It was a celebratory moment when the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series as they beat the New York Yankees in a dominant five-game span. While people such as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts already made predictions for next seasons's World Series, he reflected with star Mookie Betts on his podcast about how nervous he was during a certain time in the championship run.
Dodgers' Dave Roberts on being “afraid” during World Series
On Betts' podcast titled “On Base with Mookie Betts,” he had his manager in Roberts join the show to talk about the state of the Dodgers and the eventual World Series win. He would reveal that he was “afraid” of coming back to Los Angeles if they lost in Game 5 to New York as it could have led to their opponents coming back from down 3-0 in the series.
“I have been on the other side of it and when you’re down 3 – 0 you’re at the point where you have nothing to lose now,” Roberts said. “It doesn’t matter who was favored, who wasn’t. When you’re down 3 – 0 everyone is expecting you to lose anyway. That for me is freeing, and so they played free and won Game 4. I will tell you this now publicly, I was so afraid to come back to Los Angeles for Game 6, knowing we still had Yamamoto in our back pocket.”
“The point being is if we were to come back, the noise, the pressure, it becomes real,” Roberts continued. “Because then you’re going to start potentially being a part of history in the wrong way. A team that gave up a 3 – 0, because it’s never been done in the World Series, we did it in the ALCS, the Yankees vs. Red Sox. So for me that was the fear of going back. So I managed with urgency, eve when we were down 5-0, I didn't know how we were going to finish this damn game.”
Dodgers' Dave Roberts on winning World Series as a manager and player
Having won his second World Series with the team as the first was in 2020, the Dodgers are set to reward Roberts with a contract extension. On the same show with his star player in Betts, he would ask his manager about the difference in winning a championship as a manager and also as a player since he was on the Boston Red Sox in 2004 when they won it all.
“I think as a manger is harder,” Roberts said. “As a manager, there are just a lot more things under your watch. That’s why for me I think it’s harder, but a lot more gratifying to see you thrive, Freddie thrive, and see the coaches and front office… You’re just kind of a lot more in tune as a manager.”
At any rate, the Dodgers were built to win a championship in 2024 as they had such stars as Betts, Shohei Ohtani, the World Series MVP Freddie Freeman, and many more on the pitching side as well.
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