Dave Roberts’ thoughts on the 2024 postseason

Roberts appeared on the latest episode of Mookie Betts’ podcast “On Base with Mookie Betts.”

The Dodgers had quite the eventful end to their season last week, winning the 2024 World Series against the New York Yankees and finally having a championship parade in Los Angeles on Friday.

With a chance to reflect on how the postseason went for the team, Mookie Betts brought in manager Dave Roberts to be a guest on the former’s podcast “On Base with Mookie Betts”.

The NLDS was already a challenge for the Dodgers to begin the postseason, as the Padres had taken eight of 13 games against them in the regular season. Ahead of the first game of the NLDS, the Padres were already viewed as the favorite, as the ended the season with the best record of any team in the second half.

“I felt, from my perspective, that was the World Series,” said Roberts when asked about facing San Diego in the NLDS for the third time in five seasons. “I felt that in that moment in time, when we started the postseason, they were 1-26 the best team… They were hungry, they had never won a championship, so I felt that that was going to be our biggest challenge, especially in a short series.”

The series was certainly tense between the two teams, with a feud brewing between Dodgers fans and Jurickson Profar in Game 2, but the Dodgers’ pitching silenced San Diego’s lineup for 24 scoreless innings en route to a thrilling five-game series victory.

Betts had multiple talking points for Roberts regarding the World Series against the Yankees, with Game 2 highlighted by a pre-game performance from the SoCal native hip-hop artist Ice Cube. Betts asked Roberts if he could be a potential backup dancer for the former N.W.A. member, after Roberts was seen dancing with the artist during the Dodgers’ championship parade.

“Man, I would love to go on tour with Ice Cube! I’m telling you, Mookie, this took me back to 1988… I would listen to N.W.A. and Ice Cube all day long.”

With the Dodgers just six outs away from winning the World Series, they held a slim 7-6 lead as Blake Treinen marched onto the mound in the bottom of the eighth inning. After getting Juan Soto to ground out, Aaron Judge collected his second extra-base hit of the game followed by a walk to Jazz Chisholm to put the potential go-ahead run on base. Treinen was able to extinguish the flames by inducing a pop fly from Giancarlo Stanton before striking out Anthony Rizzo on an inside sweeper.

Roberts admitted to Betts that if the decision was made in years prior, he would’ve immediately pulled Treinen from the game after pitching nearly two innings and putting the tying and go-ahead runners on.

“In years prior, I would’ve got him no matter what… I just felt in that moment we were going to live or die with Blake Treinen on the mound, and I had to trust him.”

That decision more than paid off, as Walker Buehler came in for the save to give the Dodgers their eighth championship in franchise history, helping the Dodgers avoid a potential Game 6, which would’ve put Roberts in an uncomfortable situation.

“I was so afraid to come back to Los Angeles for Game 6… If we were to come back, the noise— the pressure— becomes real, because then you’re going to start potentially being a part of history in the wrong way.”

Roberts knows what it’s like to comeback from a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 series deficit, as he was a key member of a Boston Red Sox team came back against the Yankees in the ALCS 20 years ago, where they also went on to win the World Series.

Now that Roberts has won a World Series championship as a player and as a manager (twice), Betts asked his him on which role was the hardest to accomplish the feat.

“I think as a manger is harder… As a manager, there are just a lot more things under your watch. That’s why for me I think it’s harder, but a lot more gratifying to see you thrive, Freddie thrive, and see the coaches and front office… You’re just kind of a lot more in tune as a manager.”