On each of the 20 occasions Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts has elected to start Andrew Toles this season, he has sent the 24-year-old outfielder a night-before text notifying him.
“OK,” Toles writes back each time.
To Roberts, that sense of simplicity is startling. On Tuesday, he likened Toles’ rookie season to a dream, one that began in the Class-A California League and figures to conclude on the Dodgers’ playoff roster, perhaps even in their starting lineup.
“It’s one of those things where I hope he never wakes up,” Roberts said.