Dave Roberts has established himself as one of the most successful managers in MLB and Los Angeles Dodgers history since taking the position a decade ago.
He now has the enviable task of guiding one of the most talented rosters in recent memory, but with that comes the added responsibility of making sure players never lose sight of the common goal.
Roberts believes counseling and mentoring players are two of his most important duties when it comes to managing.
“I would say it’s the biggest part of the job,” Roberts said during an interview David Vassegh of AM 570 L.A. Sports. “If you have a pie chart, I would say the mental counseling, mentoring side of the job, I would say is probably 35, 40%.
“And I think the in-game, which gets a lot of the scrutiny and criticism, is probably 30%. There’s a lot of different slices to the pie of my job, but I will say it’s the biggest part and most satisfying part of my job.”
Roberts is widely regarded as one of the most-liked managers in baseball, and a lot of that has to do with how approachable he is. Freddie Freeman praised Roberts last year for truly caring about players and keeping them on top of their game.
Since his first season as Dodgers manager in 2016, Roberts has led the team to 10 consecutive playoff appearances, winning nine National League West titles, five pennants and three World Series championships.
The Dodgers are on track to reach the postseason again this year and have their sights on a three-peat, which would put them in rare company.
Dave Roberts discusses player expectations
Considering all of the stars on the current Dodgers roster, many would assume that Roberts doesn’t have to give a lot of positive reinforcement. However, that is far from being the case as the Dodgers skipper sometimes has to remind players of the expectations on them.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Roberts began. “I had a couple conversations this past homestand when we were playing the Angels, sat a couple players down and just wanted to see where they were at because they had been going through it. I think we got to a good place and tried to give them some perspective on expectations, and what they are doing well and try to free them up.
“It’s not talked about a lot, because obviously I have to mind the privacy and respect the privacy of the clubhouse and the players. But these conversations are happening all the time with guys in the bullpen, the pitchers, me and Miggy Ro last year had a lot of conversations when he was looking at being done with the game because he was so frustrated. Had to talk him off the ledge and keep him positive. Obviously we know he had his moment in the World Series.
“These are good things and more life-lesson conversations.”
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