"I did it with only one arm." Ohtani saved Roberts, the 4th LAD coach in 10 years long run history

Nov 04, 2024

LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani is being introduced by manager Dave Roberts at the World Series championship event on the 2nd (Korea time). ImagesYonhap News

Otani answers to cheering fans at the World Series victory parade. AP Yonhap News

Manager Dave Roberts took the helm of the Los Angeles Dodgers in November 2015. It was shortly after former coach Don Mattingly was virtually dismissed with one year left in his contract, taking responsibility for kneeling down to the New York Mets in the Division Series, the first gateway to the postseason, even though he topped the NL West that year.

Roberts initially signed a three-year contract, extending the contract by three years through 2022 with the execution of club options in 2019. And in March 2022, a year before the end of the contract, he signed a three-year extension contract again and was guaranteed his status until 2025. Through the first contract and two extended contracts, he will take the helm of the Dodgers for at least 10 years from 2016 to next year.

Roberts is the fourth Dodgers head coach to have been in power for more than 10 years after Wilbert Robinson (1914-1931), Walter Alston (1954-1976), and Tommy Lasorda (1976-1996).

Roberts was able to run for a long time because he inherited most of his power as Mattingly and rarely missed the West Division championship with the full support of Guggenheim Baseball Management, the owner's group. Although he won 106 games in 2021 and ranked second in the district, it was not Roberts' fault in that the San Francisco Giants were the strongest with 107 wins.

L.A. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts holds the trophy. EPA Yonhap News

Nevertheless, Roberts has been given a 'harsh' evaluation because there have been more disappointing years in the postseason. Although the World Series victory in 2020, which was the shortened season, was brilliant, the Dodgers still considered 1988 as the last World Series victory year. During the COVID-19 pandemic season, professional baseball was not really about money.

In particular, Roberts reached the postseason as the No. 1 player in the district in 2022, lost to the San Diego Padres with 1-3 losses in the Division Series, and was eliminated against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the DS in 2023 due to poor performance. However, it was difficult for the Dodgers to fire the manager, who signed a three-year extension in March 2022, with two seasons remaining in the contract. The cause was weak.

In the end, manager Roberts' position would have been very precarious if he had lost his grip on autumn baseball again this year. The least achievement was to advance to the World Series, but since he won the championship, it is not an exaggeration to say that for at least three years, or five years, he will be 'Tangtan-daero'.

As a result, it was the players who saved Roberts. Despite the collapse of the starting rotation due to a series of injuries, the bullpen's contribution to supporting the mound was not small, and the performance of the fielders who supported the main lineup cannot be left out.

After all, the biggest public figure is Shohei Ohtani. There is no need to mention Ohtani's regular season performance. Ohtani, who marked a batting average of 0.310, 54 home runs, 130 RBIs, 134 runs, 59 steals, and 1.036 OPS, booked the NL regular season MVP in his first season of transfer. In DS and NLCS, he also led the lineup by marking three home runs, 10 RBIs, and 12 points. However, Ohtani was not the main actor or supporting actor in the World Series.

Ohtani, who hit a home run in the first inning and is circling the base in Game 4 of the NLCS against the New York Mets. AFP Yonhap News

In the second game of Dodger Stadium, he virtually lost his offense and defense ability when he injured his left shoulder while stealing second base in the bottom of the seventh inning. 'He should have just been benched because he was diagnosed with an incomplete subluxation, but he pushed ahead with his own half. There was no way that the performance would come out properly. It was not strange that Ohtani was silent with two hits in 19 at-bats in six World Series games and one hit in 11 at-bats from Game 3. There were no home runs and no RBIs.

After getting on base with a walk, he tried to minimize his shoulder movement by running while holding onto the collar of his jersey with his left hand. But why did he keep the lineup. It's the presence.

After winning the World Series, Roberts said, `It's hard to measure Otani's performance to our team and to our fans all over the world"He was playing with one arm in the postseason. An average player would have given up, but Ohtani tried to play and didn't refuse to go into the lineup. Thanks to this, he achieved his long-held dream by lifting the World Series trophy."

In particular, Roberts said, `Just having Otani in the lineup helped the team because he had a heavy presence.'"I think Freddie's strong performance helped Ohtani and provided a justification for Ohtani to join the lineup." Ohtani said, "I think I earned more respect from my teammates by playing with only one arm."

Being alone makes the opponent nervous and gives strength to the lineup, so you can't take it out just because you can't use one arm. It was Ohtani who saved Roberts, and it was Ohtani who also boosted his teammates.