Coming off another first-round postseason exit, the Los Angeles Dodgers took the first step toward further refining the organization by hiring Dave Roberts as manager.
Roberts, the first minority manager in franchise history, takes the reins amid expectations to win a World Series for the first time since 1988.
He’s also Dodgers president of baseball operation’s Andrew Friedman’s hand-picked manager. While team president and CEO Stan Kasten said the managerial search was a group effort, he acknowledged Friedman’s opinion carried the most weight.
Since being overhauled last offseason, the Dodgers front office is one that heavily uses advanced stats. Former manager Don Mattingly grew accustomed to implementing sabermetrics, but they certainly aren’t his forte.
While Roberts doesn’t necessarily have a strong background in that area, he has no qualms with using analytics. “I’m definitely open to it, I welcome it. I think it goes to always getting better,” Roberts said.
“You look back at me in the Minor Leagues, scouting, getting information from coaches. Being a Major League player, there’s always information. I was one of those guys always into video, trying to get an edge. So I think that now, the way the game has evolved, I think we’ve got the brightest people here in the organization; with research and development, scouting, baseball operations.”
When the Dodgers began their search for Mattingly’s replacement, Friedman and Zaidi downplayed the notion they’d look to hire a manager with strong ties to use of sabermetrics.
Instead, their focus was on finding a candidate capable of leading and one who is open to an array of ideas and philosophies, which Zaidi reiterated on Tuesday. “When we sat up here a few weeks ago and really launched our managerial search, what we said we were most looking for is someone open to new ideas and open to that exchange,” he said.
“And I think Dave personifies that.” Roberts, a rookie manager, said he isn’t sure how to define his philosophy or managerial style. He did however, stress the importance of teammates playing for each other and having a clubhouse driven by positive energy.
