Dodgers’ Dave Roberts Reflects On Emotional Moment With Yohan Ramirez
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts came out of the dugout during the eighth inning of Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds and walked to the mound. He didn’t pull the struggling pitcher; instead, he created a special moment that showed the baseball world why he is considered a prototypical player’s manager within the game.
On Friday, Ramirez was a mess in his first game for the Dodgers, throwing only one strike, hitting two batters, and walking another. He threw 13 pitches.
Sunday was a little better. He retired the first two batters and hit the next two, triggering Roberts. The visit wasn’t prompted by Roberts’ desire to pull Ramirez from the game. He threw his arms around Ramirez’s neck and spoke into his ear.
Ramirez told Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register with the help of an interpreter that Roberts said “he believes in me, he believes in my talent, that I’m an elite pitcher. I just need to trust my stuff.”
Ramirez said he was “very surprised” Roberts would deliver that message at that time.
“No, that’s never happened to me,” Ramirez said through an interpreter Tuesday. “Honestly, my whole time that I’ve been in baseball, that was one of the best moments, best managers that I’ve ever had. For him to do something like that, it made me feel like he’s more of a mother or father figure.”
The newly acquired pitcher was recently designated for assignment by the New York Mets and was traded to the Dodgers in exchange for cash considerations. The trade represents a new low in his young career. Ramirez has bounced around six teams and been designated for assignment multiple times – twice by the Mets this season alone with a brief stop in Baltimore in between.
Ramirez revealed that after Roberts spoke to him, he felt a weight lifted off of his shoulders.
“I know how talented I can be and how much I can help the team,” he told Plunkett. “But also I feel like a weight has been lifted off me from that moment. After he came out to the mound, I just felt rejuvenated with a different confidence.”
Photo Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports
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MESSAGE TO THE DODGER BASEBALL FRONT OFFICE: WE PLAYED PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL. THERE’S NO CRYING ALLOWED IN BASEBALL. WE’VE NEVER SEEN A MANAGER DEMONSTRABLY GIVING LOVE TO A PLAYER, ON THE FIELD, LIKE “SCOUTMASTER DAVE” ROBERTS DID RECENTLY WITH A JOURNEYMAN PITCHER, JOHANN RAMIREZ, WHO’S BEEN WITH 6 TEAMS, DFA’D A NUMBER OF TIMES, & WILL SOON BE OUT OF BASEBALL WHY? BECAUSE HE’S NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO PITCH IN THE BIG LEAGUES. ROBERTS NEVER CEASES TO PROVIDE US WITH HIS OFF BEAT METHODS OF MANAGING THE DODGERS, COMING OUT TO THE MOUND TO HUG A PITCHER SIMPLY BECAUSE HE WANTED TO ‘GIVE HIM SOME LOVE’ IS EMBARRASSING TO US WHO HAVE PLAYED FOR PAY IN PROFESSIONAL SPORTS. CANDIDLY, ‘MR. ROGERS’ ROBERTS IS NOT A HARD CORE, EXPERIENCED, TIME SPENT HONING HIS MANAGERIAL RESUME. HE SEEMS TO MANAGE FROM THE HIP, WITH GUT_FEELING, QUIRKY MOVES THAT AT TIMES ARE PUZZLING, WITH NO SENSE OF URGENCY, & QUESTIONABLE, AT BEST. AND THEN WE HAVE THE HUG, A ‘MOTHERS MILK LOVE’ ACT THAT SOLVED WHAT BASEBALL PROBLEM? MAYBE IT’S HIS WAY OF COVERING UP HIS LACK OF ‘IN-GAME.’ BASEBALL STRATEGY & DECISION-MAKING IN CRITICAL SITUATIONS. BUT IT’S NOT WHAT A HIGH STRUNG, TALENTED TEAM, LIKE THE DODGERS, NEEDS. LA MUST CONSIDER WHETHER ROBERTS FITS THE MOLD TO CAPABLY ORCHESTRATE SUCH A ‘BEST MONEY CAN BUY’ TEAM, THAT IS UNDER TREMENDOUS PRESSURE TO WIN IT ALL. THE DODGERS MUST CONSIDER WHETHER THEY NEED A HIGHLY EXPERIENCED MANAGER, NOT A GOOFY, SCOUTMASTER NICE GUY, WHO’S SO FRIENDLY WITH THE PLAYERS THAT HE THINKS GOOD MANAGING DICTATES THAT HE COMFORT HIS PLAYERS, AND GIVE THEM LOVE, INSTEAD OF, HOW A BRUCE BOCHY, &/OR A TERRY FRANCONA TYPE MANAGER, AND A KIRK GIBSON PLAYER, WOULD GIVE THE PLAYERS. MOST LIKELY, THEY’D GIVE THEM A SWIFT KICK IN THE ASS AS NEEDED, AT TIMES. WHAT WE DO KNOW AS FACT IS MOST GREAT, WINNING MANAGERS, ARE RESPECTED BY THEIR PLAYERS. THEY COME BUILT WITH TOUGH LOVE LEADERSHIP, THAT IMPARTS GRIT & TENACITY TO WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS. THE VECCHIO FACTOR SAYS…WHAT WE WROTE ABOVE ARE REASONS WHY THE DODGERS FOLD IN THE CRUCIAL, PRESSURE-PACKED, POST SEASON!
AND, WHO’S THE GENIUS IN THE DODGER BASEBALL DEPT. THAT THINKS ELIESER HERNANDEZ SHOULD BE PITCHING IN THE BIG LEAGUES?
First of all, turn off your cap lock button. Your comments are hard to read in all caps.
Secondly, just because you have played for pay doesn’t mean anything. It certainly does NOT make you an expert on what makes a great manager. You don’t think Roberts is respected by his players? You don’t think he is a winning manager? You don’t know anything.
Hey Vecchio, why don’t you take your Roberts hating BS somewhere else. Yeah he manages a little different from some managers but in case you haven’t noticed he has a great record managing this team! Every manager makes mistakes and Roberts is no different. Screaming at your players is not a great motivator! I have never managed a baseball team but I have managed employees and quickly found that that is a moral killer and certainly doesn’t make anyone want to respect you. Obviously Roberts sees something in Ramirez. Time will tell if he’s right or not. Frankly I thought he’s be immediately DFA’d after that disastrous showing against the Reds but his last appearance looked pretty good. We’ll see.
Personally I think Roberts is a great manager. I’m glad the Dodgers have him.
I agree. There’s no crying in baseball. But, Bruce Boches don’t grow on trees. In the old days, managers came up through the minors, this learning their craft. Now, guys wandered a major league managing position. Roberts has to go. I’ve been saying it since he lost to the Trashstros in 17.
Vecchio you embarrass yourself every time you open your uninformed mouth
Happy Birthday Doc. Ignore the fools who don’t appreciate your years of winning, your unparalleled handling of players and your knowledge of the game.