Los Angeles Dodgers: The ten best moments of the first half

10. Dave Roberts’ explosion in San Diego – June 30 vs. San Diego Padres

Dave Roberts is one of the newest tenured managers in baseball, only getting the head coach position with Los Angeles prior to the 2016 season. However, in the year and a half that Roberts has coached he has already become one of the most decorated and praised managers in all of baseball.

First, last season he won the NL Manager of the Year award after juggling a broken Dodgers roster to winning the National League West. Despite breaking the record for the amount of DL players, pitching changes and having Clayton Kershaw out for months, Roberts still pushed his team to the NLCS and came up just short of defeating the Cubs.

Being a former player, Roberts understands the importance of locker room chemistry and the bond a player has with their manager. Roberts protects these guys like his own kids and that was showcased in Roberts’ confrontation with Padres manager Andy Green.

After Green reportedly said something sarcastic and demeaning about Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood, Roberts took it to heart and charged after Green, getting in his face. It looked like Roberts was ready to throw blows, leading him to net a one-game suspension.

This perfectly showcased the bond this Dodgers team had and the importance of that managerial relationship. Although Wood may have been in the wrong for threatening to drill Jose Pirela, Roberts did exactly what he should have in that situation.