PHOENIX — Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, sitting in the visiting office with the door closed, leans back in his chair behind the desk, momentarily shuts his eyes, and listens to the quiet, before starting to talk.
It’s 3 ½ hours before game time and for the time being there is peace, before the turbulence sets in beginning Thursday with the Milwaukee Brewers and their league-best record coming into town – followed by the pennant race, the push for the top seed, the September clinching celebrations and then the sheer madness of October.
It’s become a rite of passage for Roberts, who has been in the postseason all 10 years of his managerial career, winning three World Series championships, five National League pennants and reaching 1,000 victories quicker than any manager in history.
There are times he still can’t believe it. A journeyman player who will be remembered for his stolen base with the Boston Red Sox in their historic comeback in the 2004 ALCS against the New York Yankees, Roberts is already acclaimed as one of the most successful managers in the history of the game.
“Never in my wildest dreams," Roberts says, “did I think this would happen. And now, to be talked about with some of the greats that led their organizations to championships, my goodness."
Roberts breaks into a slow smile and exhales, wondering himself how he’s been able to survive this grind for a decade, and still have the same energy and enthusiasm as if he’s a teenager who got a free pass to Disneyland.
The grueling seasons, the relentless demands, motivating a team all year, staying in constant contact with the front office, answering questions from the largest media throng in baseball and managing 162 regular-season games – all before going under the postseason microscope – could chew up and spit out the best in the business.
If the Dodgers win the World Series as they have the past two years, Roberts simply has done his job.
If the Dodgers aren’t the last team standing, the season is a failure.
It’s hardly fair, but it comes with the job as manager of the richest and most powerful team in the sport, where the pressure can be relentless.
“The best part of my day," Roberts quietly says, “is the national anthem. All of the prep, the conversations, and everything else is over. But once I hear the national anthem, then it's just about a one-game competition: us versus them.”
There will be precious free time for Roberts these next two months, but for 45 minutes, he carved out time to bare his feelings in a wide-ranging interview with USA TODAY Sports.
He talks about a book that he’s writing, how long he plans to keep managing, his exasperation from those underestimating his managerial and tactical skills, his gripes with the Manager of the Year award, potentially coaching in the Olympics, the debate on whether the Dodgers are ruining baseball and the legacy he wants to leave behind.
Locked in on three-peat
Roberts, who signed a four-year, $32.4 million contract extension through 2029, originally intended to manage just through the contract, and walk away as one of the few to go out on his own terms. Now, he has changed his mind. He wants to keep going. For how long, he doesn’t really know, but he wants to make an indelible impact, not only with the Dodgers, not only in baseball, but in life.
It’s this desire that has Roberts writing a book that will be released next spring, “Relentlessly Positive."
“It’s not a memoir, Roberts says. “There’s no top-secret stuff. It’s just an opportunity for me to kind of have my voice in something positive, and something that people in all walks of life could pull from. There’s so much negativity in the world, but I want this to be something that touches executives, regular people, leaders, people that want to be leaders. Things that are not always tangible or you can quantify, but matter. It’s just my overarching thoughts on cultured leadership."
Thhe son of a Black father, a career United States Marine Corps master gunnery sergeant, and Japanese mother, Roberts has been relentlessly positive his entire life.
He was a 28th-round draft pick from UCLA who had a 10-year career. He overcame Stage II Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2010. He spent six years in the San Diego Padres front office and coaching staff before anyone would even interview him for a managerial job. The Dodgers called – but their first choice was Gabe Kapler. Roberts won the job for 2016.
While the Padres have since gone through six managers, Roberts is already the Dodgers’ fourth-longest tenured manager in franchise history.
“This is a tough job managing us with all of the personalities in here," Dodgers World Series hero Miguel Rojas tells USA TODAY Sports. “He deals with so much stuff, but he keeps things under control. This is the only clubhouse I’ve been a part of that everybody is happy with their job. You know how hard that is to have 26 guys on the same page, and guys who want to play every day. But he does a really good job of making everybody understand where they are. He always has a good touch on when and how to send a message."
Roberts called out his team Monday during their 1-8 stretch, imploring them to wake up if they want that first-round bye. He had a private meeting a week ago with their position players reminding them that what they’ve done winning the past two World Series doesn’t mean a damn thing this year.
“He told us that he’s happy and proud and really fortunate that he had the opportunity to manage back-to-back championship teams," Rojas said, “but he also said that he could care less about the last two years. He wants to win so bad. That’s the motivator he is. He’s still hungry to win this year, and wants everybody else to be hungry.
“He told us that we have the opportunity to do something historic, so let’s take advantage of it."
The Dodgers could become the first National League team to win three consecutive World Series championships, a feat accomplished only by the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics in the American League.
Who knows, maybe a third consecutive title will get folks’ attention that perhaps Roberts will be mentioned in the same breath as Walter Alston and Tommy Lasorda before him. He has the greatest winning percentage (1,015-624, .619) of any manager in history, is the only National League manager to reach the postseason in each of his first 10 seasons, and has the third-most postseason victories (69), behind only Hall of Famers Joe Torre (84) and Tony La Russa (71).
“It’s interesting because when you’re a focus, when you’ve had success, there’s always going to be people that try to minimize things," Roberts says, “or downplay or hate on what you do. But I think for me, I think it’s more of just focusing internally on the things that are important."
No Manager of the Year love?
