Dave Roberts reached his 1,000th managerial win Tuesday when the Dodgers beat the Athletics 9-3 in Sacramento. He became the fastest major league manager to get there, then said the number sent him back through the people who carried him through 11 seasons on the job.
“I can’t ask the players to enjoy milestones and things and not do that myself,” Roberts said after the game. “What it does is it gives me an opportunity to look back on a lot of people that have supported me — players, coaches, front office.”
Roberts and the 1,606th game
The milestone came in his 1,606th game, 35 fewer than Cap Anson needed to reach 1,000 wins. No major league manager had done it faster, and Roberts has three championships to go with the pace that now puts him alone in that lane.
His first win as Dodgers manager came in 2016, a 15-0 victory over the San Diego Padres. Roberts described that day as, “There was no stress,” and, “It was such a nice soft landing.” Tuesday carried a different weight, with the round number landing beside a win that kept the Dodgers moving and gave him a career marker that is still building.
Walter Alston and Tommy Lasorda
Roberts is in his 11th season as Dodgers manager, and his contract runs through 2029. He said he could see himself managing through 2032, when he would be 61 and Mookie Betts would be in the final year of his deal.
“Mookie wants me to manage until his contract expires, so that’s something I am thinking about,” Roberts said. Still, he drew his own line. “I will not manage 20 years,” he said. “But I can be certain I’m not going to do 20 years.”
That puts him on a shorter track than Walter Alston and Tommy Lasorda, who each managed the Dodgers for 23 years and 20 years, respectively. Both are in the Hall of Fame, and Roberts said the modern job asks for more than it once did: “There’s more to the job. Nothing against Tommy or Walter, but there’s more to the job than there used to be.”
Dave Roberts and the Dodgers
Roberts said the number itself is not the point. “I’m not chasing wins,” he said. “I’m chasing having great relationships with my players.” That is the line that fits the night best: the 1,000th win arrived, but he measured it by the people around it, and by how long he expects to keep doing the work.
