The Los Angeles Sports Council named L.A. Dodgers All-Star Mookie Betts and L.A. Lakers forward LeBron James the 2020 Sportsmen of the Year. Additionally, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was named the 2020 Coach of the Year.
The trio, along with several other recipients, will be honored at the 16th annual L.A. Sports Awards in March. The star-studded event will be taped and air at a later date on Spectrum SportsNet.
The acclaimed L.A. Sports Awards were created by the Los Angeles Sports Council in 2005 to commemorate the greatest sports moments of the year in the Los Angeles/Orange County
area and to honor those individuals whose performances were exemplary.
Betts exceeded lofty expectations in his first season with the Dodgers, finishing second in National League MVP voting and helping the organization win its first World Series since 1988.
In 55 games, Betts hit .292/.366/.562 with nine doubles, 16 home runs and 39 RBI. The production earned him a fourth career Silver Slugger Award, and he additionally took home a fifth consecutive Gold Glove Award.
The postseason saw more of the same from Betts in all facets. He memorably made a trio of impressive catches during the National League Championship Series, wreaked havoc on the basepaths and delivered a knockout punch in the World Series with a home run in Game 6.
Roberts, in his fifth year as Dodgers manager, led the club to a Major League-best 43-17 record during the regular season. L.A. then swept the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres in the first two rounds of the playoffs, overcame a 3-1 series deficit against the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS and defeating the Tampa Bay Rays to end the franchise’s World Series drought.
Roberts third manager to lead Dodgers to World Series title
By leading the Dodgers to their first World Series title since 1988, Roberts joined a prestigious group that includes Tommy Lasorda and Walter Alston.
“I can’t speak for either of those two gentlemen, but it represents an entire organization,” Roberts said. “It takes a lot to accomplish that.
“But I think that anytime you can be in the conversation as two Hall of Fame managers, you’ve got to be doing something right. So for me, it’s quite the accomplishment. Now, going forward, I’m just really intent on keeping his (Lasorda’s) legacy alive with how he did things and what he meant to the Dodgers organization.”
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