Dodgers News: Manager Dave Roberts and shortstop Corey Seager receive awards

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Major League Baseball announced shortstop Corey Seager was named the Rookie of the Year and manager Dave Roberts is the Manager of the Year.

Both have been cited for their outstanding performances throughout the regular season, but both stepped up their game considerably during the post season. In the regular season Seager batted .308, driving in 72 RBI and hitting 26 homeruns. In the postseason, against the best pitching in the league, Seager hit .250, with four RBI and two homeruns.

On top of his impressive numbers on the field — he has a .968 fielding percentage with only 18 errors in 155 games (1,345 innings), helping to turn 67 double plays — Corey Seager is one of the nicest, most humble players in the major leagues. He comes from a baseball family — his brother Kyle is an outstanding third baseman for the Seattle Mariners and Justin Seager plays for the Jackson Generals AA club — and both he and his brother Kyle have told our reporter, Claudia Gestro, their family and upbringing have kept them very grounded. And a side note: Corey Seager is a heartthrob with female fans of all ages.

Roberts managed his team to first place in the National League West with 91 wins — without his number one starting pitcher for a big chunk of the season. Left-hander Clayton Kershaw was out from June 27 until his return on September 9 with a back injury. He came back and helped the team get to the NLCS.

Kershaw wasn’t the only injured starting pitcher the Dodgers  suffered through the course of the regular and post seasons. In spite of the injuries, Roberts made the right roster moves to bolster not only his pitching staff, but the infield and outfield as well. They have used over 50 players this past season.

During the playoffs Roberts confounded baseball analysts with his pitching rotations and lineup changes during the games. He put players in and out of the games so much that by the 9th inning he often had no more players to spare on the bench. And yet the Dodgers made it to the National League Championship Series.

They had a a big lead in the NLCS over the Chicago Cubs (3-1), but the Cubbies weren’t to be denied their destiny. The series went seven games with Chicago winning three in a row to move on to the World Series — which they won in similar fashion.

For the second half of the season Roberts was considered one of the strong finalists for his award, as was Seager. It isn’t a big surprise Corey Seager and Dave Roberts have been honored. Both have been exceptional. Below we have video reports by Claudia Gestro featuring Roberts and Seager. Gestro did her first interview with Corey in September 2015, shortly after he was called up. He had already made an impact on the team. And we have her report when Roberts was introduced to the media last year, which includes her one-on-one interview.

Maybe next season the Dodgers will go all the way to the champagne celebration at the end of the 2017 World Series.

Photos by Claudia Gestro

Claudia’s first interview with Corey Seager in September 2015.