Plaschke: No doubt! The Dodgers’ division title is another triumph for Dave Roberts

The celebration on the field was subdued, no dog poop, no dancing, just experienced champions acting like champions.

The Dodgers clinched their 11th National League West title in 12 years Thursday night at Dodger Stadium, just as they expect to be here, firm handshakes, light hugs, the usual Randy Newman soundtrack accompanied by the usual smiles of relief.

But, wait, who was this short, stocky man who jumped out of the pack and suddenly was leading the cheers?

Naturally. It was Dodger manager Dave Roberts. This is his team. This is his city. This was his season.

“The best fans in the world! Let’s go! Let’s go!” Roberts shouted as he waved his division championship hat to the roaring fans after the Dodgers’ decisive 7-2 victory over the San Diego Padres.

Read more: The Dodgers take a different path and win their 11th NL West title in 12 seasons

Mookie Betts ran up to Roberts and hugged him.

“I love you, baby,” Roberts shouted and, believe it, Roberts led this team with that love.

Later in the clubhouse, Roberts addressed his players: “Nobody said this was going to be easy!” You’ve been through hell and back, and I want to thank you all for sticking together and believing in each other, and I promise I you! No team we face will be more competitive than us.”

Moments later they popped the champagne.

Drink, doc.

This was your best season yet.

He gave that speech to his players, but he could have been talking about himself. He’s been through hell and back and no manager they face will be more combative than him.

Admittedly, some readers will be angry at this statement and baffled that anyone would publicly applaud the most embattled nine-year manager in Dodger history.

Deal with it. Plagued by enormous distractions, hampered by countless injuries, faced with real job insecurity, Roberts plunged headfirst into the challenges of 2024 and showed up as if he were standing at second base in Boston.

The weight of Shohei Ohtani, the whiplash of Betts, the woeful early pitching — all were deftly handled by a manager who won eight division titles in his nine seasons.

“They all feel sweet, but I’m telling you, with what we did this year, this feels a little sweeter,” Roberts said.

Think about it. Roberts has been the manager here for nearly a decade and has only failed to win a division title once, and even that time the Dodgers finished in second place by one game.

Whether you like him or not, whether you rip him when you have to, or guess what you want, the 2024 regular season proved without a doubt that Roberts is in the perfect place in the perfect city for the perfect team.

He wins here. He thrives here. He belongs here.

“I’m just so proud of these guys, the way they overcame adversity, stuck together and found a way to win this division again. It was hard fought, we deserved it,” said Roberts.

Without much ado, he becomes Tommy Lasorda, and this season he’s never been better at creating a blue sky on earth.

And understand that the words above were written less than 48 hours after his most denounced move of the year.

This happened Tuesday night against the San Diego Padres when Roberts controversially took the bunt sign for Miguel Rojas after a hit and the shortstop promptly hit a game-winning triple play, leaving the big Ohtani on the line and the Dodgers’ title hopes at stake The route remained briefly on the brink.

Come on guys. Now should Roberts make it look like he’s trying to stay out of a triple play? That’s absurd. Bunting or not, even with his weakest swing, the assumed worst-case scenario would have been a double play by Rojas, and Ohtani would still have had a chance to tie the Padres’ 4-2 win.

Roberts has been hit by a perfect storm, which shouldn’t ruin the way he has deftly handled this season.

Roberts’ strength has always been keeping his players cool and focused despite the constant distractions that plague Hollywood’s team. He is the Dodgers’ smiling face to sponsors, their calming voice to the media and a protective blanket to his perpetually restless clubhouse.

This season he has to be all of those things, and he has.

The madness began with the $700 million offseason acquisition of Ohtani, a presence so big that it immediately eclipsed the entire organization and threatened to eclipse Roberts’ influence as much as his introductory press conference showed.

Read more: Teen says Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball was stolen. He files a lawsuit to stop the auction

Sitting with Ohtani on stage were Dodgers officials Mark Walter and Andrew Friedman, Ohtani’s agent Nez Balelo and then-interpreter Ippei Mizuhara.

Where was Roberts? He was banished to the audience along with several hundred media representatives, an obvious sign of how important he is to the future of this organization. Combined with the fact that Ohtani did not include the manager in the contract language that secured Friedman and Walter’s futures, Roberts’ situation seemed particularly precarious.

Add to that the enormous additional global attention and unwieldy presence that Ohtani brings with him on a daily basis, and Roberts could have collapsed before the season even started.

He didn’t. He just got stronger. He only became more charming, patiently answering every Ohtani question with confidence and direction, deferring to his star while making it clear that Roberts was still the boss.

Then when the scandal came to light and revealed that Mizuhara Ohtani had stolen $16 million for gambling purposes? Roberts never changed, supporting the innocent Ohtani in every way and creating an atmosphere where his star felt comfortable shining through the murky mess.

The Ohtani affair was just the beginning. A few days before the season began, Roberts received Mookie Madness.

You see, it was the manager tasked with overseeing Gold Glove right fielder Mookie Betts’ sudden move to shortstop, a position he had barely played in the major leagues. Roberts had to keep Betts’ spirits up while he struggled on the field, and he did, allowing Betts to get an All-Star start on the field. Then, later in the season, when a frustrated Betts was suddenly moved back to right field, Roberts was there again, with a strong shoulder and an understanding tone.

Some seasons were simply directed or directed by Roberts. He’s really done it this season, from Ohtani to Betts to every veteran in this clubhouse who was annoyed by the attention suddenly falling on their every move. He hid her frustration. He expressed her concern. He mastered it.

If it seems like Roberts is too Pollyanna, then it works for some players. Take Gavin Lux, who struggled early in his comeback from knee surgery but who ultimately rewarded Roberts’ continued public faith by making huge contributions late in the season.

Even if things were truly terrible, how about all the pitching injuries? — Roberts always maintained his focus. He never showed any signs of panic when he lost his top two pitchers for most of the summer, patiently providing every injury update as if everything was going to be okay.

On Thursday it became official, everything was fine, the Dodgers are not only champions of the National League West, but also the team with the best record in baseball.

“We overcame a lot in the clubhouse … but yeah, we still had a pretty good season,” Roberts said.

Roberts has had a pretty great season and we expect Dodger officials to recognize that and reward him with a proper contract extension this winter, barring a third straight postseason collapse.

At least 100 wins in five of eight full seasons? A success rate that is hard to beat at the start of a career? And, oh, a World Series championship and two World Series appearances?

Read more: What was discussed (and what wasn’t) at the Dodgers pitching meeting with Shohei Ohtani.

Yes, fine, you fire him.

In a scene that epitomized Roberts’ season, he came to the mound in late May to supposedly take visibly struggling journeyman reliever Yohan Ramirez out of the game after striking out four of his final eight batters dating back to an earlier appearance .

But Roberts didn’t give Ramirez the hook. Instead, he hugged him, pulled him close and whispered something in his ear in a scene that went viral.

“He’s emotional and caring and trying to impress with a new ball club,” Roberts later explained. “I was just trying to calm him down and give him some confidence, give him a little love and try to take a little pressure off.”

Roberts added: “You just see the player and feel what’s going on in his brain, in his heart and all that stuff. Sometimes I’m sure – I’ve never thrown a major league inning – but you feel like you’re on an island. That’s why I wanted to show that we are all behind him.”

It worked. Ramirez escaped a bases-loaded jam and posted a 1.65 ERA with 15 strikeouts and four walks in his next 14 appearances before being waived in late July.

This was just one win in a season full of wins for Doc, who was on the hunt for eight division titles and counting in nine years.

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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.