Dave Roberts is in his 10th season as Dodgers manager, winning titles in 2020 and 2024.
This year’s Dodgers won the NL West again but had a rough road to the postseason.
Roberts signed a huge contract extension to stay in LA through 2029.
LOS ANGELES — Dave Roberts, in between bites of an eggs Benedict and a swig of coffee, leans back, momentarily closes his eyes and slowly breaks into a smile.
At last, he can exhale.
This Los Angeles Dodgers season was hardly easy on the soul. They were supposed to win 120 games – and won 93. They were supposed to clinch the National League West title in August – it didn’t happen until four days remained in the regular season. They were supposed to be a manager’s dream – there were plenty of nights it was a nightmare.
It’s of no concern now. The regular season is over. All that matters is the playoffs.
That’s all that Roberts has ever been judged by for 10 years, so why should anything change now?
If the Dodgers earn another World Series title, after winning in 2020 and 2024, the narrative will be that they were supposed to with their payroll and MVP-filled lineup. If the Dodgers come up short, then it’s all Roberts’ fault.
It’s life as manager of the Dodgers, the longtime face of the organization with a perpetual target on his back. He’ll be blamed and fans will scream for his head if things go wrong. If things go right, his reward is simply peace and quiet.
“I remember in 2020 when we won it,’ Roberts tells USA TODAY Sports, “it was 100% more of a relief. In 2024, it was 100% elation and joy.
“I think that I’ve learned to appreciate the wins more than ever, even the small ones. If I can’t enjoy these wins, there’s just too much negativity around the job.
“If you don’t enjoy the wins, you’re setting yourself up for failure.’
It’s different managing the Dodgers and the New York Yankees than anywhere else in baseball as Roberts and Yankees manager Aaron Boone will tell you.
In Los Angeles and New York, you don’t play a 162-game season.
You have 162 one-game seasons.
“I think Aaron Boone is the only person I feel like I can relate to,’ Roberts says, “with the market, the expectations. You know every night seems almost like a Game 7 with the results, the accountability, the micromanaging.
“If you don’t win the World Series, you failed. And that’s not like any other job or profession. But to be quite frank, that’s the path we’ve chosen. Pressure is a privilege. I think it’s a good thing.’
Roberts, whose .621 winning percentage (944-576) with the Dodgers is the greatest in MLB history outside the Negro Leagues, knows the real pressure starts Tuesday in the wild-card series against the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium.
‘You’re damn right I’m playing golf’
There was a time, well, as recently as last year, when Roberts feared his fate depended on the Dodgers’ postseason performance. If they had bowed out to the San Diego Padres in the NLDS, trailing 2 games to 1 in the best-of-five series, he thinks he could have been fired. No one told him his job was on the line, but then again, no one told him his job was safe, either.
The Dodgers, relying on a bullpen game in Game 4 at Petco Park, and without All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman, won that game. And the next. They never faced an elimination game the rest of October, cruising to the World Series title over the Yankees.
Roberts, who received a four-year, $32.4 million contract extension in spring training – the highest annual average salary among managers in history – finally feels validated. For the first time since he was hired, he has found complete peace.
“My quality of life on my job is considerably better now,’ Roberts says. “I can say that because after 10 years I’ve built the trust and the relationship with the players, the coaches, and the front office. I just feel the working relationships is as good as it’s ever been.’
For the first time in his career, he’s taking his golf clubs on the road, and playing once, maybe even twice a week. He’ll put away his cell phone and go to the driving range when he’s home. Co-owner of a winery, Roberts isn’t even drinking at all these days, trying to shed a few pounds
“Even some of our players have gone and played with me,’ Roberts says. “It’s just the balance in my life that I needed. I felt that for me to be able to give the most to the organization, I had to have something for myself. To show up at the ballpark at noon, and do this every day, I was going to burn out. And the players would feel it. To have something for myself, I’m more energized.’
Roberts, 53, feels perfectly healthy. Sure, he has stress. There’s plenty of aggravation.
Yet he’s able to embrace it without threatening his health.
“You see this happen to a lot of guys because there’s just no balance in their lives,’ Roberts says. “They pour themselves solely into work and the hours, and it’s a bad mental and physical health. I think I’m past the optics of it now where early on in managing, I had that old-school mentality where you can’t have balance. If you do, you’re not working hard enough. I’m past that because I know what I do, but also know what I need for my soul and my body.
“So, the optics of, ‘Oh, he’s playing golf today,’ you’re damn right I’m playing golf. I feel great about it. I’m not making any apologies for it. This is actually helping me.’
After Roberts walks off the golf course, he gets into his car, starts making calls and the stress begins on the way to the ballpark. It’s time to work. There are players and coaches to see, analytics to study, trainers to visit, front office executives stopping in, and of course, the media obligations.
He constantly deals with annoyances. Players may be upset they’re not in the lineup. And there can be irritating, even infuriating questions from the media.
It’s all part of the gig.
“You know what my wife tells me? ‘Put down the sword,” Roberts says of Tricia, his wife of 28 years who he first met in a high school Spanish class. “I think that’s something that’s really helped me that in this position, you have to put down the sword. You can’t always be trying to go at people or defend and fight back. It’s just a mindset of giving people the benefit of the doubt. It’s not always personal. If you come with that kind of mindset, it’s been framed for me.
