The Los Angeles Dodgers officially announced the hiring of former Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopolous as vice president of baseball operations on Tuesday. With the addition, the Dodgers front office is teeming with GM types.
Anthopolous was named executive of the year this past season by the Sporting News after the Blue Jays won their first AL East title since 1993, but departed Toronto due to reported friction with new club president Mark Shapiro.
The main brain trust in L.A. now appears to be president Andrew Friedman (who was GM of the Rays before taking this job), GM Farhan Zaidi, senior vice president Josh Byrnes (who has been GM of the Diamondbacks and Padres) and Anthopolous.
Past that, though, there are two more former GMs with the Dodgers. Ned Coletti was the GM before Friedman and is now termed as a senior advisor. Speaking of advisors, Gerry Hunsicker is a special advisor. He was the Astros GM from 1995-2004, during which time the franchise made the playoffs five times.
Though some other front offices have groups of bright minds, none can match the level of general managing experience the Dodgers have. Not that it necessarily makes the Dodgers better than other teams, it's simply an interesting factoid.
