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Andrew Friedman

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For other people named Andrew Friedman, see Andrew Friedman (disambiguation).

Andrew Friedman
Friedman in 2011
Los Angeles Dodgers
President of Baseball Operations
Born: Houston, Texas, U.S.
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Andrew Friedman is an American professional baseball executive. He is currently the president of baseball operations of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously served as the general manager for MLB's Tampa Bay Rays, where Sporting News named him Executive of the Year in 2008. That year, for the first time in franchise history, the Rays both qualified for the playoffs and played in the World Series. In Los Angeles, as of 2025, Friedman and the Dodgers have won three World Series, five pennants, and nine division titles since he took the job after the 2014 season. Baseball America called the Dodgers the model franchise in the sport under Friedman's tenure as President.[1]

Early and personal life

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Friedman was born in Houston and is Jewish.[2][3] His father, J. Kent Friedman, known as Kenny, is a lawyer who played college baseball for Tulane.[4][5][6] Andrew Friedman attended and played baseball as a center fielder and leadoff hitter for Episcopal High School in Houston.[7]

Friedman attended Tulane University on a baseball scholarship. He played center field for the Green Wave, but was hit by a pitch that broke his left hand in the fall of his freshman year. He returned from that injury the following year, but then separated his left shoulder while sliding headfirst into third base.[7][8] He earned a B.S. in management, with a concentration in finance, at Tulane's Freeman School of Business in 1999.[7][9]

Friedman was next an analyst with Bear Stearns from 1999 to 2002, and then was an associate at MidMark Capital, a private equity firm from 2002 to 2004.

He and his wife, Robin, live in Pasadena, California, with their three children.[10]

Career

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Tampa Bay Rays

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In 2003, Friedman met Stuart Sternberg, the new owner of the Tampa Bay Rays. They realized they had similar ideas about the game and wanted to work together.[11]

From 2004 to 2005, Friedman served as the director of baseball development for the Rays. He was promoted to the position of executive vice president of baseball operations and general manager after the 2005 season, at the age of 28, replacing the club's first general manager, Chuck LaMar, who was fired following the club's eighth losing season in its eight years of existence.[12]

Friedman gradually rebuilt the team. It ultimately paid off in 2008 when the Rays made the postseason for the first time in franchise history, and advanced all the way to the World Series. For his efforts, he was named as Baseball Executive of the Year by Sporting News.[13] They also made the playoffs in 2010, 2011 and 2013 under his tenure.

Los Angeles Dodgers

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On October 14, 2014, it was announced that Friedman had left the Rays to become the President of Baseball Operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers.[14] His contract with the Dodgers was reported at $35 million for five years, making him the highest-paid front-office executive in baseball.[15] Upon joining the Dodgers, team president and CEO Stan Kasten called Friedman "one of the youngest and brightest minds in the game today".[16] Friedman hired former Oakland Athletics executive Farhan Zaidi as the Dodgers' new general manager and brought in former Padres general manager Josh Byrnes as vice president of baseball operations.[17]

Since becoming the Dodgers President, Friedman helped lead the Dodgers to five World Series, winning three of them (2020, 2024, and 2025). Much of the Dodgers' success under Friedman is due to the mix trading and spending on elite talent, such as Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Trea Turner, Max Scherzer, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, etc., and developing homegrown talent, such as Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger and Joc Pederson, Will Smith, Michael Busch and pitchers Julio Urias and Walker Buehler, among others. The Dodgers' farm system has consistently ranked among the best in Major League Baseball under his tenure. In 2020, Baseball America called Los Angeles the model franchise in the sport.[1][18]

Management and coaching tree

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Friedman has trained and developed a number of successful baseball executives and coaches. Among the executives are Chaim Bloom, former Chief Baseball Officer for the Boston Red Sox and current President of Baseball Operations for the St. Louis Cardinals; James Click, former general manager of the Houston Astros and current Toronto Blue Jays VP; Alex Anthopoulos, general manager and president of baseball operations for the Atlanta Braves; Farhan Zaidi, former president of baseball operations for the San Francisco Giants; Matt Arnold, general manager for the Milwaukee Brewers; Erik Neander, senior vice president of baseball operations and general manager of the Tampa Bay Rays; and Peter Bendix, the president of baseball operations for the Miami Marlins.[19]