He tries not to let it bother him, but it’s frustrating knowing that unless the Dodgers suddenly go in the tank one year or dramatically slash their payroll, it’s virtually impossible for Roberts to win the NL Manager of the Year award ever again. He won it in 2016, and only once has finished higher than fourth place since 2017. He won the last two World Series, and finished seventh in the balloting in 2024 and didn’t receive a single vote last year.
“In all honesty, I felt Pat Murphy [of the Milwaukee Brewers] should have won the last two years," Roberts says. “He deserved to be the National League Manager of the Year. But the thing that drives me crazy is that I'm not even considered in the top five. I think that's absurd.
“It just speaks to what people feel that it's a turn-key operation."
It’s also infuriating that just because you’re considered a "players’ manager," you can’t also be a shrewd tactician or strategist.
The Dodgers were on the brink of elimination in 2024 in their NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres and had no available starters. They went with a bullpen game, used eight different relievers, won 8-0, and then won the World Series having only three healthy starters.
“He’s the best I’ve ever seen the way he runs a bullpen," Dodgers veteran reliever Evan Phillips said. “He knows when to deploy a guy, what role is suited for a guy that particular day, protecting guys, and challenging guys too. That’s why you see guys like Tanner Scott and Edwin Diaz who sign here wanting to be a part of this."
It was no different than with future Hall of Fame manager Dusty Baker, the only manager to lead five different teams to the postseason, while winning 2,183 games and a World Series championship.
“It was so frustrating," Roberts said, “to hear people always say, 'Dusty is a great players’ manager. He’s so fun. He’s so positive. He can relate so well to his players. What a great guy.'
“I don't know if it's the color of his skin or what, but no one ever talked about good of a tactician he was. That always bugged me."
'I'm a steward of this game'
Roberts, who along with Baker and Cito Gaston are the only Black managers to win a World Series, wants to be known not only as one the game’s finest managers – but also someone who left the game in a better place.
This is why he has changed his mind and wants to continue managing after his contract expires. He’s still young, and why leave when he can make a difference?
“From the studies I’ve seen, I think the male brain is continuing to excel and be sharp until you're in your early 60s," Roberts says. “So, for me, at 54, I still think I'm on an upward trajectory with my enthusiasm, my positivity, my brain, my sharpness. That’s why CEOs are in their 60s and they still have that ability.
“So I don’t want to close that door."
Besides, as long as Roberts enjoys the gig, and still has the passion, why leave?
“I love people and I love this game of baseball," Roberts says. “I love it more than my first day in Jamestown, N.Y., in 1994. I feel that I'm a steward of this game, and I want to see it grow. I want to move this game forward. When you hear me, I don't just speak specifically to the game, I try to speak beyond the game.
“That’s what I’m chasing."
And what better way to grow the game, Roberts believes, than having major-league players participate in the 2028 Olympics for the first time.
And he has the perfect guy for that Olympic managing job.
He sees him in his mirror every day.
The Olympic Games will be at Dodger Stadium where he has an office. He played in the Pan Am games in 1999 that qualified the USA Team for the 2000 Olympics with Tom Lasorda leading the minor-league players to the gold medal. And there’s not a more successful manager in the game.
“I know there are a lot of great candidates out there," Roberts said, “but that would mean so much to me. I would love to do that, wear U-S-A across my chest."
That Olympic dream, of course, is two years away.
In the meantime, he’s got another World Series or two to win.
“This is the golden era of Dodger baseball, and to win it again," Roberts said, “this core group of people will be talked about forever. You could put it up against the ‘27 Yankees, and that era, and debate it forever."
Is Dodgers hate good for baseball?
Just like now, fans all over the sports landscape can debate whether the Dodgers are good or bad for the game. Is it good to have a team that has a brilliant front office, a future Hall of Fame manager, and a payroll four times the size of some other teams?
Or is it good to have a villain, just like the Yankees during their dynasty, the New England Patriots in their Super Bowl run, or the Boston Celtics in their golden era?
“When I hear people debating that," Roberts said, “I think that’s a great thing for the game. It’s great for fans. At least they’re talking about baseball and not football. I’d rather them hate us than be talking about the Cowboys.
“I remember going in with a small winery (Red Stich Wine) in 2007, and we’re going over the blend, I asked my winemaker, 'Is there any competition. Is there another brand like ours that people may drink?’ He says, 'Dave, let me tell you something, in the wine business, if people are drinking wine, we all win.’
“So if you love baseball, you talk about baseball. You can philosophize on it. Theorize on it. Debate it. Sure, I would love for them to love the Dodgers, but man, even if you hate us, you're talking about baseball, and that’s a win for all of us."
Maybe one day, as the playoff berths and championships keep mounting, they’ll be talking about Roberts, too.
You don’t see him throwing temper tantrums on the bench, getting into the face of umpires, or putting on a show to make it about him.
He just quietly leads, and not only is beloved by everyone in the game, but respected by every player in his clubhouse. He doesn’t take the credit nor does he ever throw his players under the bus, he simply demands professionalism.
“I tell myself every day, 'Please, Lord, don’t make it about me,'" Roberts says. “Really, I fight that every single day because I don’t want my ego to bleed into decision-making. That was the great thing about Dusty, his humility. He just always made it about the players, but some people get some notoriety and success, and they want to make it about themselves.
“I’m very mindful of stuff like that. Be positive. Stay humble. Don’t change."
He never will.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dave Roberts sounds off on Dodgers hate, legacy and LA intensity | Exclusive
