Old friendships die hard in baseball, especially when the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers made the pivotal play in Boston Red Sox history.

Legendary slugger David Ortiz has thrown his support behind Dodgers manager Dave Roberts even though Los Angeles lost its divisional playoff series to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 3 straight games. The Dodgers have been struggling in the postseason for years even though they have regularly dominated the regular season.

“To be honest with you, that would not be a good move,” Ortiz said. “They should not let him go.”

Ortiz explained that injuries are not the manager's fault and neither are the slumps suffered by Mookie Betts or Freddie Freeman.

Roberts was a member of the Boston Red Sox in 2004, and he provided the key stolen base against the Yankees in that season's American League Championship Series in Game 4, when the Red Sox were down 0-3 in the series. The Red Sox tied the game up off of Hall of Fame reliever Mariano Rivera and went on to win that game and the series. Ultimately, the Red Sox broke an 86-year jinx and won the World Series that season.

Roberts has become a legendary hero in Red Sox lore even though he played a very limited role. He is beloved by his former teammates and the team's fans.

However, Dodgers fans are not pleased that the only World Series title won by the Dodgers in recent history was the 2020 World Series that was won in the Covid bubble.

Roberts has managed the Dodgers since the 2016 season and they have been to the playoffs every year in his tenure.