L.A. Dodgers Black manager Dave Roberts wins World Series

Dave Roberts gets the job done as L.A. Dodgers Black manager wins World Series

After the L.A. Dodgers got off to a slow start in 2018, manager David Roberts’ job security was being questioned by some fans and media members.

 

The Dodgers were defending National League champions but lost to the Houston Astros in the World Series. We have since learned that the Astros had some serious sign-stealing going on.

 

If you’re a Black manager in Major League Baseball, your seat gets hotter a lot quicker than your white counterparts.’

 

The Dodgers repeated as NL champs and returned to the World Series in 2018. They then ran into a buzz saw that was the Boston Red Sox.

 

Again, Roberts was under intense scrutiny for several in-game decisions. Forget the two pennants and a .600 winning percentage during his first three season as the Dodgers manager.

 

Roberts’ team racked up 106 wins in 2019 but lost to the blistering hot Washington Nationals in a NL Division Series. The Nationals would sweep the Cardinals in the NL Championship Series and top the Astros in the World Series. 

Who got most of the blame? Roberts.

 

Today, Roberts is a World Champion. His Dodgers beat the Tampa Bay Rays in six games. He joins former Toronto Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston (1992 and ’93) as the only Black managers to win a World Series.  Finally, Roberts is getting the respect he deserves.

 

“It means a lot for me personally, of course,” Roberts said in the victorious clubhouse following the game.

 

“But for the Dodgers organization, the franchise has always been forward-thinking and groundbreaking as far as race and color barriers.

 

“So, for the Dodgers and for me to be the manager of this ball club to bring a championship back to Los Angeles, I think it’s well beyond bigger than me.”

Roberts was speaking of the Brooklyn Dodgers fielding Jackie Robinson in 1947. While the Dodgers have been a diverse franchise since Robinson’s debut, he is the team’s first Black manager in its hallowed history.

 

While the Cardinals have won 11 World Series titles, this is just the Dodgers seventh. The Dodgers last World Series win was in 1988 against Tony La Russa’s heavily favored, PHD-fueled Oakland A’s.

 

Roberts joins Walter Alston and Tommy Lasorda as the only Dodgers managers to win the World Series.  He and Dusty Baker are the two Black managers in MLB. It would have been great to see two Black managers in the World Series – especially since there are just two.

 

Baker’s Astros fell to the Rays in seven games, but Roberts and he made history. This was the first time a pair of Black managers reached the Championship Series round.

 

I’ve written this before, and I’m doing it again.  Mookie Betts is the best player in Major League Baseball. It’s not Mike Trout.  Betts demonstrated throughout the 60-game season, the playoffs and World Series that he has earned that title – and the competition isn’t close. During the abbreviated season, Betts hit .292 with 16 home runs and 39 RBI. He stole 10 bases and will probably win a 2020 Gold Glove for his play in right field. He collected seven hits and popped a pair of home runs in the World Series against the Rays. He drove in three runs and scored four. He added two home run stealing catches which were vital to the Dodgers championship run. Following the game, Betts said via Twitter, “THE JOB IS FINISHED!!!!!  This one’s for you LA – the City of Champions!  Enjoy the hell out of it, but you know these boys aren’t done chasing rings!!!”

 

While not officially calling Betts better than Trout, Sports Illustrated columnist Robin Lundberg wrote, “Betts was at his best when it mattered most, and in watching him, it’s hard to believe there is anyone better. He makes plays in the field, on the bases, and at the plate.”

 

“I keep hearing baseball purists complain about an over-reliance on the numbers, well Mookie’s got those too, but he passes the eye and math tests. All while capturing the imagination of fans in a way I haven’t seen from a player in a minute.”

 

Betts was the 2018 American League MVP and won the World Series with the Red Sox that season. He is favored to win the NL MVP Award to go with his 2020 championship with the Dodgers.

 

Trout’s L.A. Angels have been to the postseason one time and they were immediately eliminated.  

 

After winning the World Series over the Dodgers in dominant fashion in 2018, the Boston Red Sox traded Betts and pitcher David Price to L.A. for Alex Verdugo, Jeter Downs and Connor Wong in February 2020. Betts then signed a 12-year contract extension worth $365 million in July. “I couldn’t believe it and I was not trying to get too excited. We got a steal,’’ Roberts said. “I’m just so grateful that the deal was done because it’s not just going to help us this year,” Roberts added. “… It’s going to impact players not even drafted by the Dodgers yet.”

Betts is the best. Case closed.

 

As the 2020 MLB season came to an end last week, so did the incredible postseason run of former St. Louis Cardinal Randy Arozarena. Without his spectacular offensive display, the Tampa Bay Rays probably would not have advance to the World Series. He showed the nation, and world, that he can be one of the game’s best players.

 

He had two hits in four plate appearances in Game 6 of the World Series and tagged a solo home run. The home run was his tenth, a postseason record, and he hit an amazing .377 with an .831 slugging percentage.

 

Arozarena also sprayed 29 hits, another postseason record AND a record for rookies in the playoffs.

 

If that isn’t enough, the Hollywood Reporter announced this week that Wonderfilm Media is in the early stages of production on a film about Arozarena, his daring boat trip from Cuba to Mexico and his rise to stardom.

 

“Randy’s story is so inspirational — his journey grabs at your heart and this film will explore the triumphs of the human spirit when driven and focused,” Wonderfilm’s Bret Saxon said in a statement.

 

I just wonder who is going to play the role of foul-mouthed Cardinals manager Mike Shildt.

 

St. Louis Cardinals beat writer Derrick Goold was asked by a reader, in a column this week, about “the recent trend of the Cardinals giving up on players who are people of color. Kolten Wong is the most recent example, and the team continues to get whiter and whiter.”

 

I give Goold credit for taking on the inquiry because the St. Louis sports media often dodges subjects like this – especially when it comes to the Cardinals.

He responded that “It’s a concern that this perception exists and how their actions contribute to it while it’s out there.”

 

Goold explained the team also dumped several white players including Stephen Piscotty and Randal Grichuk, that the Cardinals’ first three picks in the most recent draft were young, Black players and that the starting and relief pitching staffs are diverse. “But the team should be aware of this perception, and I believe is,” Goold wrote.

 

Sportsbook gambling and casino games are coming to Fairmount Park in the near future.  The Illinois Gaming Board has approved the Collinsville horse track for a Master Sports Wagering License. “This puts us another step closer to being the first ‘racino,’ in Southern Illinois. We will be able to offer entertainment from live horse racing, sports wagering (and) full casino gaming,” Fairmount Park said in a statement… Mike Tomlin moved his Pittsburgh Steelers to 7-0 with a road victory over the Baltimore Ravens last Sunday. Can you say 2020 Coach of the Year?… The Atlanta Falcons are 2-1 under interim head coach Raheem Morris. Remember, Todd Gurley’s goal line blunder is the only reason he’s not 3-0…Deion Sanders officially takes over the Jackson State University football program on Dec. 1. There are already plans to film a reality show that follows Sanders as he fulfills his duties as coach and recruiter. Snoop Dogg also said this week that he will support “his friend” Sanders in any way he can and will be visiting the campus.