This October, the Los Angeles Dodgers had yet another unexpected postseason exit, but manager Dave Roberts is not being held accountable by the team. In fact, Roberts and his whole coaching staff will return to the Dodgers for the 2024 MLB season.
The season ended earlier than many anticipated for the Dodgers, thanks to their surprise NL Division Series sweep at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Despite the Dodgers’ inability to make it back to the World Series since winning it in 2020, Los Angeles continues to believe Roberts, who has guided the team to the postseason in each of the previous eight seasons, is the best candidate for the position.
Roberts has credibility
This season, Roberts had to deal with a number of unanticipated injuries to his pitching staff, and Opening Day starter Julio Urias missed the last month of play due to charges of domestic abuse.
The Dodgers’ offense carried them to 100 victories after the All-Star break, despite a rotation of pitchers that fell short of their normal caliber of dominance.
Star hitters Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts had MVP-caliber seasons under Roberts’ leadership before having difficult postseason seasons.
In their 21 at-bats against the Diamondbacks, the two managed just one hit combined, and at the worst possible moment, a lineup that scored 906 runs during the regular season was rendered powerless.
Nevertheless, Dodgers management is not holding manager Dave Roberts responsible for the untimely cold spell, as the team managed to survive Games 2 and 3 of the NLDS thanks to Roberts’ aggressive use of the bullpen.
Since 2019, the Dodgers have won 100 games during the regular season in every season that has been completed. They anticipate finishing in the top few spots in the rankings in 2024, but they will closely monitor their preparation for the October game.
During the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, which featured postseason games at a neutral site (Arlington, TX) following a 60-game regular season, LA won its only World Series championship since 1988.
Although Roberts led the team to that victory, it is still very much on the minds of the Dodgers administration. The 51-year-old, a former big leaguer, has won a great deal of respect for managing a clubhouse full of elite players.
President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told reporters on Tuesday, “The one thing I can say with full clarity—and there aren’t many things I can do that about—as we postmortem, it was clearly not from a lack of effort.”
“Observing how these people trained, took care of themselves, and made every effort to position themselves for success”
