Ever since president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman took over running the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2014, they could be described as a well-oiled machine.
From their coaching staff led by manager Dave Roberts and bench coach Bob Geren to their scouting and player development system, all the parts of their organization work together to create an organization that wins more often than any other team.
The Dodgers strategy is similar to a racing team, where the owner, manager, driver, crew chief and pit crew all need to be on the same page to have success. If one part fails, then the rest of the group will end up failing or struggling.
The comparisons don’t end there though as Geren considers managing and preparing for an MLB game as similar to the process for a race, he told Cary Osborne of Dodger Insider:
“Some of the parallels to baseball are trying to understand the game of baseball and how it changes. Same with the cars — understanding if I switch cars and how it changes. Going to different tracks would be similar to playing different teams — trying to scout out where I need to be aggressive, where I need to be cautious. Those have a lot of parallels with racing,” Geren said. “The data parts are similar, but there’s still a feel (to both).”
However, it isn’t all comparisons between baseball and racing for Geren. While he has come to expect winning every game with the Dodgers, the same can’t be said for his racing career.
Geren likes to race just for the competition of it and the adrenaline rush of driving fast cars:
“The one thing I have on my side is I will never be a great racer because I’m somewhat cautious,” he said. “I know that there’s no future in racing. It’s absolutely 100 percent for fun.”
“I don’t care if I win a race, I just want to compete,” Geren said. “In baseball, it’s 100 percent the opposite — especially when you’re with the Los Angeles Dodgers. You want to win every game until the last game of the playoffs.”
When managing a game, Geren is Roberts’ right hand man for in-game strategy and analytics-based advice. With them leading the team, the Dodgers have posted an MLB-best 542-329 record.
Roberts ‘synced up’ with Friedman
The 2022 season will mark Roberts and Friedman’s seventh working together.
The two have led the organization to tremendous success over the years, including five National League West titles, three NL pennants and one World Series championship in 2020.
And while they haven’t always seen eye to eye, Roberts believes he and Friedman are usually on the same page.
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