Ned Colletti

Ned Colletti
Born	Ned Louis Colletti, Jr. April 16, 1954 Chicago, IL
Nationality	USA
Alma mater	Northern Illinois University
Occupation	General Manager
Years active	6
Employer	Los Angeles Dodgers
Home town	Franklin Park, IL
Predecessor	Paul DePodesta
Website
http://mlb.mlb.com/la/community/executives/colletti.html

Ned Louis Colletti, Jr. is General Manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He previously served as Assistant General Manager for the San Francisco Giants.^[1]

Colletti graduated from East Leyden High School in Franklin Park, Illinois and Northern Illinois University. He attended Triton College before graduating from NIU and was inducted into the Triton College Sports Hall of Fame in 1993, the same year Major League players Kirby Puckett, Lance Johnson and Jeff Reboulet were enshrined.^[2]

In 1982, Colletti began his Major League career with the Chicago Cubs. He worked both in the media relations and baseball operations departments, rising to assume responsibility for key salary arbitration cases and assisting in player acquisitions and salary negotiations. He was a member of the front office when the Cubs won the National League East in 1984 and 1989 and was instrumental in retaining Hall of Famers Ryne Sandberg and Andre Dawson. Colletti was honored with Major League Baseball's Robert O. Fishel Award for Public Relations Excellence in 1990.^[3]

Colletti left the Cubs and joined the front office of the San Francisco Giants in 1994 as Director of Baseball Operations. He was promoted to Assistant General Manager in October 1996 and in his nine seasons working side-by-side with Brian Sabean, the Giants had a 813-644 record (.558), winning an average of 90.3 games per season.

Career with the Dodgers

Colletti became the 10th General Manager in Los Angeles Dodgers history and the fifth in eight years when he was hired Nov. 16, 2005.

During Colletti's first six years as GM, the Dodgers reached the post-season three times, including back-to-back trips to the National League Championship Series in 2008 and 2009 for the first time since 1977-78.^[4] Despite inheriting a team that went 71-91, the second-worst franchise record in six decades, Colletti's teams had winning records in five of his first six seasons. And in 2010, after five years of Colletti's leadership, the Dodgers were named Topps Organization of the Year, an honor presented annually to the Major League franchise that has shown most-outstanding performance, depth and talent among its Major and Minor League teams.^[5]

The Dodgers' 511-460 (.526) record from 2006-2011 was third best among National League teams behind only the Phillies (.574) and Cardinals (.529). Among NL West teams, the Dodgers' record was 24 games better than second-best Colorado. During Colletti's first six seasons, the Dodgers compiled the best ERA and second-best batting average in the National League.

Colletti reached 500 wins as a General Manager on Sept. 9, 2011, when Clayton Kershaw beat Tim Lincecum and the Giants 2-1 in San Francisco. The win came in Colletti's 953rd game as GM. Only Buzzie Bavasi (895 games) reached the 500-win mark faster in Dodger history. ^[6]

National League 2006-2011

Among Colletti's notable player transactions, as GM, have been: Takashi Saito, Hiroki Kuroda, Jason Schmidt, Juan Pierre, Andruw Jones, David Wells and Jim Thome. He acquired future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux twice, trading César Izturis to the Chicago Cubs for Maddux at the July 31st deadline in 2006^[7] and giving up a pair of minor leaguers to bring Maddux back from the San Diego Padres on Aug. 19, 2008.^[8] Colletti's first trade, less than a month after he became General Manager, brought two-time All-Star Andre Ethier to the Dodgers from Oakland for Milton Bradley^[9] and infielder Antonio Perez, who was out of baseball the next season.

Colleti's acquisition of Manny Ramirez at the trade deadline in 2008 is considered by many to be one of the greatest trades in Dodger franchise history. He also was responsible for signing National League Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw and MVP runner-up Matt Kemp to extended contracts before the 2012 season.

Under Colletti, the Dodgers have rekindled their storied history of international involvement in player acquisition, player development and promoting the game. In addition to signing Saito and Kuroda and such promising talent as Rubby De La Rosa of the Dominican Republic and Kenley Jansen of Curacao, the Dodgers established a working arrangement with La Guaira Tiburones,^[10] seven-time champions of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. And from 2008-10, the Dodgers played the first-ever Major League exhibition in China,^[11] hosted the finals of the World Baseball Classic^[12] and traveled to Taiwan to play a two-city tour against a team of All-Stars from the Chinese Professional Baseball League.^[13]

Combined Career as AGM and GM

Colletti has been a top front office executive -- either an Assistant General Manager or General Manager -- continuously since 1997 with two clubs, the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. Only seven other current GMs^[14] have served continuously, either as an AGM or a GM, from 1997-2012. Of the eight current GMs who have served continuously for the past 15 seasons as Assistant General Manger or General Manager, only Brian Cashman of the New York Yankees has a higher winning percentage.

Three other current GMs have come close to serving continuously in senior team-building positions. Doug Melvin missed out in 2002 when he served as a special consultant for the Boston Red Sox between stints as the GM of the Texas Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers. Terry Ryan of the Minnesota Twins stepped down as GM after the 2007 to become a senior advisor and resumed his GM duties in 2011. And Kevin Towers spent the 2010 season as a special assistant to Cashman in New York between reigns as GM in San Diego and Arizona.

Current GMs in 2012 and their records building winners from 1997-2011

• = Ryan was senior advisor for Twins 2008-10
  • = Melvin was special consultant to Red Sox in 2002
    • = Towers was special assistant to the Yankees in 2010

Charity and Community Work

Colletti is active in several community and charity efforts in Los Angeles. He and the Dodgers have partnered with Guide Dogs of America to sponsor lifelong working partners for the visually impaired. In October 2011, Colletti joined radio personality Peter Tilden and Colletti's friends from the band Chicago, who played a benefit concert that raised funds for Guide Dogs of America and the Foundation for Fighting Blindness.^[15]

In 2009, Colletti received a Humanitarian Award from A Place Called Home, located in South Central Los Angeles, which provides at-risk youth with a secure, positive environment.^[16]

Colletti also joined actors Tim Robbins and Helen Mirren to raise nearly $30,000 in December 2011 for Get Lit, a city program designed to provide youth with opportunities to develop an appreciation for literature, writing, reading and poetry.^[17]

References

• Ned Colletti's Dodgers.com bio