by Cary Osborne
Every year, same time — the morning of the first full-squad workout — manager Dave Roberts sets the tone with a speech.
The Dodgers are on top of the baseball world. They are the defending World Series champions. They had a prosperous offseason — one of their best ever.
Roberts’ message was about tunnel vision — being focused on today, preparing for tomorrow and not thinking about yesterday — even if yesterday was pretty special.
“There’s an understanding of what we’ve done, who we are, knowing that people are going to come after us with their best each and every night of baseball, and stressing more the mental part of it, the grind, how we do things, versus outside expectations and things like that,” Roberts said.
That means the World Series championship, which will be celebrated at various times this season, deserves its acknowledgment, but there’s a new mission.
The mission and message almost didn’t need to be said. The Dodgers arrived en masse at Spring Training far before mandatory reporting days for pitchers, catchers and all position players. Some have been here in Glendale, Arizona since January.
But it resonated — even with the guys who have worn the uniform through multiple championships.
“For the guys that have been here, they understand it probably more than the new guys. But the message is, ‘Yeah, we won, but we’re not done. We can’t just sit on our hands because we won,’” said Max Muncy, who has won two World Series and played in three with the Dodgers. “Teams are going to be out to get us, especially because of what our front office and ownership did in the offseason. There’s going to be a target on our back, and we have to show up day in, day out, improve every single day in any way that we can.”
Muncy was one of the veterans called on to speak by Roberts during the meeting. Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman also spoke.
There was also a World Series highlight video shown during the meeting to provide emphasis to the point.
“It was awesome. It was really cool. A lot of guys got goosebumps from it,” Muncy said. “But that’s last year. That doesn’t matter anymore. So it’s all about what we can do today to be better.”
Muncy also highlighted Roberts’ point about how different it is to play for the Dodgers and the responsibility and magnitude that comes with it. That message, he felt, was important for the new Dodgers to hear.
“You’re going to be out there against any random team in July, and Dodger Stadium can be sold out. Doesn’t matter who it is,” Muncy said. “Doesn’t matter if that team’s in first place or last place. Dodger Stadium’s going to be sold out. They’re going to be loud, they’re going to want you to win. They’re going to want to see Dodger baseball. And it’s not easy to deal with. And for the guys that have been here. We know that. We understand that.
“And I think it’s just the best way you can do that is you prepare for the game the best way. You can’t let things carry over from day to day. It’s what can you do that day. When you’re in the season, how do you prepare for that game in that moment? If you’re a guy on the bench, how are you preparing to make that pinch hit, whether it’s in the fourth inning, fifth inning, sixth inning? Are you going to come into play defense to replace somebody? Are you the guy in the pen that’s getting the call in the fifth or the ninth inning? How are you preparing yourself for that day? And then you move on, and then you have another day.”
Dodgers camp stories: Message sent, mission ahead was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.