Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts can often be the recipient of some pretty heavy hate. Despite holding the highest winning percentage of any American or National League manager (.630) with at least 315 games to his credit, Roberts often draws the ire of fans due to the Dodgers not winning enough in the postseason.
While Roberts has led the Dodgers to one World Series title (in 2020), there are plenty who believe his teams have fallen short of winning several other titles they deserved — and that Roberts, not the players or the Dodgers’ front office, is the primary culprit.
Does he feel this heat is unfair? Roberts answered the question directly in an interview with Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times but acknowledged he doesn’t believe they are the majority.
“I think, a little bit. I still believe it’s not the majority, the majority of people look at what we’ve done and are very proud of this organization that we have put ourselves in a position to win every single year, but there’s always a group of people that are very cynical and angry for whatever reason, and sometimes they’re the loudest voice.”
— Dave Roberts, via Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times
Since Roberts took over in 2016, the Dodgers have advanced to the playoffs in every single season. They’ve also won the NL West in all but one of those years.
Though they have fallen short in the postseason except for the one World Series title, losing two other World Series and two NLCS, they have been incredibly successful and consistent. When the Dodgers were eliminated in their first playoff series each of the last two seasons, it only allowed the critics to grow louder.
With an absolutely stacked roster heading into 2024 after the Dodgers went all-out during free agency, the pressure will increase even more for Roberts to bring them another title. For now, Roberts is safe, but that could easily change if Los Angeles suffers another early exit with Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Tyler Glasnow leading a pricy roster.
Photo Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
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