Andrew Friedman rises out of his chair and grabs the control for the television in his office. The Los Angeles Dodgers are playing the Athletics and Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, is watching from an office at the team’s spring training base at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona.
The Dodgers eventually lost, but results do not matter at this time of the year. It’s spring training, so the focus is on preparation and the ultimate goal, as Friedman says with a chuckle, is “not getting a phone call from your head trainer about an injury.”
Friedman, wearing a gray Dodgers pullover over a white polo shirt, mutes the volume before settling back in his seat. It is quiet now. There will not be any moments like this when Los Angeles, the reigning World Series champion, and its trio of Japanese stars — Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki — open the 2025 season against the Chicago Cubs in front of a packed house at Tokyo Dome on Tuesday night.