Manager masterclass: Dave Roberts’ stamp is all over 2023 NL West championship team
by Cary Osborne
Miguel Rojas had become a franchise player for the Miami Marlins. Only Luis Castillo had played more seasons in Marlins history than Rojas’ eight. He was the team’s Heart & Hustle Award winner in 2019 and again in 2021.
And then he was traded to the Dodgers on Jan. 11, sending the veteran infielder back to where he broke into the Majors in 2014.
Shortly after the trade went through, Dodger manager Dave Roberts called Rojas. He was honest.
The Dodgers had a budding shortstop in Gavin Lux who the team was committing to in 2023.
“He explained to me my role, how my role was going to work, what they had in mind,” Rojas recalls. “One of the things I remember the most is the confidence that he gave me. (He told me), ‘You’re one of our veterans, and you’re going to be a big part of what we’re trying to do. So I want you to actually teach me and let me know the ways that you see the game as well, so that way I can learn from you as much as you can learn from me.’”
Rojas had been an everyday player for the Marlins for the last five seasons. He understood that might change with the Dodgers. But he appreciated the honesty and opportunity Roberts gave him.
When Rojas reported to Dodger Spring Training at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz., he had a gift for Roberts to show how much he appreciated the call — a bottle of Venezuelan rum.
Roberts then gave him a bottle of wine from his Red Stitch winery. And a bond grew.
It’s not just with Rojas. It’s with a team — players, coaches, staff.
During the challenging times — and there were arguably more this year than any in Roberts’ eight-year tenure — the bonds built, the communication lines opened and the confidence Roberts gave others to do their jobs were glue that helped a team win the National League West title and surge toward a 100-win season.
Roberts was asked during the last Dodger home game of the regular season if 100 wins seemed likely this season, considering the injuries, the rookies finding their way, the departures in the offseason and new arrivals.
“Probably not,” he said. “Our expectation was to win the division, but given the division and the talent and the parity as far as the balanced schedule, it was hard to foresee this. Especially given all the stuff that we had to go through. But I’m proud of our guys. Man, they just never wavered.”
That, apparently, comes from the top.
The Confidence Builder
There are times, Dodger first base coach Clayton McCullough admits, where internal panic is tempting — when things go awry, when a baserunner gets thrown out, when the team loses a one-run game.
“The moments for me were in May when collectively we were struggling. … Things just weren’t in sync,” McCullough says. “The expectation here is to win. Losing series to certain teams, it just didn’t feel good. We know we’re better, and we have to tighten things up. But Doc never wavered.”
This is McCullough’s third year on the Major League staff. He recalls July 2021 where the Dodgers hit a bump and lost nine of 15 games.
That’s what the early part of 2023 felt like.
“This year, we were just kind of OK and treading water a little bit. I think back to how Doc just stayed steady and trusted the group we have, that we were going to come out of it — now you look back and go, ‘Yep, here we are again. Closing in on 100 wins and winning a division title.’ It looked dark and bleak in May when we were giving up games. Now you realize the steadfastness of his approach with everyone — the consistency is what makes him great.”
That trust allows individuals to optimize work, says third base coach Dino Ebel.
Ebel has a process for baserunners that begins long before the moment. He studies video, watches outfielder arms, anticipates situations and the impact of a decision. For example, is the risk greater than the reward of sending a baserunner home with no outs, especially when there are reliable run producers coming up. Ebel has long had the reputation of being one of the best-prepared decision makers in the third-base coach’s box.
“(Roberts) knows that’s part of the game — guys are going to get thrown out,” Ebel says. “But every time in the five years I’ve been here that I got a guy thrown out, he’s the first one who taps me on the back and says, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing.’ That makes me feel good.”
Roberts has long been known for his positivity. But he’s a straight shooter as well. That, first-year Dodger Jason Heyward says, is a separator.
Heyward, like Rojas, was used to an everyday role in the past. And like Rojas, Roberts explained to Heyward early how he’d utilize the veteran outfielder differently. The way the season has played out, that has meant starts against right-handed pitchers, pinch-hitting and as a late-game defensive replacement. Heyward says where Roberts has succeeded with him is keeping him prepared for any situation.
“I know what my role is every day, and I know how to prepare the best way I can,” Heyward says. “It really does help to know what you’re doing, otherwise you start playing pin the tail on the donkey and chasing things around, and you’re not doing things with conviction. So him allowing me to have the freedom of doing things with conviction and to the best of my ability has helped me become a better baseball player.”
Roberts also knows the right moment to build a player up, McCullough says. The first base coach recalls a point midseason when rookie James Outman was not getting good reads off the bat in center field. Roberts walked out to center field with Outman before a game at Dodger Stadium then found a spot in center field. The pair looked in toward home plate and talked about being aware of the pitcher and pitch location, reading swings, anticipating where the contact might be — all to create better reads and better jumps.
Outman today leads the Dodgers in Statcast’s fielding run value statistic at +8 runs and directional outs above average (which measures a fielder’s performance directionally) at +9 outs above average.
Max Muncy is another case. Today, he has a career-high 36 home runs and has his first-career 100-RBI season.
In July, he was open about his struggles at the plate and trying to find the hitter he was in the past. On July 18, he was batting .187 with a .766 OPS.
Since, he is batting .251 with an .886 OPS.
“I’ve gone through stretches where plenty of other managers would have sat me, but he doesn’t because he played this game a long time. He understands that you can’t sit your way out of a slump,” Muncy says. “With the talent we have in this clubhouse, you have to trust that guys are going to break out of whatever they’re going through. But the only way to do that is to play them. You can’t break out when you’re just hitting in the cage. You have to face live pitching and game situations. I know that he’s done that with me this year, last year, even in the past. It’s something that I feel pays off a lot of times.”
Muncy adds this about Roberts: “I think Doc has done an unbelievable job this year.”
He, like the others, point to pitching to drive home the point.
The Dodger opening starting rotation is down to Clayton Kershaw, who hasn’t pitched past five innings pitched in a game since June 27.
According to Spotrac, the Dodgers have lost starting pitchers to 741 days on the injured list — third-most in the Majors.
The Dodgers have lost relievers to a Major League-high 1,063 days, thus leading the Majors in total days lost for a pitching staff.
The Dodgers have had 12 pitchers with rookie status pitch for them this season.
They also went from having the eighth-worst ERA in the first half (4.50) to the second-best in the second half (3.43).
“I think it’s probably the thing he doesn’t get enough credit for,” McCullough says. “One the hardest things to do is to manage your pitching staff. And you look at this year, probably more than maybe any others in recent memory — just how there’s been a little bit more uncertainty, we’ve introduced a whole lot more youth and the injuries and whatnot. I think about how he’s been able to manage the (pitching staff) and not only give us chances to win on a given day, but also he’s certainly super cognizant of the end game and realizing the importance that these guys are going to play in October.”
Eight years, eight Octobers for Roberts.
He is the only manager in Major League history to begin his managerial career with eight consecutive postseason appearances.
He’ll be the first to say the reasons are the players, the front office, player development, scouting and the training staff.
“He’s happy with the way we fight every day,” Heyward says. “He doesn’t care about the (personal) accolades. He just wants what’s best for everyone.”
