L.A. Dodgers Owner Frank McCourt announced on Tuesday that the club has agreed to a long-term contract extension for General Manager Ned Colletti.
Colletti is the first GM in Dodgers franchise history to make it to the postseason in three of his first four years. The only other active GMs to accomplish the feat are New York’s Brian Cashman and Boston’s Theo Epstein.
“One of our core promises to our fans is championship caliber baseball, year-in and year-out,” Dodger Owner Frank McCourt said in a statement. “Ned has been instrumental in our going a long way towards fulfilling that promise.
“I couldn’t be happier for him, both personally and professionally. The stability and continuity that extending his contract provides will further help us achieve the goal of being a consistent winner and I’m thrilled that he will continue to lead our baseball operations into the future.”
Best in the NL
The Dodgers finished this year’s regular season with the best National League (NL) record (95–67)—a first for the club since 1983—and swept the NL Division Series for the second consecutive year.
It is also the first time since 1977–1978 that the team has made back-to-back appearances in the NLCS.
Under Colletti’s four-year reign, the Dodgers’ .539 winning percentage has become the second highest in the NL behind the defending champions the Phillies (.554).
“Ned’s leadership has created organizational consistency and the results speak for themselves,” said Dodger President Dennis Mannion. “He’s a tremendous asset to the Dodger organization and I look forward to working with him to ensure the Dodgers’ success in the years to come.”
Colletti has added big names to the Dodgers roster over the past two years, including Manny Ramirez, Greg Maddux and Jim Thome, as well as veterans Casey Blake, Vicente Padilla, George Sherrill, Ronnie Belliard and Jon Garland.
But he did this while holding on to the nucleus of the team with players like All-Star pitchers Jonathan Broxton and Chad Billingsley, as well as James Loney, Clayton Kershaw, Russell Martin, Matt Kemp and Hong-Chih Kuo.
Colletti has also reinvigorated the club’s interest in Asia, signing free agents Takashi Saito and Hiroki Kuroda out of Japan, and has focused on developing top talent in the Minors.
He launched an off-season player development program in 2008 and created the Dodger Pride Awards to honor the organization’s top Minor League players each month.
“My time here in Los Angeles has been very special to me and I’m honored to be associated with this tremendous franchise,” said Colletti.
“I’m very proud of what our baseball operations staff has accomplished over the last four years and I’m grateful for the support of the fans who have truly made me feel at home.
“I’m hopeful that we can bring them the championship they deserve in the very near future.”
Colletti was brought on by the Dodgers in November 2005 after serving with the San Francisco Giants for nine seasons in a dual role of Vice President and Assistant General Manager.
