Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts continues to build his Hall of Fame case this season and recently reached the 1,000-career-win milestone.
Roberts’ detractors will point to the consistent strength of the Dodgers’ roster as a reason to be skeptical of his success. However, it becomes clear what makes the 54-year-old an exceptional manager when listening to accounts from his players.
Freddie Freeman believes Roberts is uniquely qualified to be the skipper in L.A., according to Maddie Lee of the L.A. Times.
“To be the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, so much pressure, so much expectations, to have Doc as our manager leading it, I don’t think there’s anybody that could do what he does,” veteran first baseman Freddie Freeman said.
The 11th-year manager puts in an extraordinary amount of effort into his duties beyond the scope of managing baseball.
“He cares about people,” Freeman said. “His door’s always open. Being a manager is obviously managing baseball, but it’s more about managing egos. You have 26 players, you have all the coaching staff, support staff — and our clubhouse runs smoothly, and that’s because of Dave Roberts.
“He’s a man that’s been through it all. He was a player. He knows how hard the game is. He’s been in the manager seat for a long time here. He knows the ups and downs of the season. We trust him. He trusts us. And I think that’s the key word in all this, is trust. When you have trust with your manager, and know he’s going to put you in the right spots to succeed, it’s very easy to run through walls for him.”
Roberts’ skillset has served him extremely well over his career. In addition to becoming the fastest manager in MLB history to reach 1,000 career wins, he owns one of the highest winning percentages in league history.
Roberts has also won three World Series championships and five National League pennants during his tenure as the Dodgers’ manager, while reaching the postseason each year.
Dodgers players congratulate Dave Roberts
On top of Freeman, plenty of other players have shared their thoughts on Roberts this season. Mookie Betts highlighted his skipper’s ability to manage people and forge meaningful relationships.
Teoscar Hernández said the experience of being coached by Roberts completely lived up to expectations.
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