The K.P. Wee Podcast, Episode 7: Former Dodger General Manager Fred Claire

Fred Claire is a former General Manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers, a role he held for 29 years from 1969 to 1998.

Following his time working in professional baseball, he started his own business management consultancy for professional sports and entertainment.

He is a founding partner at Scoutables.com, which offers daily scouting reports on every player in Major League Baseball based on recent performance.

Fred shares memories from his Dodger days and offers advice to students and other young people who want to get into sports.

He also talks mentorship and discusses his new book with Tim Madigan (which was released in July 2020) titled Extra Innings: Fred Claire’s Journey to City of Hope and Finding a World Championship Team.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: 

• [2:52] Fred on his passion for mentorship

• [4:10] Getting started in the sports industry

• [6:58] Practical steps young people can take to find a mentor in the sports world

• [9:02] Fred’s encounter with a young Tony Robbins and his brother

• [13:44] Trading players as a General Manager

• [21:44] Fred on the Dodgers’ incredible attention to detail in every aspect of training

• [25:44] How Fred figured that the Dodgers would win the 1988 championship

• [28:10] Fred’s cancer journey at City of Hope—the story behind the book Extra Innings

• [34:35] Parting advice to students and other young people on chasing your dreams

Key Quotes by Fred:

• “Whatever I can do to help others, guide others, educate others, and inspire others—whatever it is—I get great satisfaction from that.”
• “I’ve always been struck by people, including professional baseball players, who simply had a determination that they were going to reach their goals, and may or may not reach it, but at the end of the day knew that they did the best that they could.”
• “Words themselves carry great meaning. It doesn’t have to be receiving something in return, because what I found in life is that, many times, those things come later.”
• “I think it’s a fair statement that the Dodgers have invested more money and more people in analytics than any team in baseball.”
• “Never, ever be afraid to get a second opinion. I’ve been very fortunate to be able to help a number of people get a second opinion at City of Hope. I just think that’s so important because one’s life can be at stake.”

Follow Fred Claire on Twitter @Fred_Claire / Connect with Fred on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/fred-claire-1605a01

For more information about the book Extra Innings, please visit https://www.tinyurl.com/FredClaireExtraInnings

If you enjoyed the intro music, please follow Roger Chong on Twitter/Instagram: @chongroger