The Dodgers and Yankees are more similar to each other than either would like to admit. They both have huge fan bases, years of legacy, cash-rich owners, and star-studded clubhouses. But with this comes great expectations. With the resources these two giants have, they are expected to make a dent in the playoffs every year. “You take pride in being a Yankee. You know, when you come here, the No. 1 ultimate goal is winning a championship,” CC Sabathia once said about the Yankees’ culture.
And if they fail to reach their targets? It’s the manager who gets thrown under the bus. Case in point: Aaron Boone. On multiple occasions this season, fans and even analysts have called for Boone to step down. He has particularly received criticism for his public backing of Anthony Volpe, who has massively struggled this season. Volpe currently leads the league with 19 errors, and his 0.6fWAR and one defensive run saved are ranked the lowest of his three-year career. Despite this, Boone has persisted with Volpe, much to the chagrin of the fans. There is only one other manager who’s under equal scrutiny from fans: Dave Roberts.
Well, Roberts is comparatively in a better and more secure position than Aaron Boone. Why? Because the Dodgers are the reigning World Series champions, and this year, they are all set to enter the playoffs. And as per Roberts, Boone is the only one who understands him. “We go back to the days of UCLA. USC. I hate to say that those guys got the better of us back then…. So he is the one person that can really appreciate what I go through, and I him,” Roberts said about Boone on an interview with Bob Costas on Sunday.
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Roberts and Boone got their own history. Back in the early ’90s, long before they were facing off as managers in the World Series, they were already squaring off as college rivals in Los Angeles. Notably, Boone held down third base at USC from 1992 to 1994. And Roberts patrolled the outfield for UCLA during that same stretch.
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However, while Dave Roberts said that Boone was better than him then, stat-wise, Roberts probably had the edge as a college player. He hit .326 overall. Boone wasn’t far behind, hitting .302 and putting together a standout ’94 campaign of his own. So, following the same path and now facing the same level of expectations and pressure, Roberts understands that there’s only Aaron Boone who knows the ground reality of how he is working.
Dave Roberts also commented that when a team is going through a negative period, it is the coach who is singled out most of the time, instead of the players.
Roberts reignited the debate of managers vs. players
“But you know, it’s one of those things that if everything goes well, you know, the players get the credit. And if things go bad, it just falls on the manager, and that’s just the way it always is.” Roberts shared how the managers are held accountable when things go wrong in the team, but when things are looking positive, it’s the players who receive most of the praise.
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The common notion in MLB is that the managers take the blame for a debacle even though the players are the one who takes the field. Remember when former Yankee Eris Hosmer defended Aaron Boone amid the call for his firing? “You continue to see sloppy baseball on the basepaths, defensively, and he continues to take those bullets.”
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So, Dave Roberts is right about the risky affairs managers deal with in MLB. And even though he is in a secure position for now, he was in a not too dissimilar position a while back, when the Dodgers lost to the Padres in back-to-back seasons. If that had happened the third time? The Dodgers might have pulled the plug on him and moved on. “To potentially lose to a divisional rival three years in a row might’ve been too much for me to overcome.” Dave Roberts revealed.
Winning: That’s the name of the game for the Yankees and the Dodgers.