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

I absolutely hate the man on second extra-inning rule. It handicaps pitchers unfairly. Maybe in the 12th but not earlier.

Jack Wishard
Los Angeles

Saw last week’s letter about the USGA limiting public tickets to the U.S. Open to 9,000 and then saying they want to grow the game. I have a unique perspective on that. The gallery roping at the course was done in a way that the Clubhouse, first and 18th green area in general, put many spectators on dirt paths far from play. Having roped courses for major golf events such as the Bob Hope, it was obvious to me they were saying, “You people stay there and we will stay here.”

Bruce Loman
Newport Coast

Last Saturday the Angels put on arguably the greatest display of offense in the history of this storied franchise. In almost every other MLB city in America this would be front-page news. However, The Times had a few paragraphs on page 8 of their sports section and the story was written by a wire service writer who very obviously had no real connection to the team as a normal beat writer would. I understand these are hard times in the newspaper business, but you are still publishing a newsprint edition.

David Hardison
Murrieta

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Any doubts I had about the MLB pecking order in The Times’ sports section were blown away by last Sunday’s front page notice: Angels score record 25 runs, see Page D8.

R.C. Price
San Clemente

Regarding the column headlined, “Ducks surprise by drafting Leo Carlsson but choice makes sense.”

“Makes sense?!” Sure, about as much as drafting Darko Milicic in the 2003 NBA draft between LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony “made sense.”

Steve Wardinski
Santa Ana

Wonderful to read the beautifully researched and presented story about one of our country’s ’ most respected and remarkable athletes ever, Rafer Johnson. It’s also refreshing to read a truly iconic journalist’s account of the 1984 L.A. Olympic Games by former L.A. Times sports editor Bill Dwyre.

This perfectly researched and recounted story of Rafer Johnson beating the odds his entire life, and at middle age, totally committed to climbing to the top of the Coliseum steps to proudly light the Olympic flame in front of thousands of fans with millions viewing worldwide on global television. That iconic moment remains fresh in the minds of millions forever.

Leave it to the great Bill Dwyre to write a story like this. Truly one of the great writers in L.A. Times history.

Mario Palladini
Torrance

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