Freddie Freeman was named the recipient of the 17th annual Roy Campanella Award, which is voted on by Los Angeles Dodgers players and coaches, but manager Dave Roberts also made it a point to highlight Hanser Alberto when announcing the winner to the clubhouse.
The Roy Campanella Award is given to one player who best exemplifies the spirit and leadership of the late Hall of Fame catcher, and within the organization, it is also known as the “Most Inspirational Dodger” Award. Campanella’s daughter, Joni Campanella Roan, and his grandson, JT Campanella, will present Freeman with the award during a pregame ceremony on Tuesday.
While Freeman earned the honor, there were multiple players deserving of it as well, including Alberto, who was among those to receive votes.
“This is one of the years that more players on this club got individual votes than ever before, which is a credit to a lot of candidates,” Roberts said. “He was the majority vote-getter, but I kind of brought Hanser to light a little bit too in the sense that he got a handful of votes.
“You’re talking about Roy Campanella, who obviously was a great player, but what he meant to the clubhouse he was a part of, Hanser in a lot of ways has done that for us. Being a big cheerleader at the end of the bench, showing up positive to work every day, pitching, taking down innings when we’ve needed it. Everything about him screams good teammate.”
Primarily a utility infielder, Alberto has also made 10 appearances out of the bullpen and extra innings to set an MLB record for most games pitched by a position player. The 29-year-old has also acted as a spark plug for the Dodgers this season.
Although Alberto hasn’t had a ton of success on the field, his value off the field and in the clubhouse has been invaluable to the team, and Roberts compared it to what Albert Pujols did last season. “I think in a different capacity, Albert did that for our club last year when he came over,” the skipper said.
“You’ve got to have guys that know their roles. Hanser knows his role and he has so much gratitude putting on the Dodgers uniform every night. Being ready when called upon is important, and he does add a lot of joy and fun to the clubhouse.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that are pretty straight-laced, and I don’t know if it’s bad these days to say it, but blue-collar, and just kind of go out there and play and not really emotional. He brings that out in our guys, which is great, especially when you’re going through the grind of Spring Training, 162 (games) and expect to play through October. The numbers that he might have, he’s much more impactful than the line score.”
Will Hanser Alberto make the postseason roster?
Alberto has been with the club the entire season, but he is currently in a battle with rookie Miguel Vargas to act as a right-handed bat off the bench for the Dodgers postseason roster.
Both players could end up earning a spot, but that would limit their left-handed options available.
“I don’t know yet,” answered Roberts when asked if Alberto would be on the playoff roster. “We’re going to keep having that conversation.”
If Alberto does not make the postseason roster, he could still travel with the team and be in the dugout as a member of the taxi squad.
As it currently stands, Austin Barnes, Chris Taylor, Cody Bellinger or Joey Gallo, and Alberto or Vargas would be the likely bench for the club in the playoffs.
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