Farhan Zaidi | |
---|---|
Baseball Executive | |
Born: Sudbury, Ontario, Canada | November 11, 1976|
Teams | |
| |
Career highlights and awards | |
Farhan Zaidi (born November 11,1976) is a Canadian baseball executive who was formerly the president of baseball operations for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). Zaidi also served as General Manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Assistant General Manager of the Oakland Athletics.
Zaidi is one of the only Muslim executives in Major League Baseball. [1] He was the first Muslim and first Pakistani-American and subsequently first South Asian-American [2] general manager in Major League Baseball. [3] He was the first Muslim to run a major North American sports team.
Zaidi was born on November 11,1976,in Sudbury,Ontario,Canada,to a family of Pakistani ancestry. [4] [5] His parents,Sadiq and Anjum,raised four children:Zeeshan,Farhan,Noor,and Jaffer. [6] [3] Zaidi grew up in the Philippines after his family moved to Manila when he was four years old,where he attended the International School of Manila. [4] [5] [7]
He has a Bachelor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in economics from the University of California,Berkeley. [8] He briefly worked for the Boston Consulting Group and the Sporting News website between MIT and Berkeley. [8] [9]
While at Berkeley,Zaidi read the book Moneyball and said that it changed his life. [10] He saw a job posting for a baseball operations position with the Oakland Athletics and sent out his résumé,beating out 1,000 other applicants for the job. [9] He was a data analysis sabermetrics assistant when he started. [11] His boss with the Athletics,Billy Beane,called him "absolutely brilliant" and credited him with the acquisition of Yoenis Céspedes. [1]
For the 2013 season,Zaidi was promoted by the Athletics to the post of director of baseball operations and added assistant general manager to his title in 2014. [12] [13]
On November 6,2014,Zaidi was named by the Los Angeles Dodgers as their new general manager under president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. [14]
Under his watch as the Dodgers GM,the team made its first World Series appearance in 29 years in 2017,falling to the Houston Astros in seven games. The following year,they lost in five games to the Boston Red Sox in the 2018 World Series.
On November 6,2018,Zaidi accepted an offer to join the San Francisco Giants to become president of baseball operations. [15] [16] In 2021,the Giants won a franchise-record 107 games,and Zaidi was voted the Sporting News Executive of the Year [17] and MLB Executive of the Year,becoming the first person of South Asian descent to win either award.
When Zaidi's general manager Scott Harris left the Giants in 2022 to become the president of baseball operations for the Detroit Tigers,Zaidi hired Pete Putila to be the Giants new general manager. [18]
In October 2023,Zaidi and the Giants agreed to a new three-year contract through 2026. [19] It was later revealed that the contract between Zaidi and the Giants was a two-year contract,through 2025,with the equivalent of a club option for 2026. [20]
On September 30,2024,the Giants announced they would be parting ways with Zaidi. The Giants hired Buster Posey to take over as the President of Baseball Operations. [21] [22]
Zaidi is married to Lucy Fang,a fellow MIT graduate. [9]
Though he primarily grew up in the Philippines,Zaidi still considers himself Canadian. His family returned to Canada every other summer to visit family and friends;as a result,Zaidi became a fan of the Toronto Blue Jays and many of its star players,such as Jesse Barfield,Tony Fernandez and George Bell. Zaidi was in Grade 11 when he watched Joe Carter hit his game-winning walk-off home run in 1993 to win back-to-back World Series championships for the Jays. [23]
Kimberly J. Ng is an American executive best known for her work on Major League Baseball. She is the former general manager of the Miami Marlins. She was the first woman to serve as general manager of a team in the Big Four leagues in North America and the first person of East Asian descent to serve as general manager of an MLB team. She is currently an advisor for Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball.
Baseball America (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level,including Major League Baseball (MLB),with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college,high school,and international leagues. It is currently published in the form of an editorial and stats website,a monthly magazine,a podcast network,and three annual reference book titles. It also regularly produces lists of the top prospects in the sport,and covers aspects of the game from a scouting and player development point of view. Industry insiders look to BA for its expertise and insights related to annual and future MLB draft classes. The publication's motto is "The most trusted source in baseball."
