Why This Will Be Dave Roberts’ Most Challenging Season

Why This Will Be Dave Roberts’ Most Challenging Season

by | Apr 1, 2024 | THE THREE SPOT

Dave Roberts is currently in his ninth season as the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. During his time in L.A. he has surpassed over 750 wins and has a World Series title.

 

Dusty Baker & Dave Roberts Continue To Set The Standard For Managerial Excellence In 2023

On paper, Roberts has had some talented teams, but all he has to show for it is one title. This year, the Dodgers have a team filled with talent yet again, but this could also be his most difficult season.

The Dodgers made headlines during the offseason spending more than $1.1 billion on MLB star Shohei Ohtani and Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Not to mention the additions of pitchers Bobby Miller, Gavin Stone, and James Paxton. The Dodgers wanted to add some pieces to their bullpen, but will this bullpen be able to carry this team through the 2024 season and into the playoffs?

Handling Shohei Ohtani Media Attention 

And let’s not forget the Ohtani fiasco at the start of the season with his translator. Roberts has already had a lot on his plate and we’re not even 20 games into the season yet.

Roberts addressing the Ohtani situation regarding his translator

On March 20, ESPN reported the Dodgers had fired Ohtani’s translator, Ippei Mizuhara, after allegations of massive theft.

The allegations centered on wire transfers from Ohtani’s account, totaling around $4.5 million.

“I’m very saddened and shocked that someone who I trusted has done this,” Ohtani said in an NBC News article.

“Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has told lies.”

Roberts talked about the situation and believes the organization will continue to move in a positive direction.

“Actually, I would argue that it’s going to help relations internally,” he said before the Dodgers’ last exhibition game. “Because there’s no longer a buffer. I think that I’ve already seen it in the last couple of days. I think Shohei has been even more engaging with his teammates, and I think there’s only upside with that.”

Roberts wants to make sure the team’s chemistry is strong and that it continues to grow as the season progresses.

Can this pitching staff win games for the Dodgers?

Offensively, the Dodgers have one of the best lineups in all of baseball. Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Ohtani are a recipe for disaster for opposing pitching staffs.

Roberts will not have to worry about his team producing runs, with the offensive threats he has.

Now on the flipside, the pitching is another story. With Ohtani unavailable to pitch for the entire season due to elbow surgery, the Dodgers need to find that guy who can dominate on the mound.

The Dodgers threw a lot of money at Yamamoto and they are hoping he can blossom into a dominant pitcher. In his last start against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday, Yamamoto had an impressive outing, going five scoreless innings with five strikeouts.

It was a much better performance from his debut when he only lasted one inning giving up five runs on four hits against the San Diego Padres.

“There’s a lot of confidence and there’s a lot of pride and fire,” Roberts said of Yamamoto in an ESPN article. “And appreciating the contract and his part of the deal — I think he takes it personal. And took it personal. He was really intent on pitching well for his home debut.”

Tyler Glasnow is a pitcher the Dodgers will look to have a significant impact this season. The 30-year-old looks to surpass 10 wins for the second straight season. But one thing to note regarding Glasnow is that he’s never pitched over 120 innings in his career.

That could play a factor in the latter part of the season.

 

Roberts will have his hands full this season and all eyes will be on him to see how he leads his team and navigates the ups and downs and media scrutin win his second World Series title as a manager.

MVP Award Winners Ronald Acuna Jr. and Shohei Ohtani Win 2023 Hank Aaron Award

MVP Award Winners Ronald Acuna Jr. and Shohei Ohtani Win 2023 Hank Aaron Award

by | Dec 17, 2023 | CLEAN UP

National League Most Valuable Player Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Braves and American League Most Valuable Player Shohei Ohtani, who won the honor for a second time while playing with the Los Angeles Angels, have been named the recipients of the 2023 Hank Aaron Award in their respective leagues, Major League Baseball announced today.

Following a historic season, Acuña joins Andruw Jones and former teammate Freddie Freeman as Braves to win the award named after franchise icon Hank Aaron who hit 755 career homers.

Two-Way superstar Ohtani joins former teammate Mike Trout as Angels to receive the prestigious honor.

The winners were unveiled on December 16 in Las Vegas, Nevada on MLB Network’s “All-MLB Team Show” presented by MGM Rewards during a presentation featuring Acuña Jr., Mrs. Billye Aaron and Commissioner of Baseball Robert D. Manfred, Jr.

 

What Is Hank Aaron Award? 

The Hank Aaron Awards recognize the most outstanding offensive performers in each League.  Each Club nominates players to be considered for the Hank Aaron Award, and a panel of MLB.com writers determined nine finalists for each league from the list of Club nominees.

A fan vote is added to the votes of a special panel of Hall of Fame players and former winners to determine the winners of the award, which is officially sanctioned by Major League Baseball.

