Farhan Zaidi
Farhan Zaidi | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 11, 1976 Sudbury, Canada |
| Occupation | Baseball executive |
| Years active | 2000s–present |
| Known for | President of baseball operations for the San Francisco Giants; General manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers; Assistant general manager with the Oakland Athletics |
Farhan Zaidi (born November 11, 1976) is a Canadian executive in professional baseball. He has held prominent roles including president of baseball operations for the San Francisco Giants, general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and assistant general manager with the Oakland Athletics within Major League Baseball (MLB). Presently, Zaidi serves the Dodgers as a special advisor and collaborates with owner Mark Walter on various sports-related enterprises.
Zaidi stands out as one of the rare Muslim executives in MLB history and was the first Muslim, Pakistani-Canadian, and South Asian-Canadian to occupy a general manager position in the league. Additionally, he broke ground as the first Muslim to lead a major sports franchise in North America.
Early life
Born in Sudbury, Canada, Zaidi is the son of Pakistani immigrants Sadiq and Anjum, who raised four children. At age four, his family relocated to Manila, Philippines, where he attended the International School of Manila.
Zaidi earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and later completed a PhD in economics at the University of California, Berkeley. Between his studies at MIT and Berkeley, he briefly worked with the Boston Consulting Group and contributed to the Sporting News website.
Oakland Athletics
During his time at Berkeley, Zaidi encountered Moneyball, a book that profoundly influenced his career path. He secured a position in baseball operations with the Oakland Athletics, standing out among approximately 1,000 candidates. Beginning as a sabermetrics assistant, he earned high praise from Athletics executive Billy Beane, who described him as "absolutely brilliant" and credited him with facilitating the acquisition of Yoenis Céspedes.
Zaidi advanced to director of baseball operations for the 2013 season and took on additional responsibilities as assistant general manager in 2014.
Los Angeles Dodgers
On November 6, 2014, Zaidi was appointed general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, reporting directly to president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.
During his tenure, Zaidi guided the Dodgers to their first appearance in the World Series in 29 years in 2017, where they were narrowly defeated by the Houston Astros in a seven-game series. The team returned to the World Series in 2018 but lost to the Boston Red Sox in five games.
San Francisco Giants
Zaidi joined the San Francisco Giants on November 6, 2018, assuming the role of president of baseball operations. Under his leadership in 2021, the Giants achieved a franchise-best 107 wins. That year, Zaidi was honored with both the Sporting News Executive of the Year and MLB Executive of the Year awards, marking him as the first individual of South Asian heritage to earn either distinction.
Following general manager Scott Harris’s departure for the Detroit Tigers in 2022, Zaidi promoted Pete Putila to fill the GM position.
In October 2023, Zaidi secured a contract extension with San Francisco through 2025, which included an option for 2026. Nevertheless, on September 30, 2024, it was announced that Zaidi would be leaving the Giants organization, with former player Buster Posey named as his successor as president of baseball operations.
Los Angeles Dodgers (return tenure)
On February 10, 2025, Zaidi rejoined the Dodgers organization as a special advisor to Mark Walter. In this capacity, he provides strategic support not only to the Dodgers but also to Walter's extensive sports holdings, which encompass the Los Angeles Sparks and Chelsea FC.
Personal life
Zaidi is married to Lucy Fang, who holds a degree from MIT. Although he spent much of his upbringing in the Philippines, Zaidi considers himself Canadian and preserves close family connections through frequent visits. His passion for the Toronto Blue Jays was sparked by players such as Jesse Barfield, Tony Fernandez, and George Bell. One of his most vivid memories is witnessing Joe Carter's legendary walk-off home run in the 1993 World Series while he was in Grade 11.
External links
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
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- 1976 births
- Living people
- American sportspeople of Pakistani descent
- Boston Consulting Group people
- Canadian expatriates in the Philippines
- Canadian Muslims
- Canadian people of Pakistani descent
- Canadian sports executives and administrators
- Los Angeles Dodgers executives
- Major League Baseball general managers
- MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences alumni
- Oakland Athletics executives
- San Francisco Giants executives
- Sportspeople from Greater Sudbury
- Sportspeople from Manila
- UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni
- Major League Baseball Executive of the Year Award winners
- Major League Baseball presidents of baseball operations