Brian R. Sabean,nicknamed "Sabes",is an American baseball executive for the New York Yankees. He serves as executive advisor to the general manager and senior vice president Brian Cashman. Before coming to the Yankees,he was the executive vice president of baseball operations of the San Francisco Giants. He served as the team's general manager for eighteen seasons,from 1997 to 2014. He succeeded general manager Bob Quinn. The Giants had a winning record in thirteen of the eighteen seasons in which Sabean served as general manager. Prior to his tenure,the team had suffered losing seasons in five out of six years. He is a native of Concord,New Hampshire.
Robert Paul Melvin is an American professional baseball manager and former catcher who is the manager of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). Melvin has been named Manager of the Year three times.
Bruce Douglas Bochy is a French-American professional baseball manager and former catcher who is the manager of the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). During his playing career,Bochy was a catcher for the Houston Astros,New York Mets,and San Diego Padres. After retiring as a player,Bochy managed the Padres for 12 seasons,from 1995 to 2006,and the San Francisco Giants for 13 seasons,from 2007 to 2019. As manager,Bochy led the Padres to one World Series appearance (1998),the Giants to three World Series championships,and the Rangers to the franchise's first World Series championship in his first season with the club (2023). He is one of only three managers to win a World Series championship in both leagues,joining Sparky Anderson and Tony La Russa as the others. Bochy is the 11th manager in MLB history to achieve 2,000 wins.
Josh Byrnes is an American baseball executive who is senior vice president of baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Ned Louis Colletti Jr. is an American sports executive with 40 years experience in Major League Baseball,is a four-time Emmy Award-winning baseball analyst,a professor of Sports Administration at Pepperdine University,the author of the best-selling book The Big Chair,and a scout for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League. He was general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2006 through 2014. Before moving to the Dodgers,he was assistant general manager of the San Francisco Giants. Colletti is one of very few American sports executives to work in two major sports:Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League.
Andrew Friedman is an American professional baseball executive. He is currently the president of baseball operations of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously served as the general manager for MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays,where Sporting News named him Executive of the Year in 2008. That year,for the first time in franchise history,the Rays both qualified for the playoffs and played in the World Series. In Los Angeles,as of 2024,Friedman and the Dodgers have won two World Series,four pennants,and eight division titles since he took the job after the 2014 season. Baseball America called the Dodgers the model franchise in the sport under Friedman’s tenure as President.
The history of the San Francisco Giants begins in 1883 with the New York Gothams and has involved some of baseball's greatest players,including Willie Mays,Juan Marichal,Barry Bonds,and Gaylord Perry. The team has won three World Series titles and six National League (NL) pennants since moving to San Francisco.
Gerald Dempsey "Buster" Posey III is an American former professional baseball catcher and is currently the president of baseball operations for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent his entire 12-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Giants,from 2009 until his retirement at the conclusion of the 2021 season.
Brandon Michael Crawford is an American former professional baseball shortstop. He spent 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB),playing all but his last season for the San Francisco Giants. Crawford played college baseball for the University of California,Los Angeles (UCLA). He was selected in the fourth round of the 2008 MLB draft by the Giants,and played his final season in 2024 with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Robert Carlton Evans is an American professional baseball executive for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously served as San Francisco's general manager from 2015 to 2018.
Scott Harris is an American baseball executive. He is the president of baseball operations of the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball,after having previously served as general manager of the San Francisco Giants.
The 2021 season was the 139th season for the San Francisco Giants in Major League Baseball (MLB),their 64th year in San Francisco,and their 22nd at Oracle Park. It was the Giants' second season under manager Gabe Kapler,who managed his first 162-game season with the club,and he led them to the best record in the league.
The 2021 National League Division Series were two best-of-five-games series in Major League Baseball (MLB) to determine the participating teams of the 2021 National League Championship Series. The three divisional winners,seeded first through third,and a fourth team —determined by the NL Wild Card Game —played in two series. These matchups were:
The MLB Executive of the Year Award was established by Major League Baseball (MLB) after the 2018 season. The award is given annually to one executive,including general managers,in MLB. It is voted on by all 30 MLB teams,before the postseason. The inaugural winner was Billy Beane of the Oakland Athletics.
Peter Putila is an American professional baseball executive who currently serves as the assistant general manager for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB).