It’s been four years since the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series in Arlington, Texas, celebrating in front of a half-empty stadium. There was no parade, no grand celebration — just a shortened season during a global pandemic that made the championship feel somewhat incomplete.

For manager Dave Roberts, this season felt like a turning point in his career. According to The Athletic, “Roberts admitted this month that he felt he could handle his job this postseason. “That’s the nature of the crew.”

Now he’s among an elite group of managers with at least four pennants, standing alongside legends like Earl Weaver, Sparky Anderson, Bobby Cox, Joe Torre and Tommy Lasorda.

But that 2020 victory came in a bubble, and Roberts is hungry for more.

“I know we have a championship ahead of us,” Roberts said. “There is still a certain gap. I want this parade. I just feel like we’ve had teams in the past, I’ve grown and this team is unique. I think it’s battle tested. For this ballclub and for this city, I really want to get it done this year.”

Although there were many moments where it seemed like everything was falling apart, Roberts kept the team on track. Even in difficult times, he reassured them that everything would work out.

“At one point we felt like we were down as a team,” Teoscar Hernández said this week. “And one meeting changed everything.”

Andrew Friedman echoed this sentiment: “I think there were times during the year where we were a little bit depressing because of some of our injuries. And I think Doc did a great job of leaning into that and pumping some enthusiasm and optimism into the group. It happened quickly. They rinsed it quickly. And came out focused the next day.”

“(He) doesn’t back down when times get tough – and we’ve had a lot of tough times,” said team president Stan Kasten.

This Dodgers team also relied on unlikely heroes. Tommy Edman got hot in the NLCS and eventually managed to clean up while Will Smith batted in eighth place.

Now they are just one win away from the long-awaited parade.

“Honestly, it’s about treating every man equally, being honest and building trust,” Roberts said. “I think you can ask everyone on this team: he trusts me, he trusts our staff. If you have that, you can demand anything from them. That’s it. It was the most stressful year, but also the most satisfying.”

Photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

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