ORLANDO, Fla. -- In his first two seasons at the helm, Dave Roberts led the Dodgers to consecutive National League West titles. He could not, however, find a way to repeat as NL Manager of the Year.
Roberts finished second to Arizona's Torey Lovullo in voting for the award on Tuesday, given by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. There still has not been a repeat winner since Atlanta's Bobby Cox in 2004-05.
Roberts received five first-place votes, eight second-place votes and six third-place votes for a total of 55 points -- about half of the 111 received by Lovullo. Colorado's Bud Black finished third with 43.
:: NL Manager of the Year voting totals ::
Roberts managed his club to 104 victories in 2017, the most by the Dodgers since their move to Los Angeles in 1958. It's the most wins by any team since the Cardinals notched 105 in 2004.
Despite all the success, Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi pointed to a late-season stretch in which Los Angeles lost 16 of 17 games as Roberts' defining moment.
• Complete 2017 Awards coverage
"We had a lot of positives and great moments this season, but I think what impressed me the most was how he handled that bad stretch in September," Zaidi said from the General Managers Meetings in Orlando.
"You lose 16 out of 17 after being that successful -- he came to the ballpark with the same attitude every day, stayed positive, didn't panic. That's where the leadership came out, as much as when things were in cruise control and we were playing well."
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The Dodgers rebounded to cruise through the National League playoffs, losing just once en route to their first pennant in 29 years. Roberts and Co. would fall to Houston in a thrilling seven-game World Series. Postseason results were not included in Manager of the Year Award voting, as ballots were due before the playoffs began.
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Roberts joined Tommy Lasorda and Joe Torre as the only skippers in L.A. history to reach the postseason in their first two years. The only manager in Dodgers history to win the award twice is Lasorda, who took home the hardware in 1983 and '88.

Roberts ranks fifth all-time with 195 wins in his first two full seasons as manager. That number is the most for a skipper since Earl Weaver's Orioles won 217 games in 1969 and '70. Part of the reason for that success, Zaidi said, is that Roberts' workmanlike attitude has translated throughout the clubhouse.
"Part of the thesis in hiring him is that we wanted this team, collectively, to play the way he played during his career," Zaidi said. "That doesn't always manifest itself. But with his personality and leadership, that's kind of what has happened. The team has taken on a lot more of a blue-collar personality."