The Los Angeles Dodgers shocked the baseball world when they lured Andrew Friedman away from the Tampa Bay Rays at the end of the 2014 season.
Since Friedman took the helm as president of baseball operations, the Dodgers have qualified for the postseason all three times and have advanced to the National League Championship Series in back-to-back years.
While the ultimate goal is winning the World Series, the Dodgers have shown tremendous growth on a year-by-year basis with Friedman heading the front office. The club won a Major League-best 104 games during the regular season and proceeded to sweep the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL Division Series.
Los Angeles is now on the verge of reaching their first Fall Classic since 1988, doing so by dispatching of the defending champion Chicago Cubs. Prior to and since Friedman’s arrival, the Dodgers have faced large — and sometimes unrealistic — expectations.
That’s not an issue or daunting to Friedman, who explained he welcomes the pressure, via Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com:
“Expectations are great thing. One of my favorite things about this place, and it’s been my favorite thing since I got here, is the passion our fans have for this team. I think it’s awesome. It gives us a competitive advantage. I think players want to play where the fans have this level of interest and expectations.”
The Dodgers once again led the Majors in attendance during the 2017 season, drawing more than 3.7 million fans over the course of the year while averaging 46,492 per game.
With the heightened sense of pressure of delivering a World Series to Los Angeles, Friedman has come out of his comfort zone in recent months to make bold roster moves. Last offseason, he re-signed Rich Hill, Kenley Jansen and baseman Justin Turner, in addition to yielding a top prospect for Logan Forsythe.
Over the summer, Friedman added another ace to the starting rotation in Yu Darvish, as well as two lefty relievers in Tony Cingrani and Tony Watson. Each player was featured on the NL Championship Series roster and has contributed to the team’s success in 2017.
Time will tell if the Dodgers reach their ultimate goal this season, but Friedman has certainly done his part to take them there.
