TORONTO — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts joked Friday that he'll never run the next day again after falling on his face in a race against the second baseman. Hyesung Kim during World Series practice.
Adding a touch of ease to Thursday's practice in Toronto, Roberts overtook Kim and fell to second place.
Kim stood at first base and Roberts stood near the cutout where the runner could take the lead.
While rounding second place, Roberts tripped and fell. The 53-year-old trainer feigned a hamstring injury after standing up.
“I obviously wasn't thinking. I was trying to add a little bit of lightness, that's for sure. I wasn't trying to make a face landing at shortstop, and yeah, my legs just gave out. That would be the last full sprint I ever did in my life,” Roberts said. “And I paid my debt because there was a small bet, so I really owe it.”
Roberts said he has “medication. I'll still be posting. Probably. So all good. Recovered. Not my best decision, but it worked.”
Second baseman Miguel Rojas said it made him smile and showed Roberts was willing to do whatever it took to help the team ease the pressure of facing elimination.
“I just think he had a better chance of going from first to third in a straight line,” Rojas joked.
“I think that was the initial thought about the race, but then he wanted to prove he could beat him from that start and it wasn't enough. We all saw the results.”
Roberts said he heard about the race from his family and his kids “were not excited about me.”
Besides managing the Dodgers, Roberts is perhaps best known for stealing a key Boston base against Yankees closer Mariano Rivera as the Red Sox won it all in 2004.
