Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts Took Rich Hill Out Of The Game On Saturday With A Perfect Game Through 7 Innings
Stating the obvious, I love Dave Roberts, and I think he’s done a fantastic job in his first year as Dodgers manager. He might even end up winning National League Manager of the Year.
What makes a manager great is the ability to be prepared for any decision-making situation that might present itself over the course of a major league game, while also making the correct decision, and blocking out any outrage that the manager might foresee from the media and fans as a result of said decision. In March of 2014, Dodgers right-hander Ross Stripling underwent Tommy John surgery. This past April, in his first start of the 2016 season, Stripling no-hit the San Francisco Giants through 7.1 innings, and Roberts pulled the 26-year-old from the game when he arrived at the 100-pitch mark in order to protect his elbow. This was the right decision.
On Saturday, Roberts was again faced with a similar situation. Rich Hill, who the Dodgers acquired on August 1 from the Oakland A’s, did not make his first start for LA until August 24 because of a blister. He had nine days of rest between start number one and start number two, and then six days of rest between start number two and start number three, which was his outing on Saturday. Hill has also missed time with a groin injury this season, but the blister has been a son of a bitch for him since July 24.
Clayton Kershaw returned to the rotation on Friday, but the Dodgers are going to need more than just Kershaw if they’re going to win a World Series title. They need Hill. So, when Hill is cruising along, perfect through seven innings, was Roberts wrong for taking him out of the game? Fuck no. It sucks. I know it sucks. I would’ve been ripshit if I were Hill, too. But Hill said all the right things after the game. Of course, you’re going to be upset in the moment when you’re told that you’re coming out of the game with a perfect game. Hill is one of the true underdog stories in Major League Baseball. This guy was practicing with his local legion team last summer, not anywhere close to being on a major league roster. This summer, he was the most sought-after arm on the trade market. To be that close to a perfect game after what your path has been over the last year, and to be told that your night is over just like that, yeah, you should be pissed.
But after you calm down a little bit, which it seems like Hill did, he realized why Roberts did what he did. The bigger picture matters more. There have been 252 no-hitters in the modern era. Perfect games are much more rare. There have only been 21 of them in modern history, but there have only been six World Series titles in Dodgers history, five since they’ve moved to LA. Bigger picture. The Dodgers gave up a pretty hefty package to acquire Hill and Josh Reddick from Oakland, and after a rough start for Reddick, he’s hitting .438 with a 1.048 OPS over his last nine games, and Hill hasn’t allowed a run yet over three starts (19 innings) for the Dodgers. Both players are rentals, so the Dodgers need to get as much out of them as they possibly can.
In Hill’s first two starts for the Dodgers, he was lifted after 81 pitches in his first start, and 89 pitches in his second. In his third start, Hill was removed after throwing seven perfect innings with a pitch count of 89. Sure, it’s surprising to be taken out with a perfect game, but if you’re Hill, can you really be all that surprised? There’s a pattern here. The main goal is to win a World Series, and they can’t do that without Hill being healthy. It was a decision that took a ton of balls for Roberts, and it certainly sends a message to every player in that clubhouse that individual goals are not important here. Whatever it takes to win a World Series is what the manager will do for his team, and that’s really all you can ask for as a player.