Former Dodgers General Manager Fred Claire Dies at 91

In January 1988, the Los Angeles Dodgers aggressively outbid the Detroit Tigers to sign free agent Kirk Gibson. It was a different era. The Dodgers had missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, and had not won a World Series in six years. Gibson starred on the Tigers team that won the 1984 World Series, but had trouble staying healthy in the years since.

What happened next is the substance of franchise lore. Gibson fashioned the best season of his career, winning the National League MVP award and leading the Dodgers to a dramatic World Series victory over the Oakland A's.

The acquisition helped defined the baseball career of Fred Claire, whom the Dodgers promoted to general manager less than a year earlier.

Claire, who died Monday on his 91st birthday, was connected to the Dodgers organization for parts of four decades. Longtime Dodgers broadcaster Ross Porter announced Claire's death via Facebook.

"Fred has been described as the most honest and integrity-driven sports executive in his 12-year stint as Dodger general manager," Porter wrote. "I will always be grateful to Fred for initiating my 28 wonderful years with the Dodgers and always being a loyal friend of my family, but also for being one of the finest men I've ever known. He chose to focus on the good."

Claire remained active in baseball for years after his tenure as GM ended abruptly in 1998. Building the Dodgers' 1988 championship team was the apex of his Dodgers career. Seven more men held the title of GM before the Dodgers won another World Series in 2020.

"This team is going to be great for a long time," Claire told the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin in the aftermath of the Dodgers' championship victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

An Ohio native, Claire covered the Dodgers for the Bulletin before the team hired him to join their public relations department in 1969. That began a nearly 30-year tenure in the organization.

Claire helped coordinate the retirement ceremony for the uniform numbers of Jackie Robinson (42), Sandy Koufax (32) and Roy Campanella (39) in 1972. He hired Porter to join the Dodgers' broadcast team in 1977. And when Al Campanis was stunningly fired as GM in April 1987, Claire stepped into the role that defined his Dodgers career.

It’s hard to believe 30 years have passed since we signed Hideo Nomo and changed the dynamics of Major League Baseball teams and teams in Japan. Hideo had the courage and the talent to show players in Japan what is possible playing the game at the highest level. https://t.co/c9Nh7CNDpk pic.twitter.com/NFty23AoUj
— Fred Claire (@Fred_Claire) January 18, 2025

In 1988, Claire drafted Mike Piazza and Eric Karros, and signed teenage prospects Pedro Martinez and Raul Mondesi out of the Dominican Republic. In 1995, he signed Hideo Nomo out of Japan, ushering a wave of countrymen who came to MLB in the years that followed.

The homegrown stars helped the Dodgers claim five consecutive National League Rookie of the Year Awars (1992-96). But they could not help the Dodgers win a round, or even a game, in the playoffs. The trades of Martinez to the Montreal Expos in 1993, and Piazza to the Marlins in 1998, dampened the later years of Claire's tenure.

After being ousted as GM, Claire stayed active in the game. He helped New Zealand further its ambitions as a baseball country. In 2015, he was diagnosed with skin cancer. Five years later, he reflected on his journey as a cancer survivor in a book, Extra Innings.

"I was in baseball long enough and saw the changes that can take place," Claire said in a 2013 interview. "After all, in 1986 and 1987, before we won in '88, if you go back and look at that, we were 16 games under .500 in both of those seasons and next year won the world championship.

"I always realize that in this game, you can break through."

Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on X/Twitter and Facebook for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google