Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wants to clear the air around his flight-delay comments.
The two-time World Series campion skipper walked back the wording of his initial complaints about his team’s trip back home to California when speaking with media on Monday.
“I shouldn’t have said intent,” said Roberts. “I love Canada. I made the mistake of saying intent. It was a long day, a long trip. I’m very grateful to be in the World Series. And I shouldn’t have said intent. It was my apologies sincerely.”
Roberts first drew the ire of Canadian fans after appearing to speculate about reasoning behind a hold up on the trip from Toronto to Los Angeles after the Dodgers won Game 2 to even the series 1-1 on Saturday
“I don’t want to get too far into it,” Roberts said during Sunday’s World Series workout day. “I just arrived about 30 minutes ago. So there was some delays. I don’t know if there was intent or not. But, man, the international stuff was a bear. But we made it. We made it.”
Roberts’ words drew criticism on social media in part because the Dodgers were passing through United States customs. As Canada’s only MLB team, the Blue Jays are processed through U.S. customs on every road trip, and back through Canadian customs when they return.
“The process was very long,” said Roberts. “But a lot of it had to do with our big, huge, four-plane travel party. It’s just a part of international travel. And passports. Airline security. That’s part of it.”
“Canada is not trying to sabotage the Dodgers,” Roberts added. “I know that. It was just a long day.”
