Exclusive | Dodgers players reveal key to Dave Roberts 1,000-win track record

SACRAMENTO –– When the doors of history swung open two Octobers ago, it was manager Dave Roberts who helped the Dodgers find their calm.It didn’t matter that his job was seemingly on the line.That his legacy was in danger of tarnish.

Or that his star-studded club was in danger of a third-straight early elimination from the playoffs, facing a two-games-to-one deficit against the rival Padres in the 2024 National League Division Series.In Roberts’ march to 1,000 career wins –– which he clinched Tuesday, reaching the mark faster than any MLB manager previously in history –– few moments had been more pivotal or important in his tenure.“He kept the composure,” veteran infielder Miguel Rojas recalled this week, “knowing that we were against the wall, but that we still had an opportunity to get out of there with a win and have an opportunity to win the World Series.”Indeed, as Dodgers players reflected on what has made Roberts the right man to guide the club during the franchise’s run of unprecedented, dynasty-cementing success over the last decade, his calming and copacetic nature was the first thing they cited.“To manage so many personalities, injuries, guys coming up, guys coming down, it’s a lot,” shortstop Mookie Betts said.“He definitely welcomes the personalities, but makes sure the egos kind of stay in [check].”That’s easier said than done with as many superstar players as the Dodgers have had in the clubhouse over the years.

Rarely can such a vast collection of big names get along so well, for so long.“We’re talking about really big pieces of this game, and faces of the franchise,” Rojas said.“And how good his relationships are with every one of those players, that’s what makes me feel like he’s a remarkable manager.”Rojas has studied Roberts’ approach particularly close the last couple years, as he has neared retirement and begun eying a potential future in coaching himself.“I totally understand why manag...