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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.
Born (1976-11-13) November 13, 1976 (age 47)
Houston, Texas
Alma materTulane University
OccupationPresident of Baseball Operations
Years active2005-present
OrganizationLos Angeles Dodgers

Andrew Friedman (born November 13, 1976 in Houston, Texas)[1] is the President of Baseball Operations of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously served as the general manager for the 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.

Early life

Friedman, who is Jewish, was born in Houston, Texas.[2] He attended Episcopal High School in Houston, and subsequently Tulane University on a baseball scholarship, where he earned a B.S. in management with a concentration in finance at Tulane's Freeman School of Business. Like his father Kenneth, Andrew Friedman played baseball for Tulane.[3]

Friedman was then an analyst with Bear Stearns from 1999–2002, and then was an associate at MidMark Capital, a private equity firm, from 2002-04.

Baseball

Tampa Bay Rays

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.[4]

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.[5]

Friedman gradually rebuilt the team, and it 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.[6] They also made the playoffs in 2010, 2011 and 2013 under his tenure.

Los Angeles Dodgers

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.[7] His contract with the Dodgers was reported at $35 million for five years, making him the highest-paid front-office executive in baseball.[8]

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.[9] All former GMs, Friedman, Zaidi, and Byrnes augmented an already highly-accomplished front office consisting of Stan Kasten and Ned Colletti.

In his first offseason with the Dodgers, Friedman and the new front office made a huge splash. Through free agency or trades, the Dodgers parted ways with shortstop Hanley Ramirez, outfielder Matt Kemp,[10] second baseman Dee Gordon, and pitchers Brian Wilson and Dan Haren. However, they bolstered their farm system and added key players such as catcher Yasmani Grandal, infielders Howie Kendrick and Jimmy Rollins, and pitchers Brett Anderson & Mike Bolsinger. Friedman helped lead the Dodgers to their third straight National League West division title in 2015, his first season, but the team fell to the New York Mets in the National League Division Series (NLDS), 3–2. After the 2015 season, MLB penalized the Dodgers with a record $43 million luxury tax after determining their payroll was nearly $300 million, also an all-time record.[11] The Dodgers mutually parted ways with manager Don Mattingly following the 2015 season, and Friedman hired former Dodgers outfielder Dave Roberts to succeed Mattingly as manager. Starting pitcher Zack Greinke left the Dodgers for the Arizona Diamondbacks in free agency, and Friedman responded by signing pitchers Scott Kazmir and Kenta Maeda. The Dodgers, Reds, and White Sox completed a three-team trade, that netted the Dodgers outfielder Trayce Thompson, among others.

Friedman hired former MLB players Raúl Ibañez and Greg Maddux to be special assistants on February 2, 2016.[12]

For the first time since 2014, Friedman returned to Tropicana Field on May 3, 2016, when the Dodgers played the Rays. [13]

References

  1. ^ "Andrew Friedman — BR Bullpen". Baseball-reference.com. November 6, 2008. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
  2. ^ Schwartz, Alan (October 2, 2008). "Religion and baseball, a scheduling conflict". The New York Times. Retrieved December 19, 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ Jeremy Evans (December 5, 2015). "Andrew Friedman: Myths and Expectations". Dodgers Nation. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  4. ^ "Passionate, and tough as nails". .tbo.com. October 22, 2008. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
  5. ^ "Sternberg takes over Rays, fires GM LaMar". ESPN.com. Associated Press. October 6, 2005. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ Shelburne, Ramona (October 14, 2014). "Andrew Friedman to join Dodgers". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  8. ^ Stephen, Eric (October 24, 2014). "Andrew Friedman's contract reportedly $35 million over 5 years". truebluela.com. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  9. ^ Gurnick, Ken (November 14, 2015). "A's executive Zaidi named Dodgers' general manager". MLB.com. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  10. ^ Sanders, Jeff (September 3, 2015). "Do the Dodgers miss Matt Kemp? Dodgers offense scuffling as Padres' right fielder pens another strong second half". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved December 19, 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ Blum, Ronald (December 19, 2015). "Dodgers hit with over $43M in luxury tax". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved December 19, 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ "Dodgers hire Greg Maddux and Raul Ibanez as special assistants". USA Today. Associated Press. February 2, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  13. ^ Shaikan, Bill (May 3, 2016). "Dodgers' Andrew Friedman gets a warm welcome in return to Tampa Bay". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
Sporting positions
Preceded by Tampa Bay Rays General Manager
2005–2014 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Position established
 Los Angeles Dodgers President of Baseball Operations
2014–present 		Succeeded by
Current


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