Dodgers Rumors: Dave Roberts Ranked as Second-Best Manager in MLB
Longtime Dodger player and recent Astros manager Dusty Baker retired from the dugout after Houston lost the ALCS to the Rangers earlier this October.
The former LA outfielder left quite the mark on the sport but without his presence, many now debate just who the best skipper in the game today is.
Current Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts is regarded highly in the discussion but a recent Bleacher Report list ranked him second in MLB among managers.
But did you know that Roberts has by far the highest winning percentage in MLB history among people who have managed at least 1,000 games? He is presently at .630, and the next-closest is Hall of Famer and seven-time World Series winner Joe McCarthy at .615. The only others north of .600 are Jim Mutrie and Charles Comiskey, both of whom retired in the 1890s.
via Kerry Miller, Bleacher Report
The only man ranked higher than Roberts is AL pennant winner Bruce Bochy who just accomplished the feat with the Texas Rangers.
Bochy, of course, spent a large part of his career in the NL West first with the San Diego Padres and as a three-time champion with the San Francisco Giants.
Roberts also has a championship under his belt thanks to the pandemic-shortened 2020 season but for all his regular-season success over full years, such hasn't translated into a 162-game postseason title.
His most recent showing wasn't his finest in the slightest after LA got swept by the surprise NL champion Diamondbacks in the divisional series.
Critics may point to his over-managed bullpen, poor lineup decisions with the hitting core or other shortcomings but the bottom line is that the organization likes Roberts through and through.
From players to coaches and the front office, for better or worse, Bleacher Report's second-best manager in the game will be back at Chavez Ravine in 2024.