Dave Roberts reached a milestone few managers ever see on Tuesday night, and he did it faster than anyone in MLB history.
With the Dodgers’ win at Sutter Health Park extending their streak to four games, Roberts picked up his 1,000th career victory and became the 69th manager in league history to get there. He’s also the fourth Dodgers manager to reach the mark, and the quickest of them all, needing just 1,606 games to do it.
That’s a new standard. The old record belonged to Cap Anson, who got to 1,000 wins in 1,641 games. In the Live Ball Era, defined here as since 1920, Joe McCarthy had held the benchmark after collecting his 1,000th win in 1,648 games.
After the final out, Roberts was congratulated by players and coaches, even though he had spent much of the night trying to keep the focus on the team. His wife, Tricia, was there to see the moment, along with friends who traveled up from San Diego.
“It’s great. She came up from San Diego and some friends came, and that was great.
Honestly, I just have a lot of gratitude,” Roberts told Kirsten Watson on SportsNet LA. “We’re up here in Sacramento, and there’s so many Dodger fans here.
“You hear, ‘Let’s go Dodgers’ all night long and for them to be here to see us win, and for me to celebrate 1,000, it’s a lot. The fans supported me through a lot of stuff, the front office, the coaches, and most importantly, the players.
Thousand wins, but honestly, I’ve built a lot of great relationships and poured into a lot of players, so this is for all of them. This is certainly not an individual achievement.”
That theme came through again when Roberts talked about what matters most to him as a manager. Dodgers players have often pointed to his care and his presence as defining parts of how he leads.
“It’s everything,” Roberts said of taking an interest in players’ lives off the field. “Obviously everyone is chasing wins and championships, certainly when you put this uniform on, but I think it starts from building relationships. Over 11 years, I’ve built a lot of great relationships with the coaches, with the fanbase, and obviously the players.
“It’s been a lot of fun. What a ride, and we’ll keep adding on.”
There was a chance the milestone could have arrived over the weekend against the San Diego Padres, and the Dodgers are set to open another four-game series against them on Thursday. Roberts said that would have carried a different kind of feeling because of his connection to Padres manager Mark Kotsay.
“It’s a little bittersweet,” Roberts admitted. “One of my best friends is in the other dugout, Mark Kotsay.
I know he didn’t want to be here for 1,000 wins. I would’ve loved to have done it in San Diego, but 1,000 wins that’s still a good body of work.”
Roberts now sits with Walter Alston, Tommy Lasorda and Wilbert Robinson as the only managers in Dodgers history to win 1,000 games. Alston reached the milestone in 1965, and Lasorda did it in 1988, both in seasons that ended with World Series titles for the Dodgers.
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