Dodgers Dave Roberts Talks About How He's Changed in Seven Years as Manager

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says his mix of analytics and gut feel has been the biggest change in his managerial style over the past seven years.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was on MLB Network shortly before finding out he's been robbed of the Manager of the Year Award in favor of the guy whose team had the highest payroll in baseball and blew a 10.5-game lead (or words, not his). Host Greg Amsinger asked Roberts how he has evolved as a manager over his seven years with Los Angeles.

“Number one. Well, one part of it is I’ve gotten to know my players more, they’ve gotten to know me.

"But I think something that really stands out for me, Greg, is I am using — and not to say that I didn’t use my gut or my eyes, and there’s a lot of talk of data and analytics, and for me I wouldn’t be the manager that I am if I didn’t value it — but I think with anything, the more time you have, the more experience, the more you have relationships with people that you work with, you can kind of, not necessarily go rogue, but you can kind of expand a little bit more on decisions in game.

"And it’s been great. For me, I feel like I’m blessed to be a part of this organization. Andrew [Friedman], like I said, we have a great relationship. So, I’ve grown like that.”

1⃣1⃣1⃣ wins!

Dave Roberts joined the show to talk about the @Dodgers' historic season.#AlwaysLA | @Boporter16Bo | @StevePhillipsGM pic.twitter.com/bBTNqLwiL6

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 16, 2022

If you asked 100 Dave Roberts critics what they think his biggest weakness is, 50 would say he's too dependent on analytics and 50 would say he doesn't use analytics enough, so it makes sense that his view of his own approach is analytics with some gut mixed in.

Doc's biggest strength as a manager is his skill with people, but let's hope he continues to evolve and maximize his effectiveness with in-game decisions.