I can really speak to this. We were close to hiring Gabe Kapler. Friedman knew Kapler and everybody liked him. He was the saber metrics analytics manager. Younger guy. But Dave Roberts came in and blew the Dodgers away in the interview. Former Dodger. I remember Saying hire him. Don’t let anyone hire him. See that’s the key the Dodgers know greatness. They hired him right away. The Padres wouldn’t even give him a shot.
Gabe Kapler would have been central casting for LA. However, he would not have connected as well with his players. Dave Roberts is loved by his players in a very personal way.
He wasn’t loved by you for a number of years I remember, but he got better. Some absolutely genius moves with substitutions that paid off immediately in this World Series.
Dave outdid himself the last two seasons in the playoffs. That Game 7 was his masterpiece. I don’t think he will ever have a moment that good again. The Dodgers likely won’t need that again but he earned it.
Look at Dave Roberts getting a heroes welcome in his brief hometown of Okinawa. All the Japanese Youtube comments adoring him. He definitely deserves a lot of plaudits, especially for his man management. I may not agree with his choices sometimes, but the results speak for themselves.
