Andrew Friedman

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

Andrew Friedman
Friedman in 2011.
Born	(1976-11-13) November 13, 1976 Houston, Texas
Alma mater	Tulane University
Occupation	President of Baseball Operations
Years active	2005-present
Organization	Los Angeles Dodgers

Andrew Friedman (born November 13, 1976 in Houston, Texas) 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. 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 Kenny, he played baseball for Tulane.

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.

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 8th losing season in its 8 years in existence.

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. They also made the playoffs in 2010, 2011 and 2013 under his tenure.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On October 14, 2014, it was announced that he would leave the Rays to become the President of Baseball Operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers. His contract with the Dodgers was reported at $35 million for five years, making him the highest-paid front-office executive in baseball.

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. Friedman, Zaidi, and Byrnes add to a strong front office already 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, 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 for the season was nearly $300 million, also an all-time record.

References

Sporting positions
Preceded by Chuck LaMar	Tampa Bay Rays General Manager 2005–2014	Succeeded by Matthew Silverman
Preceded by Position established	Los Angeles Dodgers President of Baseball Operations 2014–present	Succeeded by Current