Friendly competitors face off as managers
They were having LOS ANGELES breakfast in Del Mar, Calif., at the All-Star break this summer with their families when they started chatting about the second half.
Dave Roberts started talking about his Los Angeles Dodgers team, and with the way they were cruising, he was convinced they had the talent to reach the World Series.
Well, funny you say that, Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch told Roberts over a meal at the Snooze Restaurant, because he was just as confident.
“It’s absolutely surreal,” Roberts said. “I distinctly remember us talking about having a chance to be with one another in the World Series. So for it to come to fruition now is unbelievable.”
Here they are, two close friends who played against each other in college, went on to major league careers, spent four years together with the San Diego Padres, quickly became successful managers with rave reviews for their intellect and communication skills and who are now battling each other for baseball’s ultimate prize — the 2017 World Series championship.
“It started off as sort of a fantasy,” Hinch says. “Our families are together, our wives are there, and we say, ‘Wouldn’t it be neat if we met in the World Series?’
“Now it’s like, ‘Hey, careful what you wish for.’ ”
Little wonder why the days of texting each other, offering encouragement and seeking advice have come to an abrupt end this week with the World Series underway.
“After we advanced, he reached out to me,” Roberts said. “And then after they advanced, I reached out to him.
“And from that point on, it’s been radio silence.”
Well, not quite.
When the two managers saw each other Monday before their formal workout at Dodger Stadium, they warmly embraced and talked behind the batting cage. As the Dodgers workout dragged on a little longer than the Astros anticipated, Hinch couldn’t stop needling Roberts, asking if he forgot to tell time.
“Hey, we’re just the little engine that could from Houston,” Hinch yelled over. “Don’t worry about us. We’re just a little team. Sorry.”
Said Roberts: “Save it, A.J. Just save it.”
Ah, nothing like a little brotherly tension before the biggest se- ries of their lives, with the Dodgers trying to win their first World Series title since 1988 and the Astros vying for the first one in the 55-year history of the franchise.
“I think our bond will be tighter after this. But I don’t know about texting anymore,” Hinch says. “It’s probably not a good idea after a crushing loss.”
It’s going to be difficult enough for mutual friends of both managers and their families this next week, trying to figure out whether this is a no-win situation or no-lose.
Josh Byrnes, the Dodgers senior vice president, calls Hinch his best friend in the game and would love to see his buddy win a World Series.
Just not this year. Byrnes is perhaps most responsible for this reunion. He was the one who persuaded Hinch to re- tire and join him in the Arizona Diamondbacks front office and boldly anoint him a 34-year-old manager in 2009. The gig lasted only a year, but the hiring set a standard in the industry.
“I admired Josh for being bold and making him his manager,” Astros GM Jeff Luhnow says. “He was just ahead of his time. The industry wasn’t ready for it.”
Byrnes and Hinch were each fired a year later in Arizona, but a year later Byrnes became GM of the Padres and brought Hinch with him and recommended him for Houston’s managerial opening in 2014.
Byrnes was part of front offices that traded for Roberts twice, most notably with the Boston Red Sox in June 2004, after which Roberts delivered delivered the most famous stolen base in franchise history. When Byrnes became the Padres GM in 2011, he was reunited with Roberts again. And it was Byrnes who persuaded the Dodgers to interview Roberts after manager Don Mattingly’s departure after the 2015 season. And so it goes.
It’s UCLA vs. Stanford all over again, where Roberts is UCLA’s all-time leader in stolen bases and Hinch, a catcher, was a two-time Pac-10 Player of the Year.
“Oh, he lets you know he’s a Stanford guy,” says Astros outfielder George Springer, who went to Connecticut. “I tell him he thinks he knows everything because he went to Stanford. And he says, ‘Yeah, I do, because I went to Stanford.’
“It proves my point.” Roberts, like Hinch, rarely goes a day without talking to every one of his players. Even when they’re gone on injury rehab assignments, Roberts still is calling or texting.
Says Dodgers reliever Ross Stripling: “When he greets you, it’s like he hasn’t seen you in a month. He gives you a big hug. He asks how your family is doing, how your wedding plans are going. It’s more of a friendship than an authoritative presence.”
That also frames the relationship between Hinch, 43, and Roberts, 45.
“I love the man,” Hinch says. “He’s an excellent example of what leadership should be about. I have a lot of respect for how he connects well with his players, and he’s leading his team. I’m really proud of him.”
Says Roberts: “He’s a guy that I lean on a lot. I guess we’re going to have to put that on hold now.” Yep, just for a week or so. “We’ve got to come up with a friendly wager on this series, maybe some wine,” Hinch says. “When this thing is over, someone’s not going to be happy.
“You’re going to feel good for a friend, but it just may take a little while.”