Farhan Zaidi
| Farhan Zaidi | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 11, 1976 Sudbury, Ontario, Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Alma mater |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology University of California, Berkeley |
| Occupation | General Manager |
| Years active | 2005 - present |
| Employer | Los Angeles Dodgers |
Farhan Zaidi (born November 11, 1976) is a Canadian-American sports executive of Pakistani descent. He is currently the General Manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Zaidi was born on November 11, 1976 in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada to a family of Pakistani ancestry. He was raised in the Philippines after his family moved to Manila when he was four years old.[1][2] He has a Bachelor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a doctorate of philosophy (PhD) in economics from the University of California, Berkeley.[3] He briefly worked for the Boston Consulting Group and the Sporting News website between MIT and Berkeley.[3][4]
While at Berkeley, he read the book Moneyball and it changed his life.[5] He saw a job posting for a baseball operations position with the Oakland Athletics and sent out his resume, beating out 1,000 other applicants for the job.[4] He was a data analysis sabermetrics assistant when he started.[6] His boss with the Athletics, Billy Beane called him "absolutely brilliant" and credited him with the acquisition of Cuban star Yoenis Céspedes.[7]
For the 2013 season he was promoted by the Athletics to the post of Director of Baseball Operations and added Assistant General Manager to his title in 2014.[8][9]
On November 6, 2014, he was hired by the Los Angeles Dodgers as their new general manager.[10]
Zaidi is one of two Muslim executives in Major League Baseball.[7] He is the first Muslim general manager of any American professional sports franchise.
References
- ↑ Elliott, Bob (November 11, 2014). "Dodgers GM celebrates birthday in style". Toronto Sun. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
- ↑ Kennedy, Brendan (November 5, 2014). "Canadian-born Farhan Zaidi to be named Los Angeles Dodgers GM". The Star.
- 1 2 "AP source: Dodgers hiring A's Farhan Zaidi as GM". ESPN.com. Associated Press. November 4, 2014. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
- 1 2 Hecht Maxwell, Jill (April 19, 2011). "Farhan Zaidi '98". Technology Review. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
- ↑ Kennedy, Brendan (May 24, 2014). "Oakland A’s executive changing the face of baseball". Toronto Star. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
- ↑ "An Interview with Farhan Zaidi of the Oakland A’s". sabernomics.com. May 25, 2005. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
- 1 2 Slusser, Susan (February 4, 2014). "A's exec GM Farhan Zaidi takes old- and new-school approach". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
- ↑ "Exclusive: A’s Director of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi Talks Top Prospects with A’s Farm – Part 1". A's Farm. March 7, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
- ↑ Lockard, Melissa (February 19, 2014). "Oakland A's Spring Q&A: Farhan Zaidi, Part 1". scout.com. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
- ↑ "Dodgers hire Farhan Zaidi as GM". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from The Baseball Cube
- BR Bullpen
- Athletics bio
- Laurila, David (March 8, 2013). "Sloan Analytics: Farhan Zaidi on A’s Analytics". Fangraphs. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
- McCullough, Andy (March 30, 2017). "How Dodgers GM Farhan Zaidi became one of the most coveted minds in baseball". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ned Colletti |
Los Angeles Dodgers General Manager 2014–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |