Ned Colletti never intended to be a published author. He couldn’t have dreamed of becoming a general manager. For the Los Angeles Dodgers, no less. But after 36 years in Major League Baseball, including nine at the helm of the Dodgers front office, the former executive has now accomplished both.
Unassuming and appreciative, rather than celebrate his accomplishments or rest on his laurels, Colletti much prefers to remain out of the spotlight. He serves as a studio analyst for Spectrum SportsNet LA and is a professor at Pepperdine University.
Colletti graciously met with DodgerBlue.com at the SportsNet LA studios to discuss his recently-published memoir, ‘The Big Chair.’
“When my job changed, I suddenly went from 18-hour days to this void. I had all this time and I had all these different things that had happened in my life,” Colletti began.
“And I just wanted to write it down. I really didn’t start this to sell a book, or to write a book. I just wanted to chronicle all the people I got a chance to meet and different things like that.”
The memoir takes fans back to his childhood days in Chicago, details a tough but determined rise through the Cubs organization and a growing process with the San Francisco Giants. The experiences earned Colletti the general manager position with the Dodgers, where he worked under embattled former owner Frank McCourt.
“My route to becoming a general manager was a little bit different than most,” Colletti said. “While it was a detriment perhaps at some point for me to get there, the opportunity I had with the Giants led to [the Dodgers]. Everything I’ve really done kind of added up to that day in November of ’05.”
While the path to becoming a general manager was filled with setbacks and hurdles, holding the position ultimately satisfied Colletti’s competitive nature. “I love to compete. Competition was every day,” he said.
“Every day you compete in a bunch of different ways, so that fueled me. The opportunity to team build, both organizationally and also with people in uniform was what really kept me going day in and day out.”
That Colletti reached the proverbial Big Chair was a noteworthy accomplishment on its own. There are only 30 such positions in the entire league. But that it came with the Dodgers added further significance.
“It was never lost on me that years before me Branch Rickey sat in that chair. It was never lost on me the lineage of who had been there before me,” Colletti explained.
“I was always honored that I had a chance to work for and represent an organization that not only was a good sports team but really had social change. The responsibilities of this organization were never lost on me. The organization is unique in some ways, because of the lineage and social change that it has advocated for.”
During his nine years at the helm of the front office, the Dodgers won four National League West titles — including back-to-back in 2013 and 2014 — and reached the postseason five times. They reached the NL Championship Series in 2008, 2009 and 2013.
Colletti isn’t one to specify what his biggest accomplishment was, “I leave that to other people to decide what went right, what went wrong,” he said. But if forced to choose a highlight, the trade for Andre Ethier stands out.
“I think Dre was big, because he was a Dodger for the first 12 years of his Major League career,” Colletti said.
In the book, he also details the process leading up to and completing the August 2012 record trade with the Boston Red Sox. It a few months after Guggenheim officially assumed control of the franchise, and with that came sweeping changes in strategy.
“Sometimes, a trade is more than just trading the back of a baseball card for another back of a baseball card,” Colleti said of the blockbuster.
“The philosophy that Stan (Kasten) instilled in me right away was, ‘Think big. Let’s think big things right here, right now. Don’t be afraid of anything you have on your mind that you want to do.'”
Colletti will next hold a book event at the prestigious Jonathan Club in Los Angeles in January. If it’s anything like his previous engagements, Colletti will be showered with more adoration, even if he can’t quite come to terms with it.
“I never expected anybody would care about anything I said. All of them have been sellouts, it’s been remarkable,” he marveled. “It’s been great, it’s humbling. I spend time with everybody that comes. Anybody that wants to talk, I talk. I’m in no hurry.”
No, Ned Colletti is never in a hurry. He tirelessly worked toward reaching the pinnacle in his profession, and is more than willing and happy to share his story with inquiring minds.
