The Los Angeles Dodgers had their backs against the wall entering Game 6 of the World Series, but manager Dave Roberts used the off day as an opportunity to keep his team loose despite the uphill battle ahead of them.
The tightly contested World Series matchup between the Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays was put on hold for travel, with the series headed back to Rogers Centre.
During Thursday’s workout, Roberts took the opportunity to keep things light by challenging Hyeseong Kim to a race. It didn’t end well for Roberts, who had a head start but still tripped and fell face-first as he rounded second base.
“I clearly wasn’t thinking,” Roberts said of the race. “I was trying to add a little levity, that’s for sure. I wasn’t trying to do a face plant at shortstop, and yeah, the legs just gave way. That will be the last full sprint I ever do in my life. And I paid my debt, because there was a little wager, so I did owe up.”
While Roberts is a little worse for wear, he was still fresh enough to guide the Dodgers to a Game 6 win.
“Yeah, I got some meds in me. I’m still going to post. I’m probable. So it’s good. Recovered. Not my best decision, but it worked out,” he said prior to the team’s thrilling win.
The race against Kim is a snapshot of Roberts’ managing style. A simple action like this might seem insignificant, but it doesn’t go unnoticed and his players appreciate it.
“Of course it makes you smile and it makes you have a good time,” Miguel Rojas said. “When the head of the group is loose like that, and he’s willing to do anything, that’s what it tells everybody. That he will do anything for the team.
“Even though he got no chance to beat Kim to third base, he tried to do the shortcut. He didn’t know that the camera was there. He tripped on camera and we saw the rest, right? So it’s all over social media on the biggest stage of the year, and right before a Game 6 facing elimination.
“This guy is on the ground, with his uniform full of dirt, and he’s not backing away from it. So that’s what it tells you about Doc. He’ll do anything for this group to spark the team.”
Rojas suggested that his manager gives himself some more favorable terms the next time he challenges Kim.
“Oh, I just think he had a better chance going straight from first to third on a straight line, and then make Kim go around,” Rojas said.
“I think that was the initial thought of the race, but then he wanted to prove a point that he can beat him from that start, and it wasn’t enough. We all saw the results.”
Dave Roberts makes history with Dodgers’ pennant
With this most recent trip to the Fall Classic, Roberts became the first manager in the modern era (since 1901) to win five pennants in his first 10 seasons as manager.
Roberts surpassed Cincinnati Reds skipper Sparky Anderson and legendary Dodgers manager Walter Alston, who each had four pennants in their first 10 seasons.
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