“I think that even if players don’t respond, or there’s information or stuff you get that you don’t appreciate, or you see something in the media, or a [negative] response from the fans, putting down the sword just lightens my load.’
The Dodgers’ front office, with one of the largest analytic and scouting foundations in baseball, will always be heavily involved. They’ll make lineup recommendations, provide analytics for game moves, advise on bullpen usage, but there’s also a full trust in Roberts, knowing that he shares their vision. He delivers the proper message to the media representing the organization when he meets with them twice a day, and has the trust and respect of the players.
“He’s like a mentor of mine,’ Dodgers All-Star Mookie Betts says. “He’s like a dad sometimes. He’s like a coach sometimes. He puts on a lot of hats when it comes to me. I love him. He knows I love him. We’re in this thing together.
“You know, playing 162, especially with this group having so many talented guys, it’s hard. It’s hard to manage all of the personalities, especially when guys are underperforming.
“He definitely rides the highs with us, but he never gets low. He’s always telling us how he believes in us and he tells us he loves us. It’s hard to explain, but he just does it right. He’s arguably the best manager I’ve ever had.’
‘Amazing to play for him’
This regular-season ride has been turbulent for the Dodgers. They had 14 different pitchers on the injured list. Their bullpen blew 27 saves. Their primary acquisition at the trade deadline, reliever Brock Stewart, pitched 3 ⅔ innings before he was sidelined the rest of the season. Why, outside of MVP-to-be Shohei Ohtani, not a single position player produced a career season, with few players even having their normal years.
“It’s been a challenge, but you know, every season is different,’ Roberts says. “That’s the great thing about baseball. You just can’t script it. You can’t predict it. You can try, and that’s the fun part.
“I think I’ve learned to find a lot of positives in whatever circumstance. And I think that that’s the maturity part of it, where I didn’t always have that.’
Still, despite the Dodgers’ struggles at times, the Dodgers players will tell you they never saw Roberts’ temperature change. Not when they opened the season 8-0. He never lost his cool when they fell out of first place in August. He never blew up when his bullpen kept blowing up.
“The thing that I realized is that as managers, the organization feeds off your energy,’ Roberts says. “So, if I can’t come in with that type of attitude to enjoy the wins over the course of a season, then the players are going to feel that.’
When Roberts does become angry or when he’s upset with someone, the players appreciate that no one outside the team ever sees it. He won’t berate a player publicly. He rarely will even scold players in front of their teammates. If he has something serious to say, it’ll be behind closed doors, and stay behind closed doors.
“I don’t have enough good words to say about Doc,’ Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy says, “I really don’t. He’s been a mentor. He’s been a coach. He’s been tough on me. He’s also loved me. That’s something that I’ve never questioned. He’s always had my back.
“But, he’s always been really tough on me, too. He holds me to a high standard. But it’s one of those things where he understands where I come from. He understands that I can handle that. We’ve had 1,000 great conversations. Not all of them started off in the best of terms, but at the end of the day, we figure out the best plan of attack.’
He’ll talk to Muncy differently than Betts. He handles Betts differently than Miguel Rojas. His conversations are different with Clayton Kershaw than Blake Snell. He understands who can handle criticism, who needs a pat on the back, and what buttons to push with each personality.
“I feel like he protects players better than anybody,’ Muncy says. “He knows what’s going on behind the scenes, but he’s never going to put that out there. He has everyone’s back. And he’s never going to throw anyone under the bus.
“He’s just so good at reading the room. If something doesn’t go right, he’ll accept the blame for it even though that’s not fair to him. That’s just how he operates. It’s been truly amazing to be able to play for him.’
‘Iron sharpens iron’: Dodgers ready for playoffs
Come Tuesday, it doesn’t matter that the Dodgers won the NL West. It doesn’t matter their starters are on a heater with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Shohei Ohtani pitching the best they have all season. It doesn’t matter that they have won more postseason games than any team in baseball during their glorious 13-year stretch in which they’ve reached the postseason every year.
For the Dodgers, the regular season was a dress rehearsal.
Now, it’s showtime.
“This was as tough a path as we’ve been through,” Roberts says. “But the old adage: iron sharpens iron. I do think we’re better for the adversity.’
Roberts, the first NL manager to lead a team to the postseason in each of his first 10 years, never wavered in his belief they would win the division again. If anything, last year taught them that they can overcome any and all adversity thrown their way.
“Even when we were down before Game 4 in San Diego, no one panicked,’ Muncy says. “Dave was like, ‘We got our backs against the wall, but we’re going to win this game. We’re going to go back home. And we’re going to win Game 5.’ That’s just what we did.
“I don’t think anyone could have done what he did. There’s just no way anyone else could have done a better job. He absolutely nailed it.’
There will be a time when Roberts won’t have to worry about any of this. He’ll simply walk away. Once his contract expires after 2029, Roberts says he’s not sure he’ll want to continue. Managing 15 years in Los Angeles is like 45 years in dog years.
“I think at that point in time,’ Roberts says, “it’ll be more of a year-to-year type thing. It’s been a great 10 years here, but we’ll see where we’re at in four more years.
“The world is going to look a lot different, I’m sure.’
Maybe, just maybe, Roberts’ hands will look different too, with a few more World Series rings on his fingers.
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This post appeared first on USA TODAY
