Letters to Sports: Dodgers’ Emmet Sheehan and Dave Roberts deserve more praise

What a great article on Emmet Sheehan. How inspiring that this 23-year-old had the discipline and drive to transform his pitching skills through creative hard work. Where most young people would have stayed in their mother’s basement on the couch and played video games, Emmet continued practicing his delivery, read self-help books, exercised and changed his diet, also studied YouTube videos for known pitchers. He made himself into a “self-made pitcher.”

I’m not even a sports fan and I loved the article. A motivational speaker’s company should hire him.

Georgia Jessup
Santa Monica

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I’m getting annoyed with the negative focus on Dave Roberts’ managerial role. It strikes me that a manager who achieves a winning percentage over eight seasons that translates to 102 wins does not deserve to be bashed to the extent reported in the letters that appear in the Sunday sports section. The critics argue that his achievement is based on the talent he has on the roster, not his managerial skills. But talent alone does not make a winning ballclub — just look down the road, the Padres clearly have the talent, but where are they in the standings?

Mark Mallinger
Malibu

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Until last Wednesday, no perfect game had been thrown in MLB since 2012. However, once again we are reminded the Dodgers should have allowed Rich Hill in 2016 and Clayton Kershaw in 2022 to attempt to complete their feats, rather than being lifted after they each pitched seven innings of perfect baseball.

Ken Feldman
Tarzana

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In the postgame interview after the 8-6 loss to the A’s, Yankee manager Dave Roberts explained that even though Domingo Germán was perfect after five innings, he pulled him to save him for the big upcoming weekend series against Baltimore. According to Roberts, “I spoke with Domingo and explained that having your name on a plaque in the Hall of Fame is not as important as next Sunday’s game against the Orioles. He understood.” NOT.

Jeff Knott
Fullerton

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Domingo Germán’s perfect game (June 28) reminded me of the night 28 years ago (July 14, 1995), when the Dodgers’ Ramón Martínez pitched a no-hit gem against the Marlins, allowing only a walk on a 3-and-2 count with two out in the eighth inning to spoil what would have been the first perfect game by a Dominican Republic pitcher.

Ramón may eventually have been eclipsed by younger brother Pedro, but he was the Dodgers’ ace at the time, and magnificent on a night never forgotten by those who saw it.

Gordon Berger
Santa Monica