Dodgers News: Dave Roberts Wins NL Manager of the Year Award

Los Angeles Dodgers manager, Dave Roberts has won the 2016 Major league Baseball Manager of the Year Award! Roberts was amongst two legendary managers, Dusty Baker and Joe Maddon who were also nominated. Both Maddon and Baker have a combined 34 years of MLB manager experience and a mind boggling 2,747 wins.

With that said, as a first time manager taking over a Dodgers ball club with aspirations of winning a World Series, what Roberts has been able to accomplished this season has been nothing short of a miracle going 91-71 and leading the Dodgers to a 4th consecutive NL West Division title. The ability to mesh analytical data from the front office and past baseball experience information is arguably Roberts best quality in order to position the team in the best situation to win on a consistent basis.

Roberts received 16 first-place votes, second second-place and seven third-place votes from the BBWAA. He was the only manager on all 30 ballots.

Injuries have plagued the Dodgers this season with a Major League record 28 players to the disabled list and none were bigger than Clayton Kershaw when he was lost to a back injury, yet Roberts was still able to take over first place in the NL West during that stretch. The 2016 Dodgers roster was a very versatile lineup which gave Roberts the ability to exercise creative lineups in order to find a favorable matchup.

Roberts on a consistent basis prepares his ball club for foreseeable matchup’s throughout the 2016 season and credits team success to strong preparation.

As a first time manager, Roberts has proven throughout this regular season and postseason that he has all of the tangible and intangible qualities of a great manager.

Genius managerial decisions throughout this season from pulling Rich Hill during his perfect game bid in order to keep him healthy, to inserting Kenley Jensen into the 7th inning in order to close out the Washington Nationals in game 5 of the NLDS, are only just some of the reasons why Dave Roberts is deserving of the MLB Manager of the Years award.

Roberts is an exceptional manager and is completely deserving of the MLB Manager of the Year Award; he has shown the Dodgers fanbase and the front office alike that he is more than capable to not only make the right decisions on the field, but also has the ability to lead in the clubhouse.