Ned Colletti helped build this Dodgers team.
From 2006-2014, Ned Colletti was the general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, leading the team to the playoffs in five of his nine seasons, and only finishing with a losing season once. In 2008, 2009, and 2013 the Dodgers reached the NLCS, winning fourteen playoff games throughout Colletti’s tenure. Under Colletti’s watch, the Dodgers went 783-674 (.537), third best in the NL over that stretch, with the Dodgers setting attendance records in six of his nine seasons at the helm.
Despite his and the Dodger’s success, the franchise never reached the World Series during Colletti’s time as General Manager. This led to his removal as GM on October 14, 2014, after the Dodgers lost in the NLDS to the Cardinals in four games, despite having the MLB’s highest payroll by over $30 million, and over $55 million more than any other National League team.
Following Colletti’s firing, Andrew Freidman was brought over from the Rays to become President of Baseball Operations for the Dodgers, with Colletti shifting over to a new role as Senior Advisor to the President. This season, the Dodgers finally broke through and reached the World Series, ultimately falling to the Houston Astros in seven games, after one of the most memorable and closely contested series in baseball history.
Throughout all the coverage of the Dodgers run to the World Series and the pursuit of the MLB record of 116 wins in a season, many names were brought up and given credit for the Dodgers success; however, one of the names that did not get nearly enough credit as they deserved was Ned Colletti. While the Dodgers roster has greatly turned over since Colletti was last GM, the eleven players below were acquired by Colletti and are still on the Dodgers 40 man roster post World Series, and their total accumulated WAR with the Dodgers.
- Clayton Kershaw: 7th overall pick in the 2006 MLB Draft, 59.4 WAR
- Kenley Jansen: Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2004, 15.2 WAR
- Pedro Baez: Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2007, 2.3 WAR
- Julio Urias: Signed in August 2012, 0.7 WAR
- Hyun-Jin Ryu: Signed in December 2012, 6.9 WAR
- Cody Bellinger: Selected in 4th round of 2013 MLB Draft, 4.2 WAR
- Adrian Gonzalez: Acquired by Dodgers in August 2012, 13.3 WAR
- Corey Seager: 18th overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft, 13.5 WAR
- Justin Turner: Signed as a minor league free agent in 2014, 18.9 WAR
- Joc Pederson: Selected in the 11th round of 2010 MLB Draft, 5.3 WAR
- Yasiel Puig: Signed by Dodgers in June 2012, 16.5 WAR
Among the list of Colletti’s holdovers includes the past two NL Rookie of the Year winners in Seager and Bellinger, all-stars in Yasiel Puig, Adrian Gonzalez, and Joc Pederson, and the best starter and closer in baseball in Clayton Kershaw and Kenley Jansen. Together, this group includes five all-stars from this past season, the 2017 NLCS MVP, and the Dodgers #2-6 hitters in Game 7 of the World Series, not to mention the two pitchers that gave them five innings of scoreless relief to give them a chance to win. While Andrew Friedman and the Dodgers current front office deserves all the credit in the world for bringing in Dave Roberts as manager and filling out the roster that got the Dodgers to the World Series, it is time we recognize Ned Colletti for putting together the core building blocks of what could be a Dodgers dynasty for the foreseeable future.
