Immediately after the Los Angeles Dodgers hired Andrew Friedman as president of baseball operations in October 2014, speculation was rampant the new front-office head would replace then-manager Don Mattingly with a skipper of his choosing.
However, Friedman gave Mattingly a vote of support during his introductory press conference at Dodger Stadium. No matter, the opinion Mattingly would soon be out as manager remained a popular one, and the expectation intensified once Joe Maddon resigned as Tampa Bay Rays manager.
Maddon wound up with the Chicago Cubs and Mattingly remained the Dodgers through the 2015 season — his fifth at the helm in Los Angeles.
Despite hamstring injuries limiting Yasiel Puig to a career-low 79 games, and the Dodgers’ rotation losing Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-Jin Ryu for the year, the club was crowned National League West champions a third consecutive year.
Additionally, the Dodgers posted a third straight season with at least 90 wins for the first time in franchise history since 1976-78. However, they again were unable to advance beyond the National League Division Series, getting eliminated by the New York Mets in five games.
The Dodgers mutually parted ways with Mattingly one week after the club’s season came to an end. While the 54-year-old skipper was unable to get the Dodgers over the hump, Puig credited Mattingly for managing to the best of his abilities, according to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com:
“I had three seasons with the previous manager and [Don Mattingly] did the best he could,” Puig said in Spanish. “When we got to the playoffs we could not do anything for him and for ourselves, either. They gave him a lot of opportunities. They made the change and we will see what happens. Maybe it was the manager. Maybe it was us. Nobody knows. All I know is they changed the manager and we are hoping for good luck and God’s blessings to get back to playoffs for the fourth time in a row and win a World Series.”
Just as they did with Mattingly prior to the 2011 season, the Dodgers again hand the reins to a first-year manager. Dave Roberts arrived with plenty of promise and praise, but ultimately is an unproven commodity.
Roberts is aware of the high expectations that come with managing the Dodgers, and he welcomes them. He’s also placed an importance on forging a strong bond with his roster, with an emphasis on guiding Puig to a bounce-back season.
Roberts and Puig met for the first time during the Dodgers’ FanFest event last weekend. They both provided a positive recap of the encounter. They’ll spend considerable more time together once position players report for Spring Training on Feb. 24.
