LOS ANGELES -- If wins are the measure of a manager, then Dave Roberts has a pretty strong case to repeat as the Baseball Writers' Association of America's winner of the National League Manager of the Year Award, which will be presented on Tuesday night (6 ET/3 PT, MLB Network).
Roberts, 45, led the Dodgers to the Majors' best regular-season record in 2017, the 104 wins representing the most in Los Angeles history and the most for an MLB club since St. Louis' 105 in '04. It also tied for second most in franchise history.
Although award criteria are limited to the regular season, the Dodgers also reached Game 7 of the World Series before losing to the Astros under Roberts' tutelage.
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"I think Dave and our coaches do a tremendous job of preparing for a game," said Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers' president of baseball operations, "and really knowing the strengths of our players and putting them in the best positions to succeed."
Roberts, who won the award last year, led the Dodgers to a fifth consecutive division title -- a record for the NL West -- this season. He joined Tommy Lasorda and Joe Torre as the only Los Angeles managers whose clubs made the postseason his first two seasons at the helm. Roberts' 195 wins in his first two seasons rank fifth all time in MLB and are the most since Baltimore's Earl Weaver won 217 from 1969-70.
Included in the 2017 season was a torrid 43-7 run from June 7-Aug. 5, the best 50-game stretch in franchise history and the best in MLB since the 1912 New York Giants went 43-7. The Dodgers peaked on Aug. 25 with a 21-game lead in the division and 55 games above .500.
The last Dodger to win the BBWAA Manager of the Year Award twice was Lasorda, who did it in 1983 and '88.
Roberts, a cancer survivor, is known for a perpetually positive attitude and determination that rubs off in the clubhouse.
The other finalists for the award are Colorado's Bud Black and Arizona's Torey Lovullo.