The panel includes Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Craig Biggio, Ken Griffey Jr., Derek Jeter (two-time Aaron Award winner), Chipper Jones, Pedro Martínez, Eddie Murray, David Ortiz (two-time Aaron Award winner), John Smoltz and Robin Yount, as well as two-time Aaron Award recipient Albert Pujols.

Ronald Acuna Was A Video Game In 2023

Acuña, in his sixth Major League season, made history in 2023, becoming the first player in Baseball history to record at least 40 home runs and 70 stolen bases in a single season while setting modern-era franchise marks with 149 runs scored, 73 stolen bases and 383 total bases.  En route to his 40/70 season, he became only the fifth player in history to reach at least 40 homers and 40 stolen bases in the same season.

The 25-year-old native of La Guaira, Venezuela established career-highs in nearly every offensive category, including batting average (.337), on-base percentage (.416), OPS (1.012), runs, hits (217), doubles (35), RBI (106), stolen bases, walks (80) and total bases.

 

 

The four-time All-Star became one of seven players in Major League history to collect at least 200 hits, 100 RBI, 145 runs scored and 40 home runs in a single season, joining an impressive list comprised of Hall of Famers Joe DiMaggio, Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, Chuck Klein, Babe Ruth and Hack Wilson.  Acuña Jr. registered 12 contests with a home run and a stolen base, tying for the second-most in a single season behind only Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson (13 in 1986).

The 2018 Jackie Robinson NL Rookie of the Year Award winner, who led all NL players in fan voting for the All-Star Game for a third straight season, joined Hall of Famers Willie Mays (1957-58) and Henderson (1990) to lead their league in both stolen bases and OPS.

Braves Superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. Joins MLBbros Rickey Henderson, Eric Davis and Kenny Lofton In Rare Feat | He’s Taking It To Next Levels Too

 

Ohtani, also in his sixth Major League season, slugged 44 home runs and registered 95 RBI en route to his second MVP award in three seasons, as well as his third consecutive Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award.

The 29-year-old native of Oshu, Japan also hit .304 with 102 runs scored, 26 doubles, eight triples and 20 stolen bases while leading the AL in on-base percentage (.412), slugging percentage (.654) and OPS (1.066).

Ohtani also paced the AL in homers, total bases (325) and extra-base hits (78).  In June, Ohtani joined Babe Ruth (seven games in 1921) and Barry Bonds (six games in 1997) as the only players in Major League history to record an extra-base hit, walk and run scored in six straight games (June 12th-17th).

For a third straight season, the 2018 Jackie Robinson AL Rookie of the Year Award winner became the only player in the Majors to post at least six triples and 34 home runs.  In addition, Ohtani joined Troy Glaus (47 homers in 2000) as the only Angels players in history to finish a season as the AL home run leader.

 

The two-way star, who was selected to the All-Star Game as both a pitcher and position player for a third consecutive season after finishing as the AL’s leading vote-getter, hit .372 with three doubles, two triples, seven homers and 15 RBI in his 23 games as a starting pitcher.

Together, Acuña and Ohtani became the first duo to win their respective league’s MVP Award in the same season after also winning the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award in the same season (2018).  Overall, they were the seventh pair of MVP Award winners in a season to have previously won Rookie of the Year at any point.

Past Hank Aaron Award Winners

Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt (2022); Vladmir Guerrero Jr. and Bryce Harper (2021); José Abreu and Freddie Freeman (2020); Mike Trout and Christian Yelich (2019); J.D. Martinez and Christian Yelich (2018); Giancarlo Stanton and Jose Altuve (2017); Kris Bryant and David Ortiz (2016); Josh Donaldson and Bryce Harper (2015); Giancarlo Stanton and Mike Trout (2014); Miguel Cabrera and Paul Goldschmidt (2013); Miguel Cabrera and Buster Posey (2012); José Bautista and Matt Kemp (2011); José Bautista and Joey Votto (2010); Derek Jeter and Albert Pujols (2009); Aramis Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis (2008); Alex Rodriguez and Prince Fielder (2007); Derek Jeter and Ryan Howard (2006); David Ortiz and Andruw Jones (2005); Manny Ramirez and Barry Bonds (2004); Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols (2003); Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds (2001-02); Carlos Delgado and Todd Helton (2000) and Manny Ramirez and Sammy Sosa (1999).

Erasing The Past, Burying Inspiration | Florida Counties Remove Hank Aaron & Roberto Clemente Books From School Libraries

 

The Hank Aaron Award was introduced in 1999 to honor the 25th Anniversary of Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record, and, at that time, was the first major award introduced by Major League Baseball in more than 25 years.

Stephen A. Smith Claims Fans Don’t Care About Baseball… Is This True?

