The Los Angeles Dodgers had a fantastic 2024 campaign as they won it all this year. Coach Dave Roberts is now looking forward to the 2025 season and is expecting Shohei Ohtani to be back on the mound and spoke on this topic.
Ohtani suffered a UCL (Ulnar Collateral Ligament) injury in his right elbow in 2023. This led to him undergoing Tommy John surgery which did not allow him to pitch this year.
There were some rumors about him pitching this year especially late on in the postseason. However, Roberts kept on denying it and did not allow the 2024 National League MVP to go up the mound and pitch.
While speaking about his return with David Vassegh at SportsNet LA, Roberts claimed that the team will start to ‘ramp up’ Ohtani return to the mound during the Spring training. The skipper also said that he does not think Ohtani’s batting will have any effect on his pitching.
I don’t think it’ll affect the offense. I do think that there’s going to be some curtail in the stolen bases because he’s going to be pitching… He’s only got so many bullets or innings coming off Tommy John, so how we ramp up in spring training, when we start this process, because I think we all understand that we need to have him as strong and as fresh as we get into September and through October.
Dave Roberts said
Dave Roberts speaks about Shohei Ohtani pitching next season after surgery. pic.twitter.com/zI9XhNxWeK
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) November 22, 2024
This season, Ohtani founded the 50-50 club as he became the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and have 50 stolen bases. He eventually wrapped up the year with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases. With him pitching next year, the number of stolen bases from him could come down.
Following the World Series triumph, many were expecting Dave Roberts to be named the National League Manager of the Year. However, the MLB world received a major shock when Roberts was not even nominated for this honor. The Dodgers’ coach commented on this as well.
The surprising part was that Roberts was not even in the top six. He finished seventh in the rankings with just three votes. On Wednesday, Milwaukee Brewers coach Pat Murphy was announced as the National League Manager of the Year.
Reacting to this, the 52-year-old claimed he does not take this snub as “personal” and stated that Murphy deserved it.
I don’t take the slight in the Manager of the Year award personal. The thing that is bothersome is I think any manager that wins that award speaks to the coaches, the staff, because it essentially is a team award. I think for me, that’s the disappointment that I don’t think that the training staff, the coaching staff gets their flowers. I do feel that Pat Murphy deserved it, given what he was up against.
Dave Roberts said as per SportsNet LA
.@TheRealJHair gives Dave Roberts his well-deserved flowers despite him not being nominated for Manager of the Year. pic.twitter.com/mZKlEiorCl
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) November 22, 2024
Murphy guided the Brewers to their third National League Central title in four years with a 93-69 record. This saw them claim a wild card berth as the Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers clinched the top two seeds with better records than them. In the wild card series, the Brewers ended up losing to the New York Mets and suffered an early exit from the postseason.
