagues. Roberts had to keep Betts’ spirits up as he struggled on the field, and he did, enough for Betts to get an All-Star start at the plate. Then, later in the season, when a frustrated Betts was suddenly moved back to right field, Roberts was there again with a strong shoulder and an understanding tone.
Some seasons Roberts had simply directed or supervised. This season he’s really come through, from Ohtani to Betts to every veteran in this clubhouse who has become annoyed by the attention that has suddenly been focused on their every move. He hid their frustration. He expressed their concern. He took care of it.
If it seems like Roberts is too Pollyanna, well, for some players it works. Take Gavin Lux, who struggled early in his return from knee surgery but ultimately rewarded Roberts’ continued public trust with huge contributions late in the season.
Even when things were truly awful, what about all those throwing injuries? — Roberts remained focused. He never showed panic in losing his two best pitchers for much of the summer, and patiently took stock of each injury as if everything was going to be okay.
Thursday it became official, everything was going well, the Dodgers are not only the champions of the National League West but also the team with the best record in baseball.
“Inside the clubhouse, we faced a lot of things…but yeah, we still had a pretty good season,” Roberts said.
Roberts has had a very good season and, barring a third straight postseason collapse, we believe Dodgers officials will recognize that and reward him with a proper contract extension this winter.
At least 100 wins in five of eight full seasons? An almost unrivaled winning percentage at the start of your career? And, oh, a World Series championship and two World Series appearances?
Learn more: What was (and wasn’t) discussed in the Dodgers pitch meeting with Shohei Ohtani
Yeah, fine, you fire him.
In a scene that epitomized Roberts’ season, he came to the mound in late May to ostensibly remove the visibly struggling relief journeyman Yohan Ramirez from the game after striking out four of his last eight batters dating back to a previous appearance.
But Roberts didn’t give Ramirez the hook. Instead, he gave him a hug, pulling him close and whispering in his ear in a scene that went viral.
“He’s emotional and caring, and he’s trying to impress with a new ball club,” Roberts later explained. “I just tried to reassure him and give him a little confidence and love him a little and try to take some of the pressure off.”
Roberts added: “You just see the player, and you kind of feel what’s going on in his brain, in his heart, all that. Sometimes, I’m sure – I’ve never pitched a major league inning – but it feels like you’re on an island. So I wanted to show that we were all behind him.
It worked. Ramirez managed to escape a bases-loaded jam and, in his next 14 appearances, recorded a 1.65 ERA with 15 strikeouts and four walks before being fired in late July.
It was just one win in a busy season for Doc, seeking eight division titles in nine-plus years.
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This story was originally published in Los Angeles Times.
