Freddie Freeman Says Dodgers Won 2024 World Series Because of Dave Roberts
The bond between player and manager cannot be overstated enough.
In many cases, it’s the difference between a team potentially surpassing expectations, and one that falls into the doldrums of poor team chemistry and an ultimate lack of winning.
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No one is more emblematic of that premise than manager Dave Roberts. An ex-ballplayer, he prides himself on connecting with his players and treating them as peers rather than as some sort of authoritarian.
Cary Osborne of Dodger Insider penned a piece on the impact Roberts has on his ballclub. Among those interviewed within the article was none other than 2024 World Series hero Freddie Freeman. Freeman is notoriously modest, and it’s not too surprising to hear him heap a ton of praise on his manager.
“If you talk to not just me, everybody, we trust him. And I think that’s the key to this whole thing, is trust in Doc. He trusts us, and we trust him,” Freeman said. We won last year because of that and it’s because of Doc. I know we have great players here, believe me. And he’ll be the first one to say we won because of great players. Game 5 is the masterpiece of managing a baseball game. And who did it? It was Dave Roberts.”
Freeman further elaborated on the job Roberts did when managing the bullpen in the series-clinching Game 5.
“I don’t think people understand how hard that was,” Freeman said. “Blake Treinen gave everything he could to be out there. You had Michael Kopech pitching in the fourth inning, who was closing games. There were so many things and so much trust that came out of those gates in Doc and (bullpen coach) Josh Bard and (pitching coaches) Mark Prior and Connor McGuiness to go out there and perform and know it was like, ‘OK, I’m putting you in because I know you can do this.’
“I don’t know if we can stress it enough how hard that was what he navigated. And then to have the gutsy move to put Walker Buehler into that game when he was supposed to start (Game 6). If we lose, we don’t have a starter for Game 6. I don’t know if people understand the magnitude of those moves that he was making. And he pushed every button — the right ones.”
Ultimately, as conveyed to Osborne courtesy of Freeman, he and the team have huge amounts of respect for the man they call Doc.
“We love that man. We trust him. I don’t know if there is a better person to handle what comes with everything that comes with being the Los Angeles Dodgers manager,” Freeman said. “It’s hard not to give this guy his flowers.”
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Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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