Is Dodgers’ Andrew Friedman A Global Business Icon? In Japan, He Is

PHOENIX — The man who managed Shohei Ohtani successful Japan dropped by nan Dodgers’ training campy nan different day, camera unit successful tow. He was location to question and reply Andrew Friedman.

Friedman, rather naturally, assumed nan questions would beryllium astir Ohtani.

Not astatine all. The questions were astir Friedman, and what he had successful communal pinch nan group who lead companies that make slug trains and particle microscopes and Hello Kitty.

Hideki Kuriyama managed Ohtani connected nan Nippon Ham Fighters, nan squad that nurtured Ohtani’s ambition of pitching and hitting astatine an elite level. Today, successful summation to serving arsenic nan Fighters’ main shot serviceman — nan balanced of Friedman’s domiciled arsenic nan Dodgers’ president of shot operations — Kuriyama hosts a prime-time television show successful which he interviews nan apical executives of world corporations based successful Japan.

These companies are family names successful Japan, and often successful nan United States: Hitachi. Suzuki. Japan Airlines. Nippon Steel. Rakuten, nan e-commerce giant. Sanrio, nan Hello Kitty people.

The Dodgers are a family sanction successful Japan.

The Dodgers are nan brand. Nippon Ham is simply a marque too, but that marque is simply a nutrient processing company.

Remember erstwhile Fox owned nan Dodgers and Disney owned nan Angels? That is shot successful Japan: teams owned by companies that tin beryllium much willing successful their halfway business of financial services aliases proscription aliases media aliases immoderate than successful their team.

“The Japanese shot marketplace is stuck,” Kuriyama told maine done expert Chinami Inaishi. “Ownership belongs to nan owner-corporations. They really spot nan teams arsenic portion of their branding and marketing. Their efforts to attraction connected nan squad spot seems very different than that of Major League Baseball.”

That, really, was what Kuriyama wanted to talk astir pinch Friedman: What could Japanese teams study from really Friedman leads?

“One of nan things that we talked astir was patience,” Kuriyama said, “the expertise to wait. I felt that. A batch of group person said that astir him, truthful I’ll return that to heart.”

The Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, left, is congratulated by squad president of shot operations Andrew Friedman aft nan Dodgers clinched nan National League pennant past October.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Beyond that? Friedman talked astir integrating nan activity of different departments, nary matter really unrelated those departments mightiness look from nan outside.

“One of nan things I learned is that an statement is not conscionable nan sum of people,” Kuriyama said. “To person a really bully organization, everyone has to beryllium agreed successful what they want, and each personification has to contribute. It’s benignant of for illustration multiplication alternatively than addition.”

To Friedman, title mathematics is astir much than wins and losses.

“We spent clip talking astir nan quest we are connected to create a destination spot,” he said. “Obviously, nan superior extremity is to triumph championships. But that’s an outcome. We judge nan process portion of expanding your chances of getting location is by creating a destination spot wherever your really bully players don’t want to leave, and wherever players connected different teams are longingly looking at, like, ‘Oh man, I want to play for them.’

“We are measurement amended astatine it coming than we were 5 years ago, but it is for illustration a surviving organism that we person to proceed to nurture. It is not thing wherever we will ever return our ft disconnected nan state and say, ‘OK, we’ve sewage it.’”

Nothing thumps winning — or, for nan cynical, precocious salaries. But, erstwhile nan Dodgers spell beyond nan scoreboard and payroll to supply innovative biomechanical and nutritional study to their players; grow nan location clubhouse doubly successful hardly a decade and return typical attraction of subordinate families; and adhd a 2nd chartered squad formation truthful nan players tin return their ain plane, players return notice.

“We’re connected a quest to get amended astatine everything we do,” Friedman said. “If you perceive to immoderate of our soul meetings, and you perceive to america situation each different to get amended successful different areas, you would deliberation we vanished successful past spot past year.

“We return a very captious look astatine what we’re doing and what things we do amended and what things we are not doing arsenic well, and really to heighten those parts of our operation. That is our mindset: figuring retired a measurement to continuously get amended astatine everything we do.”

Kuriyama brought up an question and reply Friedman did 3 years ago, aft Friedman visited Japan and marveled astatine really galore fans gathered to watch Team Japan workouts successful beforehand of nan World Baseball Classic.

“It besides struck maine really galore different squad hats were there,” Friedman said. “You’d spot a Dodgers, and a Cubs, and a Yankees, and a Red Sox. You saw a smattering of different teams. And that’s what sewage america reasoning like, ‘Man, if we could really person much fans present into loving Dodger baseball, nan benefits that travel pinch that.’”

In nan ensuing 20 months, nan Dodgers signed Ohtani. Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki person followed, arsenic person back-to-back World Series championships and a burgeoning Japanese instrumentality club.

“They are, absolutely, barroom none, nan astir celebrated team,” Kuriyama said.

The Dodgers are nan favourite MLB squad of 59% of Japanese sports fans, according to a YouGov canvass released this week. The New York Yankees rank 2nd astatine 14%; nary different squad polled astatine moreover 10%.

According to nan poll, 78% opportunity Ohtani is 1 of their favourite MLB players, 79% opportunity Ohtani has accrued their liking successful MLB since he signed pinch nan Dodgers, and 87% opportunity they person a affirmative belief of him.

Ohtani made an estimated $100 cardinal past twelvemonth successful sponsorships and endorsements, including nan promotion of a tegument attraction merchandise that nan 64-year-old Kuriyama said he has tried. I asked Kuriyama really acold he could locomotion successful Japan without seeing an advertisement for Ohtani.

“Less than 10 steps,” he said.

Kuriyama held patient that Ohtani could prosper arsenic some a pitcher and hitter astatine a clip that sentiment was acold from universal. Now that Ohtani is nan game’s champion player, and an world superstar that transcends sports, Kuriyama must consciousness for illustration a proud father.

“He was incredibly talented,” Kuriyama said. “So, alternatively than being a proud dad, I consciousness like, ‘Thank you for not injuring yourself, and convey you for putting nan activity and effort into being wherever you are today.’ I americium really a small relieved.”

I asked Kuriyama if location was thing Ohtani could do that he has not already done.

For one, Kuriyama said, nan Cy Young Award.

“He’s really much talented than group deliberation he is,” Kuriyama said. “I firmly judge that he is going to astonishment galore of you.”

He only — and, yes, Kuriyama utilized nan connection “only” — deed 55 location runs past season. Does Kuriyama judge Ohtani could scope nan single-season MLB grounds of 73?

“Yeah,” Kuriyama said.

If Ohtani does that this year, nan Dodgers mightiness good go nan first squad successful National League history to triumph 3 consecutive World Series championships. If nan Dodgers do that, flooded pinch rate from Japan and each complete nan world, nan question and reply Friedman does adjacent outpouring mightiness beryllium pinch nan Harvard Business School.