Obviously, you heard that St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Shildt won National League Manager of the Year for 2019 on Tuesday. However, the Los Angeles Dodgers newsworthy item comes to us from Bill Plunkett of the OC Register.
Indeed, the Dodgers’ very own Dave Roberts placed fourth in the vote. This is according to a tweet from Plunkett.
#Dodgers Dave Roberts finished fourth with 4 first-place votes, 1 second-place vote, 2 third-place votes. https://t.co/lcRrQHYGA1
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) November 12, 2019
Equally important, Roberts tallied four first-place votes, one second-place vote, and two third-place votes. Therefore, some people whose voice matters on the subject felt like Roberts did a decent job in 2019.
Of course this is relevant and newsworthy, especially given some current dialogue ongoing this off-season regarding the Dodgers’ skipper. For instance, Jerry Hairston Jr. recently spoke about how he goes about evaluating Roberts as the manager; while including his usage of analytic data.
Certainly, it’s a tough job being a manager in the big leagues. Undeniably, some people will read this headline and laugh to themselves. Meanwhile, there will be others who feel that Roberts’ placing in this vote was fair and just. All the while, neither are wrong.
On one hand, Roberts and the Dodgers won more games than any team in the history of the franchise in 2019. No one can ever take that away from them. Still, it’s hard to wash out the taste of that NLDS defeat at home to the Washington Nationals.
Notably, the conclusion of that series had Roberts drawing the attention of national media pundits who took him to task for his in-game decisions. Then, Ken Rosenthal openly speculated that Roberts could have lost the respect of the players in his own clubhouse. Finally, the way the season ended had Roberts standing at the podium explaining where it all went wrong.
While thinking of a manager who wins this award or comes close as Roberts did, these are not the things that typically come to mind. With that being said, it comes with the territory of managing one of the best teams in baseball perenially. Obviously, the bar has been raised in Los Angeles.
Indeed, what is considered a great year for a Mike Shildt is not necessarily one for one Dave Roberts.
