“I help it” – Orange County Register

Dave Roberts, manager of Dodgers, who will lead the National League All-Star team wherever the game is played this summer, said he supported MLB’s decision to stop this game in response to controversial law amending the To draw Georgia state electoral rules out of Atlanta.

“I support it,” said Roberts on Friday of the decision announced by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. “Of course I’m not familiar with everything, but I understand, and what I learned from the bill was essentially to suppress voting for people of color. I fundamentally disagree with that.

“I support the commissioner’s due diligence – inside baseball, outside baseball, the players, the front office – and ultimately making the decision to remove the all-star game and draft outside of Georgia. I also applaud the fact that we still plan to provide the dollars to the communities in the greater Atlanta area, which I think is great because the fans are the ones who are sadly losing. But I definitely support it. ”

Speaking of Friday’s announcement, Manfred said MLB’s proposed investment in communities in the Atlanta area as part of the All-Star Legacy Projects will not change.

Roberts said he was part of Manfred’s due diligence.

“We were just kind of talking to gather information,” said Roberts.

When the possibility of MLB taking the All-Star game out of Atlanta was raised last week, Roberts said he would “consider” not participating as manager of the NL team. He didn’t tell the inspector that, said Roberts.

Roberts said he didn’t expect MLB to act as quickly as it was.

“I haven’t,” he said. “I think Major League Baseball does a really good job of checking and seeing all the pages to ultimately make a decision. I applaud them for being proactive in this case. ”

Roberts said he believes Manfred’s decision to take a stand on the matter will be “very powerful”.

“In a world where people must and must be heard – people of color in this particular case – in order for Major League Baseball to listen and do something about being proactive, I think that only sets a tone that is of the Major League Baseball depends for the players, we have to be in it together, ”said Roberts. “It’s a great game. But for it to continue to thrive, we have to be in it together, and this is a huge step in that direction. ”

BIG MONEY

Not only is the Dodgers’ $ 234 million payroll projected for 2021 the highest in baseball, but no other team is within $ 30 million. This is according to the annual Opening Day Salary Survey published by USA Today on Friday.

The Dodgers’ payroll includes three of the top ten highest paid baseball players – David Price ($ 32 million), Trevor Bauer ($ 31.3 million) and Clayton Kershaw ($ 31 million). Their combined salaries (although the Boston Red Sox are giving the Dodgers $ 16 million to pay half Price’s price) of $ 94.2 million is more than 11 teams’ payrolls.

Although payrolls are calculated a little differently for competitive tax purposes, the Dodgers are paying the luxury tax this year for the first time since 2017 and could trigger additional penalties, such as: B. the postponement of their first choice in the draft by 10 places in the next year.

Even so, Andrew Friedman, president of the Dodgers division of baseball operations earlier this spring, said the owners weren’t putting any pressure on the owners despite losses of more than $ 100 million last season that sparked numerous layoffs across the organization Have exercised wage cuts.

“I think our main focus is on doing everything we can to defend our title,” said Friedman. “I’m sure trade talks will take place during the spring training session, but it’s nothing that comes to our minds regarding moving money. The moves and things we’ve done for the past three years have now given us a little more flexibility. I think from our point of view we feel really good about the team we have on site.

“We know there are some additional costs involved, which is not ideal, but costs money. But we feel like we as a team somehow outweigh the rewards. ”

K’S FOR A CAUSE

Bauer announced a seasonal charity initiative through which he will donate $ 1,000 to local nonprofits for every strike he records.

Bauer’s charity – Ks for a Cause – donates to a different organization each month, with a focus on groups that support STEM and youth programs in the greater Los Angeles area. “Ks for a Cause” goods are also available. The proceeds go to the specified organizations.

In April, Bauer’s strikes will benefit ‘Think Together’, a group that organizes early intervention programs, post-school programs, student support services and efforts to improve the school. The donation from Bauer will help fund STEM and robotics programs for middle school students in southeast Los Angeles.

During the six full seasons from 2014 to 2019, Bauer averaged 192 strikes per season, up from 253 in 2019. During the shortened 2020 regular season, Bauer averaged 12.3 strikes per nine innings.

NEXT

Dodgers (RHP Walker Buehler, 1-0, 3.44 ERA in 2020) v Rockies (RHP Jon Gray, 2-4, 6.69 ERA in 2020), Saturday, 5:10 pm, SportsNet LA, FS1, 570 a.m.