Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spent much of the last five years as the primary recipient of criticism from the baseball world.

When the Dodgers lost to the Atlanta Braves in the 2021 NL Championship Series, it was Roberts’ fault.

When the Dodgers lost to the San Diego Padres in 2022, it was Roberts’ fault for the team’s first-round exit.

When the Dodgers were swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 NL Division Series, it was once again Roberts’ fault.

As for the World Series title in 2020?

According to most of the baseball world, it was written off as a counterfeit ring because of the 60-game season.

Robert was given no credit for managing the Dodgers through a shortened-season during one of the country’s toughest times due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 2024 NLDS was no different.

Roberts returned to the hot seat as the San Diego Padres pushed the Dodgers to the brink of elimination.

And yet, Roberts deployed all the right players at the appropriate times as he navigated a dwindling starting rotation, injured stars in Freddie Freeman and Miguel Rojas, and an overworked bullpen.

A few months after escaping the first round of the playoffs (and eventually taking home the Commissioner’s Trophy), Roberts believes he could have been fired by the Dodgers had the team lost to the Padres in the NLDS.

“Honestly, I wasn’t thinking about that in the moment or even entering the series,” Roberts said, via The Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett.

“I do think that if we didn’t win that game it would have become very noisy. A team that was obviously super-talented to lose three years in a row in the first round – albeit it takes all of us to win and lose – but I do think that calls for my job would have been heightened.”

After winning 11 games in October last season, the Dodgers skipper has certainly earned his spot in the Hall of Fame conversation.

Roberts engineered an eight-pitcher bullpen game to shutout San Diego in Game 4, and continued to be a mastermind in the postseason despite L.A.’s limited pitching resources.

There is no guarantee Roberts will become the highest-paid manager in Major League Baseball, but he can certainly expect a trip to Cooperstown in the future.