Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made all the right moves in a 5-4 victory against the Blue Jays in Game 7 of the 2025 World Series on Saturday night in Toronto and added to legacy at the same time.
Before the start of Game 6, for example, Roberts made up his mind that he was going to ride or die with Miguel Rojas at second base because of the energy he brought to the field. It turned out that Rojas became one of the reasons the Dodgers are the defending World Champions.
Rojas did more than just play great defense.The Dodgers were two outs away from watching the Blue Jays take the title away from them. But Rojas swung at a 3-2 pitch from Jeff Hoffman and hit the ball into the left-field stands to tie the score at 4. It was Rojas’ first home run against a right-handed pitcher this year. Roberts’ reaction to the dinger said it all; he was in disbelief.
“Obviously, it didn’t look great at that moment, but I trust [Rojas] to take the at-bat, and he got a pitch that he could handle and had the biggest hit he’s ever had in his life,” Roberts said.
Then there’s the move to bring in Yoshinobu Yamamoto the day after pitching six innings, and allowing one run on five hits. Yamamoto gave Los Angeles 2 ⅔ innings of shutout baseball, won his third game of the series and became series MVP. Yamamoto is the same guy that gave Los Angeles two complete games in the postseason which is unheard of these days.
“It comes down to just trusting your players, and it’s nice when you can look down the roster and have 26 guys that you believe in and know that at some point in time their number’s going to be called. That’s kind of what happened,”Roberts said. “Miggy Ro — I talk about how the game honors you and, right there, the game honored him. He does things the right way and he deserved that moment.
“And what Yoshi did tonight is unprecedented in modern day baseball. Just the young guys coming out there with the arms and just the big plays and — again, it’s been a long season, man. We started out in Tokyo and ended up north of the border, so just proud of this group of guys.”
With the victory, Roberts became the first manager since Joe Torre [1998-2000] to win consecutive titles. Roberts also became 10th skipper to lead his club to at least three World Series titles, joining Joe McCarthy (7); Casey Stengel (7); Connie Mack (5); Walter Alston (4); Torre (4); Bruce Bochy (4); Sparky Anderson (3); Miller Huggins (3); Tony LaRussa (3); and John McGraw.
Roberts’ 69 career postseason victories are third-most all-time, trailing only Torre (84) and La Russa (71). This postseason, Roberts surpassed Dusty Baker (57), Bochy (57), and Cox (67), with Roberts entering October with 56 career postseason wins to his name. Roberts is now second on the Dodgers All-Time list in World Series titles behind Walter Alston, who has four. Before the ‘25, Roberts was tied with Tommy Lasorda with two.
“Yeah, it’s hard to reconcile that one. I’ve just got so much respect for Tommy and what he did in the game,” Roberts said. “… So it’s just right now, I’m just really elated and really proud of our team, our guys, the way we fought and we’ve done something that hasn’t been done in decades.
“There were so many pressure points and how that game could have flipped, and we just kept fighting, and guys stepped up big. So I could just go on and on about the big plays, the big performances. It’s one of the greatest games I’ve ever been a part of. The Blue Jays gave us everything they had and they are just such a first-class organization.”
Under Roberts, the Dodgers have won three World Series titles in six years. He will leave it up to the pundits and fans to determine if the team is a dynasty.
“We’ve put together something pretty special, I do know that. I’m proud of the players, scouting, player development, all the stuff. To do what we’ve done in this span of time is pretty remarkable, he said.”
