Dave Roberts ably took the reins from Don Mattingly and guided the Dodgers to their fourth consecutive NL West division title and into the National League Championship Series against the eventual champion Chicago Cubs. Roberts maintained this level of success despite seeing a record 28 different players placed on the disabled list.
Most notably, all-world ace, future hall-of-famer, and arguably the best pitcher in baseball Clayton Kershaw missed all of July and August with a back injury. Roberts managed this reduced rotation, folded in trade acquisitions, and shuffled the Dodgers’ bullpen to the tune of a 40-27 record in Kershaw’s absence.