Andrew Friedman is Why the Dodgers are Better Than the Yankees

We fans have a tendency to over-analyze and breakdown every bit of minutia over a game or five to find the singular reason or two our team lost – more often than not we do this to justify what we want to believe, while ignoring other relevant factors.

To wit;

I’ve borrowed this in one form or another from former great MLB player and former great Yankee broadcaster Ken Singleton often, because this factor is almost always overlooked when explaining why our team loses. Kenny used to say…

“You see those guys in the other dugout? They get pretty big paychecks too.”

The Dodgers are a great team and have been for a very long time – there’s no shame in losing to them and often there’s no secret code as to why you lost tot them. They’re just great.

In fact, Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers President of Baseball Operations, has inserted himself into the best MLB front office executive of all time discussion, and is likely on his way to Cooperstown.

I know as a reader of MBP, it’s unlikely you’re a simpleton who’d yell “But payroll!” at the previous statement, but just in case that thought crossed your mind:

After becoming the head shot caller in Tampa Bay – a team who at that point had never had a winning season in its eight-year existence, largely in part because its owner didn’t, and still won’t spend money – Friedman had Tampa performing at the same level as the Yankees and Red Sox.

From 2008 through 2014 under Friedman, the Rays won two AL East titles and earned four postseason playoff appearances – that’s the same number of postseason appearances as the Yanks over that stretch and one more than Boston. (I’m sure the differences in resources allotted between Friedman and his counterparts in New York and Boston don’t need to be delineated…)

Then ten seasons ago, Friedman left the Gulf Coast for the City of Angels, where he’d have supportive ownership and access to resources – as many other MLB front office executives had and still have. Except none of the other front office executives with those resources did this:

Over ten seasons: Ten postseason appearances, eight division titles, four World Series appearances, and two World Series wins.

Worth noting:

1. The Dodgers would likely have more than two World Series titles over that stretch if they hadn’t ended up on the wrong side of cheating scandals.
2. In 2015, former MLB pitcher Dave Stewart took over the front office in Arizona, and loudly proclaimed that the D’Backs would be run by “real baseball men” – a not so veiled shot at the Dodgers hiring Friedman. Something to think about when the “Bro, did you even play? You think you know more than (insert former player), nerd?” crowd chimes in. Andrew Friedman never played baseball professionally – he was an analyst for Bear Stearns.

Friedman’s impact has reached beyond LA as well. Multiple very good future GMs worked under Friedman, including Alex Anthopoulos and James Click, both of whom have World Series rings themselves. (Click being the GM in Houston who won without cheating.)

It’d be hard (impossible?) to argue there’s been a better front office executive than Branch Rickey, and in the modern game, Theo Epstein is certainly on his way to Cooperstown as well.

But don’t overlook Andrew Friedman. If you’re looking for a reason the Dodgers are better than the Yankees – for the last 10 years – it’s him.

Did I miss something? Let me know in the comments, or yell at me on the “My Baseball Page” on Facebook.

Recommended reading: If you’re curious what a shit show the Dodgers were pre-Friedman, check out Molly Knight’s fantastic book “The Best Team Money Can Buy”.

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