Managers and coaches include Dave Roberts, Dodgers' manager since 2016; Joe Maddon, who managed the Rays during Friedman's entire tenure with that club, and later the Cubs and Angels; Dave Martinez, manager of the Washington Nationals, who worked as the Rays' bench coach under Maddon; Charlie Montoyo, manager of the Toronto Blue Jays from 2015 to 2018, who also coached under Maddon while Maddon was the Rays manager; Rocco Baldelli, who after serving as a special assistant to Friedman, was hired as the manager of the Minnesota Twins;[20] Gabe Kapler, former Philadelphia Phillies' and San Francisco Giants' manager, who served as the Dodgers farm director from 2015 to 2017; and in 2024, Clayton McCullough was named the Miami Marlins manager after serving as Dodgers' first base coach for four seasons.[21]

In 2020 and 2021, each executive who ran the final four teams in the postseason all worked under Friedman at one point in their careers.[22]

References

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  1. ^ a b Glaser, Kyle. "'They're The Model:' How The Dodgers' Player Development Machine Rolls On". BaseballAmerica.com. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  2. ^ Schwartz, Alan (October 2, 2008). "Religion and baseball, a scheduling conflict". The New York Times. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  3. ^ Koren, Daniel (October 8, 2015). "Here Are The Jewish Players And Sportspeople Looking To Dominate The MLB Playoffs". The Canadian Jewish News.
  4. ^ Jeremy Evans (December 5, 2015). "Andrew Friedman: Myths and Expectations". Dodgers Nation. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  5. ^ Topkin, Marc. "Tampa Bay Rays' Andrew Friedman: Father's business has 'no bearing'". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on September 13, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  6. ^ https://jhvonline.com/kenny-friedman-honored-for-years-of-leadership-with-harris-countyhousto-p34607-96.htm
  7. ^ a b c "Dodgers' Andrew Friedman doesn't go just by the numbers - LA Times". Los Angeles Times. November 6, 2014.
  8. ^ "Tulane alumnus Andrew Friedman pivotal in assembling Tampa Bay Rays | NOLA.com". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  9. ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers hire ex-Tampa Bay Rays GM Andrew Friedman". October 14, 2014.
  10. ^ Leitereg, Neal J. (April 2, 2015). "Dodgers president Andrew Friedman strikes a deal in Pasadena". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  11. ^ "Passionate, and tough as nails". .tbo.com. October 22, 2008. Retrieved September 19, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  12. ^ "Sternberg takes over Rays, fires GM LaMar". ESPN.com. Associated Press. October 6, 2005. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  13. ^ Miller, Doug (February 16, 2010). "Youthful generation of GMs taking charge: Six clubs will break spring training camp with GMs under 40". MLB.com. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  14. ^ Shelburne, Ramona (October 14, 2014). "Andrew Friedman to join Dodgers". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  15. ^ Stephen, Eric (October 24, 2014). "Andrew Friedman's contract reportedly $35 million over 5 years". truebluela.com. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  16. ^ Kenneth, Andrew Friedman (October 14, 2014). "Dodgers hire Rays' Andrew Friedman as president of baseball operations | FOX Sports". FOX Sports. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  17. ^ Gurnick, Ken (November 14, 2015). "A's executive Zaidi named Dodgers' general manager". MLB.com. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  18. ^ "A $245 million payroll?! Why the Los Angeles Dodgers are outspending every other MLB team by a mile". March 5, 2021.
  19. ^ Rosenthal, Ken; McCullough, Andy. "Rays GM Peter Bendix joining Marlins to become head of baseball operations: Sources". The New York Times. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  20. ^ Diamond, Jared (October 17–18, 2020). "Top Teams Modeled in the Rays' Image". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  21. ^ De Nicola, Christina (November 11, 2024). "Miami Marlins hire Clayton McCullough as manager". MLB.com. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
  22. ^ Lemire, Joe (December 28, 2020). "SportTechie Awards: The L.A. Dodgers' Andrew Friedman Is Our 2020 Executive of the Year". www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
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