That’s all even more true now that the Dodgers have all but captured the Japanese market, after signing Ohtani and righties Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki in the last two offseasons. The World Series had better TV ratings in Japan than in the U.S. Almost no one else in baseball can relate to the scrutiny Roberts faces.

Roberts heads into his 10th season at the helm with the highest winning percentage in major league history at .627.

After Roberts’ master class in marshaling his pitching resources during last year’s World Series run, do critics of the Dodgers’ manager really have anything to complain about?