If you hadn’t heard, the Los Angeles Dodgers are having themselves quite the season.
The NL West leaders have gone 24-5 since the all-star break and sit a remarkable 51 games above .500 heading into Thursday’s action.
“To be this many games over .500, to keep winning the way we’re winning games, it’s incredible,” Dodgers VP of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos told Baseball Central on Sportsnet 590 The Fan Thursday. “Not to make it [sound] like we’re not impressed or enjoying it, but it’s been going on for a while now and I guess you just kind of stop being surprised.”
When Anthopoulos joined the Dodgers in January 2016, the team had already won its division three years in a row. The Dodgers won it again last year and, with the Rockies 18.5 games back with only 42 contests remaining, it’s safe to say they’ll make it five straight division titles in 2017.
Less than two months prior to adding Anthopoulos, however, the Dodgers hired Dave Roberts to be their manager.
It’s a move Anthopoulos says was vital to the unprecedented success the team is currently having.
“I remember, he had just gotten hired, I had just got on board and we talked on the phone for about an hour, just philosophies, this and that,” Anthopoulos said. “The energy he brings, he’s upbeat, he’s bright.”
Roberts spent a decade in the majors as an outfielder for the Indians, Dodgers, Red Sox, Padres and Giants before retiring in 2009. He spent one season in the broadcast booth for the Red Sox TV broadcasts before joining the Padres as a coach. He worked with the Padres for five years before landing the Dodgers gig.
“There’s a difference between big-league coaches and managers and minor-league coaches and managers,” Anthopoulos said. “The one thing—I think I learned it early on in my time in Toronto as an [assistant] GM and then as GM—being able to connect with players, relate to players at the big-league level, I think that’s the barrier of entry to be a good manager.
“You can be great with the Xs and Os. You can be as prepared as you need to be—look, those are critically important as well. But if you don’t have players buy into you and believe in you…it’s not going to go anywhere and the one thing Dave does is he connects with players as well as anybody I’ve seen.”
Anthopoulos continued: “He’s upbeat. He’ll take time. He’ll nip things in the bud if things are going on. He’ll do it behind closed doors. He’s not afraid to show his emotions either. You see him in the highlights. He’s there. He’s cheering. He’s jumping. Guys connect with him. He’s not that far away removed from playing and they love playing for him.”
The Dodgers boast depth up and down their lineup. Their 3.11 team ERA is the best in the majors, and they’re expected to get Clayton Kershaw back sometime in September. As it stands right now, on paper at least, anything besides a World Series championship this year would be a massive disappointment.
“As great as this is, as great as we’re playing during the year, it’s going to come down to playoffs,” Anthopoulos added. “That’s going to be certainly the focus of the team. But night in night out, I want to try to appreciate this run just because I can’t imagine in my career I’ll be part of a team, at least during the year, that’s going to have a win total like this.”
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