by Megan Garcia
The Dodgers were battled, bruised and tested in 2024 — but that wasn’t going to deter Dave Roberts from keeping his team on a championship course.
Roberts maximized the roster’s depth and managed the intricacies of October baseball to lead the Dodgers to a World Series title.
Now he is Baseball America’s 2024 Major League Baseball Manager of the Year. He is the first Dodger manager to be crowned with the recognition from Baseball America.
“As we continued to get knocked down with injury after injury, and Dave being able to put the pieces together — whether it be lineup or pitching staff — along with (our coaching staff), and continue to just be, ‘No matter who we lose, we are good enough to win this thing,’” said Brandon Gomes, executive vice president and general manager. “Continuing to instill the confidence in our group and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each guy to piece it together, I think that’s as impressive of a job as we’ve seen.”
His ninth season as Dodger manager consisted of wisdom, growth and grit.
Injuries plagued the pitching staff and position player groups.
Starters Gavin Stone, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler and Bobby Miller all spent time on the injured list. As did key bullpen arms Evan Phillips, Blake Treinen, Brusdar Graterol and Ryan Brasier.
The Dodgers needed 40 pitchers to cross the regular season finish line. Only the Marlins used more in the Major Leagues with 45 arms in their fifth-place finish in the National League East.
Mookie Betts and Max Muncy missed considerable time due to injuries.
But even with many moving pieces, Roberts positioned the Dodgers to win. They pulled off 44 comeback wins between the regular season and postseason — the most memorable being Game 5 of the World Series against the Yankees that led to their championship title.
The journey through 162 regular season games and 11 wins in the October required Roberts to find the delicate balance of being reactive and proactive. He knew when to lift a pitcher from the game or let him face another batter and get winning results. He excelled at taking the long view and preserving players, even if it meant conceding defeat.
The Dodgers were expected to be a World Series champion favorite. They weren’t expected to deal with so much adversity. Roberts captained the team through it.
“I know our expectations are high, and we’re expected to win,” Gomes said. “But the challenges that this team went through, with Dave leading the helm is really impressive to come out the other side champions.”
Dave Roberts named Manager of the Year by Baseball America was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.