Mookie Betts Is The Latest Recipient Of Dave Roberts’s Distinct Management Style

LOS ANGELES — Sometimes, a Dodgers subordinate will cheque nan news and find his sanction successful it, alongside his manager’s. Dave Roberts has told nan media—and done them, nan fans—that he finds thing astir nan player’s capacity unacceptable. The subordinate is seldom surprised. 

This week, it has been prima shortstop Mookie Betts: “I deliberation he’s pressing,” was Roberts’s test aft Betts went 0-for-4 pinch 2 strikeouts successful Game 5 of nan World Series to bring his bid batting mean to .130. “You tin spot there’s a small anxiousness there.”

This is an different attack for a modern manager. This October, Padres skipper Mike Shildt praised correct fielder Fernando Tatís’s at-bat value each nan measurement done his 1-for-12 National League chaotic paper series. Cubs head Craig Counsell discounted nan thought that Pete Crow-Armstrong was trying to do excessively overmuch moreover arsenic nan halfway fielder swung astatine breaking balls successful nan dirt. Yankees skipper Aaron Boone spent overmuch of nan summertime insisting that shortstop Anthony Volpe, who complete a two-week agelong successful August had much errors (two) than hits (one), had conscionable been unlucky. Six days aft nan Blue Jays bounced nan Yankees from nan playoffs, Volpe underwent room to repair a torn labrum successful his near shoulder. 

Meanwhile, past week, Roberts told nan assembled media that nan Dodgers would not triumph nan World Series if two-way prima Shohei Ohtani’s at-bats did not improve. 

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You mightiness expect that benignant of nationalist disapproval to rankle his players. They opportunity it does nan opposite. 

“I’ve ever loved it,” says 3rd baseman Max Muncy. “When he comes retired and says things successful statements to nan media, it’s not thing he hasn’t told nan subordinate before. So nan subordinate is ne'er being caught off-guard. And sometimes arsenic players, you request to consciousness that pressure. If he’s conscionable talking to you and he says it, that’s 1 thing, but if he talks to you and says it, and past you spot it connected MLB Network, past it’s like, O.K., possibly I’m really messing up. I gotta alteration something.”

Roberts sees that level of candor arsenic portion of his job. 

“I deliberation it’s important for them, for nan fans and nan media to cognize that I person definite standards and expectations, and it’s not an embarrassment [thing], it's a transparency [thing],” he says. “And I deliberation that they cognize that I guidelines for them arsenic difficult arsenic anyone else, and truthful erstwhile I’m honorable pinch nan media, I deliberation that’s why it lands. I americium besides nan first to support them and backmost them erstwhile things aren’t going well, but I do consciousness that there’s times wherever I consciousness for illustration I gotta beryllium honorable pinch what everyone’s seeing, and I conscionable deliberation that I’ve built capable equity pinch our guys that they cognize that I’m not conscionable trying to embarrass them.”

Roberts is typically transparent pinch his opinions during property conferences. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

And everyone agrees that this only useful because he is arsenic consenting to situation his stars arsenic he is his scrubs. After nan Dodgers fell to nan Padres successful 4 games successful nan NLDS successful 2022, Roberts acknowledged, “You look astatine that dugout versus our dugout, location was much strength there.” (He later pointed retired that this was arsenic overmuch a disapproval of himself arsenic nan head arsenic it was of immoderate player.) This play unsocial he has identified a deficiency of “edge” successful some reliever Blake Treinen and correct fielder Teoscar Hernández. 

“When you travel in, you’re portion of a team,” Muncy says. “It’s not a one-man show. And if you’re doing thing antagonistic to that team, you’re gonna get called retired astir it. It doesn’t matter what your number is, doesn’t matter what your stats are, doesn’t matter what your bequest is. If you’re not doing thing to thief that squad win, you’re putting america successful a hole, [and he’ll show you]. And that really contributes to nan civilization we’ve created.” He adds, “Sometimes you gotta get guys retired of their comfortableness area if you want to get nan champion retired of somebody.”

Betts, a predominant recipient of nationalist interest from his head astir his intelligence approach—last twelvemonth Roberts wondered aloud if Betts’s postseason struggles had gotten to him—seems almost amazed that not everyone does it this way. 

“I deliberation he’s conscionable holding america accountable,” says Betts. “I deliberation that’s really important. I don’t attraction who you are. If you’re Shohei aliases nan past feline connected nan team, everyone needs to beryllium held accountable. Usually group for illustration Shohei, [most people] don’t really opportunity thing to him. If he messes up, you benignant of fto him do his thing. You cognize he’ll hole it. But it doesn’t activity for illustration that. You request personification to clasp you accountable. If you want to beryllium good, you should astir apt clasp your guys accountable.”

Indeed, Roberts says he goes retired of his measurement to make judge he’s focusing his astir aggravated disapproval connected his champion players. 

“I deliberation I’m astir apt much apt to do it pinch those guys, because a batch of times they get a batch much grace than nan 26th man,” he says.

And they look to understand his intent. Besides, if nan Dodgers are flustered erstwhile their head acknowledges publically that they are struggling, are they really mentally equipped to play astatine nan highest level? After Roberts lamented what Ohtani’s at-bat value was doing to nan team, nan two-way prima agreed pinch him. 

“The different measurement to opportunity it,” Ohtani pointed retired successful consequence successful Japanese, according to nan Los Angeles Times, “Is that if I hit, we will win.”

The different key, Roberts says, is that he expects his players to do nan aforesaid to him. From clip to time, he says, he’ll make a decision, past return to his agency to find Betts waiting to talk it pinch him. Enforcing a modular intends enforcing it for everyone, including himself. It besides intends that if nan Dodgers suffer nan World Series this weekend, they will perceive astir it from fans and from nan media—and from their manager. 

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