The Los Angeles Dodgers were no stranger to adversity throughout the 2024 season due to the plethora of injuries they had to overcome.
The team wound up finishing with the best record in baseball en route to another National League West title, but faced another challenge when they were on the brink of an early playoff exit against the San Diego Padres.
The Dodgers won two consecutive games to advance to the NL Championship Series, where they went on to defeat the New York Mets before eliminating the New York Yankees in the World Series.
One constant was manager Dave Roberts, who helped keep the Dodgers on message throughout the year. General manager Brandon Gomes praised Roberts for the job he did given the difficult circumstances, via Sonja Chen of MLB.com:
“I think that’s as impressive of a job as we’ve seen,” Gomes continued. “I know our expectations are high and we’re expected to win, but the challenges that this team went through with Dave leading the helm is really impressive, to come out the other side as champions.”
Roberts just completed his ninth season as Dodgers manager and has long been considered one of the best skippers in baseball. However, his efforts this year were especially notable considering the constant turnover of the roster.
Roberts was recognized as Baseball America’s 2024 MLB Manager of the Year and finished seventh in voting for the BBWAA award.
Roberts is entering the final year of his contract, but all indications are that he will sign a long-term extension with the Dodgers.
Max Muncy: Dodgers will retire Dave Roberts’ jersey number
Max Muncy was among the players who complimented Roberts and believes he will someday have his No. 30 jersey retired by the Dodgers.
Roberts is currently fourth in wins among all-time Dodgers managers with 851. He has led the team to the playoffs in all nine of his seasons as manager, including four NL pennants and two World Series championships.
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