Stephen A. Smith Claims Fans Don’t Care About Baseball… Is This True?

by | Sep 30, 2023 | 5TH SLOT

For baseball fans, next week should be an exciting time with the Major League Baseball playoffs starting on October 3rd. MLBbro.com is in the final planning stages to cover what should be a fast and furious sprint from 12 teams representing the American League and National League to win a World Series championship.

But according to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, despite the network that he works for having exclusive rights to the Wild Card Rounds, baseball will not be a top priority on his show First Take. With NFL football dominating the sports headlines (Anyone heard about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce lately?) along with MLBbro icon, Deion Sanders coaching the Colorado Buffaloes to must see TV college football, Smith says based on the ratings, no one cares…

 

 

While the viewership for the sport has suffered the last few seasons, MLB has made some positive strides this season…

  • The pitch clock is considered by many a huge success decreasing game times to the point the practice will be used in the postseason.
  • The attendance numbers (Except for Oakland!) was encouraging.
  • Surprise teams will be participating in the postseason like the Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays and the Milwaukee Brewers.
  • The American League West sprint for first place and potential Wild Card spot with the Texas Rangers, Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners.
  • Shohei Ohtani was having one of the greatest seasons of any era before he was shut down with injuries.
  • Ronald Acuna Jr. sets an all time mark with 40 homers and 70 stolen bases
  • Even Aaron Judge’s extended stint on the IL still didn’t keep him off the top five list for home runs with 37 and counting…

 

 

But what is getting lost in all of the ratings debates and Stephen A. Smith’s take on baseball is MLB’s commitment to bring diversity to the game with a concentration on African Americans. One of the things done that is evident of that is the partnership MLB has with this website MLBbro.com founded by Rob Parker who laid out the plans in the mission statement for this movement back in April of 2021…

“MLBbro.com will cover Black and brown Major Leaguers. We will chronicle the paths of both present and past Black players, highlight their achievements in the game right now and from a historical standpoint.

We will give Black players a voice and put a context to their presence in the game. In the process, we will display the culture and flair Black players bring to the table.

If done right, MLBbro.com will reinvigorate the interest of baseball to the Black community, reconnect a sport that is deep-rooted in our culture.

Best of all, MLBbro.com will also nurture and develop the next generation of Black writers.”

Plus this is not the first time Smith has spoken out recklessly when it comes to baseball. There were the Shohei Ohtani comments that received backlash…

 

 

But Is Smith Correct About the Ratings By the Numbers?

 

So now that it is established that there are some out in the sports world that care deeply for the game of baseball, the next thing to look at is the numbers of viewers this season according to Sports Business Journal…

  • ESPN averaged 1.45 million viewers for Sunday Night Baseball which is on pace from last season.
  • These ratings include ESPN2’s KayRod Cast shows starring Alex Rodriguez and Michael Kay. With a 30 percent decline and an average of 138,000 viewers, the KayRod cast ends this year.
  • On the surge of the start of the season which was as high as 41 percent, TBS had a drop significantly as of late to finish at four percent. At the peak TBS averaged 338,000 viewers.
  • Fox/FS1’s numbers were mixed due to low individual numbers of games but with an increase of more games broadcasted, viewership numbers increased. FS1 had record lows (278,000) while Fox dropped 10 percent with an average of 1,89 million viewers.

 

The Reality of What’s Happening With Television Ratings

 

Nationally Known Teams Aren’t That Good:

No matter how fun the game has been overall, nationally certain teams have to perform well for the type of ratings Stephen A. Smith is talking about. The St. Louis Cardinals had a down year, the New York teams (Anyone forget Smith is a Yankees fan?) dove off a cliff after the All-Star break. Don’t forget the Boston Red Sox have been on a slow decline since MLBbro superstar Mookie Betts left for the West Coast Dodgers. Traditional teams like these count ratings wise no matter what the sport with the majority of the fanbase.

 

Major League Baseball Has Been Besieged With Blackouts Of Games:

One of the biggest problems on MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred’s to-do list is ending blackouts. The words used concerning this problem were “top priority”, “massive undertaking” and “fundamental reordering” when it pertained to media rights in baseball.

 

 

“I believe that one of the fundamental goals that we have as the media landscape is reworked is that whatever exclusivity we give to a particular cable provider, we oughta have the ability to go side-by-side with a digital product so that people are not blacked out,” Manfred said. “That is business objective number one at Major League Baseball right now.”

“The reason it has taken a long time to get at this blackout issue is that when clubs make long-term RSN (Regional Sports Networks) agreements, they historically grant exclusivity that covers both sides of the house to that cable provider. If that cable provider doesn’t get distribution in a particular area, you have a blackout right? And that’s beyond our control.”

For next week, blackouts won’t be as big of an issue to fans during the Wild Card Rounds unless ESPN is not a part of the TV package. But Stephen A. Smith is wrong about fans not caring based on TV ratings.