After a long search and evaluation process, the Los Angeles Dodgers officially hired Dave Roberts to be the next manager of the franchise in November 2016.
Since then, L.A. has won 535 of their 863 games during the regular season, which is more than any other team during that span. Roberts also led the club to their first World Series championship since 1988, among other accomplishments.
This season the Dodgers have one of the best records in baseball, have clinched a postseason berth for the ninth consecutive year and remain in the hunt to keep their streak of National League West titles alive despite a seemingly never-ending amount of injuries.
“He’s been great,” Justin Turner said about how Roberts has done this season. “He’s been great for us since the first day he put on the Dodger uniform as our manager.
“He’s a positive guy, he loves the game, he loves his players. We love going out and competing for him. I can’t say enough about him and what he’s done. We’re going to do everything we can to go out and win him another championship.”
With a career .619 winning percentage, only five managers in MLB history have won more frequently and only one of those, Vic Harris, has more victories than Roberts.
Although he is often criticized for in-game decisions, Roberts has earned the respect of players throughout the league and has helped the Dodgers create a winning culture that players want to be a part of.
Roberts focused on team
When the Dodgers punched their ticket for October baseball earlier this month, Roberts was asked if he found any sort of personal vindication considering the challenging season and criticism faced.
“I don’t take much time to kind of reflect personally, but it’s great. I’ve been surrounded by so many great people that make me look good and make my job so much fun,” he answered.
“We have a lot of talent, not only on the field, but in the entire organization. Personally, I’m just very fortunate to be a part of the Dodgers. Like I said from Day 1 when I got hired, I’ve got the best job in the world.”
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