John Romano: The Rays way lives on through Andrew Friedman and his Tampa Bay legacy

John Romano, Tampa Bay Times on Nov 5, 2025

Published in Baseball

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The most impressive general manager in baseball has never been a general manager.

It’s a semantic thing, but it’s also at the heart of this tale. It was just over 20 years ago that Stuart Sternberg took over the running of the Tampa Bay Rays and announced Andrew Friedman would be the executive vice president in charge of baseball operations. It was essentially the same duties as a general manager, but also an indication that Friedman and the Rays would not be bound by baseball’s traditional concepts.

Two decades later — and a new title of president of baseball operations for the Dodgers — those non-traditional ideas in Tampa Bay and Los Angeles have led to 12 division titles, 15 playoff appearances, six pennants and three World Series championships for Friedman.

And while those accolades may one day end up on his plaque in the Baseball Hall of Fame, it’s permissible to believe they are part of Tampa Bay’s story, too. For all the fan favorites who have passed the clubhouse doors at Tropicana Field and for all the memories and moments etched into our hearts, it’s Friedman’s impact on the game that will help define this community’s place in baseball lore.

If Tampa Bay was not the birthplace of analytics, then it was the incubator.

“If we did things the same way as everyone else, we weren’t going to win,” said former Rays president Matt Silverman. “So we needed to do something different and potentially make our dollar stretch further. In some ways be willing to try things that may have seemed unorthodox at the time.”

That’s one way of putting it. Another is to say Tampa Bay helped drag baseball into the 21st century.

On the surface, the story is almost too absurd to believe. Three baseball fans working on Wall Street, and separated in age by a generation. Sternberg had already made his millions when he came across Silverman, a 20-something Harvard grad at Goldman Sachs who was writing a novel. Silverman, meanwhile, had been introduced by a mutual acquaintance to Friedman, another mid-20s guy, working at Bear Stearns and hoping to be hired in baseball after sending his resume to all 30 major-league teams. The three met at a diner outside of Manhattan to talk baseball for 90 minutes.

What emerged from that diner was a different future for baseball.

Analytics were not new to the game at that point, but they were about to get an overhaul in Tampa Bay. When Sternberg bought the franchise — and three of his first hires were Silverman, Friedman and Brian Auld, another Silverman friend — he brought a new sensibility to a century-old game.

He challenged his young executives to look beyond the norms and ask questions. If something makes sense, don’t be afraid to try it. And if it doesn’t work, don’t worry about being chastised. Above all else, work collaboratively.

There was a freedom in those edicts that perfectly matched Friedman’s intellect and charm. He’s funnier than most people would realize. And there’s an infectiousness to his personality that brings out the best in those around him.

“Andrew himself would say there’s no one person responsible for the development of ideas,” Silverman said. “Ideas can come easily. It’s the implementation of those ideas and getting an organization to buy into them that really sort of separates — and I think that’s what the Rays were able to do early on.”

His first year in charge, Friedman hired Joe Maddon and drafted Evan Longoria.

His second year, he discovered Carlos Peña and drafted David Price.

His third year, the Rays — who had never had a winning season — were in the World Series.

What has followed for Friedman, including Saturday night’s Game 7 win for the Dodgers in the World Series, is a string of success that matches, or exceeds, the accomplishments of Pat Gillick and John Schuerholz, the last two executives to be enshrined in Cooperstown.

But that’s not the end of the story, and not just because Friedman is still only days away from his 49th birthday. What may be even more incredible than all of the victories and trophies is the legacy that was created in Tampa Bay.

The Dodgers were the team finally capable of wooing Friedman from Tampa Bay, but a dozen other teams have been chasing the Rays model. Whether it is managers (Maddon, Dave Martinez, Rocco Baldelli, Derek Shelton, Matt Quatraro, Gabe Kapler, Blake Butera, Craig Albernaz) or executives (Chaim Bloom, James Click, Peter Bendix, Alex Anthopoulos, Farhan Zaidi, Kapler), there are Friedman colleagues and proteges from Tampa Bay and Los Angeles all over the MLB map.

“The common denominator is the quality of person,” Silverman said. “You can talk about sabermetrics and methods but really it’s about good people treating people well and trying to build a culture that is going to be successful year-in and year-out.

“When you look at the impact those individuals are having on the game and continue to have on the game and what they will pass on to future executives, that’s where the impact will be seen the most and that may even outlive the pennants and the championships.”

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