While the Los Angeles Dodgers are on an unprecedented run of winning four consecutive National League West titles, there have been multiple, and notable, shakeups during the streak. The first came in October 2014 when former general manager Ned Colletti was reassigned.
The now-senior advisor was replaced by Andrew Friedman, who at last made the decision to leave his post as Tampa Bay Rays general manager, after years of rejecting overtures from other clubs. Then after being eliminated in the 2015 NL Division Series, the Dodgers and Don Mattingly mutually agreed to part ways.
Friedman hand-selected Dave Roberts as manager, and despite Roberts not having previous experience in that position, the decision has proven to be a sound one. While the Dodgers are far and away in a better position now than during the Frank McCourt era, a World Series continues to evade them.
Entering his third season as head of the Dodgers front office, Friedman acknowledged there’s pressure to end the 28-year drought, though said it’s primarily self-imposed, via Joel Sherman of the New York Post:
“I feel a lot of pressure for that [a championship] to happen, but mainly imposed on myself,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said.
When the Chicago Cubs eliminated the Dodgers in the 2016 NL Championship Series, Los Angeles moved up the list of teams facing the longest period of time between World Series appearances. The Dodgers enter this season owners of the sixth-longest World Series drought.
Teams who have gone more years since last reaching the Fall Classic are the Baltimore Orioles (1983), Milwaukee Brewers (1982), Pittsburgh Pirates (1979), and Seattle Mariners and Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals who have yet to reach the World Series in their existence.
Some of Friedman’s previous decisions drew the ire of some within the fan base, but the criticism has quieted with the Dodgers’ sustained play. Re-signing Rich Hill, Kenley Jansen, Justin Turner and Chase Utley further added to improving perception of Friedman.
