With such a talented roster that has produced three World Series titles since 2020, the captain isn’t usually the first name mentioned when it comes to the Dodgers’ success, but co-owner and LA legend Magic Johnson noted how pivotal Roberts was after the tantalizing Game 7 victory that cemented back-to-back championships and the latest MLB dynasty.
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“He did some coaching tonight,” Johnson said. “This was a great manager game from him. He proved how great a manager he is. He’s a Hall of Famer.”
Johnson, a Hall of Famer and five-time basketball champion with the beloved Los Angeles Lakers, has considerable size when it comes to conversations about greatness.
To quantify his World Series managerial performance, fans can look no further than Game 5. Roberts adjusted the lineup by removing the struggling Andy Pages, switching Alex Call to the outfield and moving Kiké Hernández to center field. He also moved Mookie Betts to third and Will Smith to second.
The Dodgers lost Game 5 and took a 3-2 series deficit against Toronto.
For Game 6, veteran utility man — and one who hadn’t recorded a hit in a calendar month — Miguel Rojas was moved to second base, and Tommy Edman switched to center field. Hernández was bumped to left field and Call was benched again. Betts was also moved to the cleanup spot and finished with two RBIs.
The Dodgers won the decisive game, and it was ended by an improbable catch and throw from Hernández to Rojas, whose defensive skill brought him in at second to complete the second out.
During Game 7, Roberts’ masterful pitching decisions, including using four starters in relief, were one thing, but Rojas’ decision paid off in the top of the ninth inning.
With two outs to go until the season would end in agony, Rojas launched his first home run since September 19 to tie the game. Roberts then retired two-time Cy Young award winner Blake Snell with one out and two at the bottom of the frame for Yoshinobu Yamamoto without days of rest.
Despite throwing 96 pitches the night before, Yamamoto delivered the final 2.2 innings of the game, and despite coming up one-out, with the bases loaded two pitches into his outing, he held the Blue Jays lineup to a Will Smith home run in the top of the 11th.
Roberts’ pitching and lineup changes may be lost in baseball history, and with so many spectacular moments leading to Betts’ championship-clinching double play with a runner in scoring position, it’s almost inevitable.
If Magic Johnson gives Roberts his due, and if baseball fans appreciate everything that went into the Dodgers’ victory beyond the diamond, such a remarkable World Series run will only become more special, and perhaps the first step in Roberts’ case to be immortalized in Cooperstown.
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Photo credit: Ventura County Star
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