Dave Roberts isn’t sounding like a manager with an exit date anymore.
The Dodgers’ skipper is under contract through the 2029 season on a four-year, $32.4 million deal, and the expectation had been that he would walk away when that agreement expired at age 57. But in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY Sports’ Bob Nightengale, Roberts said that plan has changed.
His thinking, he said, is tied in part to what he’s seen about mental sharpness and performance as people age.
“From the studies I’ve seen, I think the male brain is continuing to excel and be sharp until you're in your early 60s," Roberts said. “So, for me, at 54, I still think I'm on an upward trajectory with my enthusiasm, my positivity, my brain, my sharpness. That’s why CEOs are in their 60s and they still have that ability.
Roberts has plenty to lean on. He owns the fourth-highest all time winning percentage among managers and the best mark of anyone who has managed at least 1,000 games. His players routinely praise the way he blends a player-first approach with discipline, a balance that matters for a team chasing a place in one of baseball’s most exclusive clubs: three straight World Series titles.
For Roberts, the pull of the job goes well beyond the calendar.
“I love people and I love this game of baseball," Roberts said. “I love it more than my first day in Jamestown, N.Y., in 1994.
I feel that I'm a steward of this game, and I want to see it grow. I want to move this game forward.
When you hear me, I don't just speak specifically to the game, I try to speak beyond the game."
He also said he’s working on a book aimed at more than just baseball fans. Roberts wants it to carry the kind of message that can reach people far outside a clubhouse.
"It's just an opportunity for me to kind of have my voice in something positive, and something that people in all walks of life could pull from," Roberts said. "There's so much negativity in the world, but I want this to be something that touches executives, regular people, leaders, people that want to be leaders."
That voice has been on display during a rough patch for Los Angeles. After the Dodgers dropped eight of nine games, Roberts pushed for more urgency, and the response came quickly with a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals.
“He deals with so much stuff, but he keeps things under control," said Dodgers veteran utility player Miguel Rojas. "This is the only clubhouse I’ve been a part of that everybody is happy with their job.
You know how hard that is to have 26 guys on the same page, and guys who want to play every day. But he does a really good job of making everybody understand where they are.
He always has a good touch on when and how to send a message."
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