NEW YORK — After the final game of October, Dave Roberts winded through throngs of people, stepping over gold streamers spread across the outfield grass of Yankee Stadium. His two children and his wife were by his side. He needed to get to the clubhouse to celebrate downing the New York Yankees in the World Series, but members of the Los Angeles Dodgers universe kept stopping him. He shared embraces with Magic Johnson, with Billie Jean King, with Ellen Kershaw.
Along the third-base line, a rowdy band of Dodgers fans saluted the players as they came off the field. Eventually, Roberts made it through the hugs and backslaps to approach the dugout. There have been times during his nine-year tenure as manager when he has heard jeers and read calls for his dismissal. All he felt in the early hours of Thursday morning, after a riveting 7-6 Game 5 victory, was raucous cheering. He doffed his cap and took in the adulation as a two-time World Series champion manager.
“It’s a lot of vindication for Dave,” veteran pitcher Clayton Kershaw said. “Doc did a great job. He did a great job this postseason.”
The 2024 World Series represented Roberts’ finest hour as a manager. The stakes for this season were set as soon as the team signed Shohei Ohtani last winter: Anything less than…
