It is certainly understandable that the last place on earth a major league baseball player wants to be after a grueling 162-game regular season (and if they’re lucky the postseason) is the ballpark. I mean, it’s the off-season, right? But you would think that after your team just spent nine arduous weeks looking for finally signing a new manager – the head honcho, el jefe, the skipper, the guy who decides whether you play or sit – you would at least make a cameo appearance at their introductory press conference.

Yet at Tuesday introductory press conference for new Dodgers manager Dave Roberts there was exactly one current Dodger in attendance, and it happened to be the same one and only current Dodger who attended Andrew Friedman’s introductory press conference a little over a year ago as well. It was five-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glover and two-time Silver Slugger Adrian Gonzalez. That’s it. AGon was the lone representative from the Dodgers active and 40-man rosters in attendance.

Just as he was for Andrew Friedman’s introductory press conference a year ago, Adrian Gonzalez was once again the only current Dodger in attendance for Dave Roberts’ introductory press conference on Tuesday.
(Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

It goes without saying that Dodger players living in other countries such as the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico or Venezuela (etc.) who spend their off-seasons at home wouldn’t make it, or even guys living across our own country for that matter. But for guys in and around Southern California – and there are several – why wouldn’t they want to show a little support for the guy who will be calling the shots from the Dodgers dugout for the next three or four year? Heck, even 83-year-old former Dodgers great and 1962 NL MVP Maury Wills made the trip over from Phoenix to attend the press conference.

Now granted, there are a number of Dodger players who aren’t exactly buddy buddy with certain members of the media, but this isn’t about them or about the media guys, it’s about the guy sitting front and center on the stage who himself had to deal with the media throughout his playing and coaching days and will do so even more as the Dodgers manager.

Don’t think for one second that Adrian Gonzalez’s appearance at Roberts’ introductory press conference on Tuesday didn’t mean a great deal the new Dodgers manager. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Perhaps I’m not seeing the big picture here, but I simply do not understand this. It’s not like it was a surprise or a short-notice thing. Roberts was officially announced as the Dodgers new manager a week before his introductory press conference, so that excuse doesn’t hold water.

Again, perhaps I’m missing something here but I have to tell you that my already high opinion of Adrian Gonzalez went up even more on Tuesday because of his thoughtful gesture of showing up for his new manager’s press conference. He has proven once again why he is the indisputable leader of the Dodgers and leads by example, not just words.

Bravo, AGon. Bravo!