What Andrew Friedman Doesn't 'Understand' With Dodgers Ruining Baseball Narrative

Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has repeatedly shared a goal of wanting to establish what will be regarded as the "golden era" of the storied franchise.

Friedman has declined to specify how he personally would define that or what needs to be accomplished in order to reach the goal. But it's apparent continuing to win World Series is a prerequisite, and with that has come an aggressive commitment to financially pouring into the roster on a yearly basis.

Dodgers ownership and front office members have maintained they simply are looking to reward fans for their strong support and put the team in the best position to succeed.

And as the Dodgers continued to be dogged by claims of ruining baseball, Friedman questioned why the alternative of scenario owner Mark Walter netting more of the revenue would be preferred, during his appearance on "Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz."

"The counterpoint to us having an aggressive payroll is the people who are upset by it just want our owner to pocket more money. Like, I don't understand the other side of it.

"We are investing in our team in a way with where we are with the core talent we have, we are not being flippant about it. 'Hey, this will just happen forever.'

"Obviously, we are doing all we can to keep one eye on the present and one eye on the future. And to be as good as we can be for as long as we can.

"But we are in a really special moment in time with the core group of players that we have, and our mindset is to be aggressive to kind of back that up and do everything we can to win a championship in 2026."

The Dodgers' success and ability to freely spend in free agency has become a point point for MLB as a whole with the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) due to expire after the 2026 season. Owners are expected to pursue a salary cap as part of the new CBA.

For all of the consternation with the Dodgers' spending, Walter isn't even at the top of the list of MLB's richest owners.

That instead is New York Mets owner Steve Cohen, who has an estimated net worth of $23 billion. Behind Cohen is Rogers Communications ($19 billion), owners of the Toronto Blue Jays. Chicago Cubs owner Joe Ricketts and family ($8 billion) are third.

Walter then appears fourth on MLB's list of wealthiest owners with a reported net worth of just over $7 billion. Atlanta Braves owner John Malone rounds out the top five at $6.7 billion.

Andrew Friedman 'spiked' barstool during World Series

When recently reflecting on the momentum shifts and emotional swings that occurred during the 2025 World Series, Friedman revealed he threw a barstool inside a suite at Dodger Stadium once he realized Will Smith had not hit a walk-off home run in Game 3.