Andrew Friedman Was in Anaheim When He Was Informed Shohei Ohtani Chose the Dodgers

Irony at its finest...

In an ironic twist of events, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman was in Anaheim at his son's soccer game when he got the call that Shohei Ohtani decided to join the Dodgers. This is stuff that you can't make up, and it makes for perfect content.

So you'll never guess what city Andrew Friedman was in attending his son's soccer game when the #Dodgers prez of baseball operations got the call from Nez Balelo informing him that Shohei Ohtani was going to be a Dodger: Anaheim. Can't make this stuff up.

— Mike DiGiovanna (@MikeDiGiovanna) December 15, 2023

Friedman appeared on MLB Network after the press conference to introduce Ohtani and dropped the news. He said that he was in a fog, as he tried to let all of the Dodgers' important personnel members know of the decision before Ohtani posted on social media.

"No matter how you define the success of the last 10 years, our whole goal is to make the next 10 years way better."

Andrew Friedman gives insight on the @Dodgers’ mindset following Shohei Ohtani's introductory press conference. pic.twitter.com/2ok4aygPZj

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) December 15, 2023

Friedman being in Anaheim is such a coincidence that it seems made up. Thankfully, the call that was coming in was informing him that they had landed Ohtani, and not that he was signing elsewhere.

Ohtani spent the first six seasons with the Angels, so the city of Anaheim is where he grew up in the major leagues. The Angels organization means a lot to him, and he made sure to thank them during his press conference.

The two-way superstar now joins the Dodgers on his record-setting deal, with the hope of winning many titles together. This team has seen major success over the last 10 years, but only have one title to show for it.

They are hoping that with Ohtani in the mix, they're able to win many, many more moving forward.

Additionally, one interesting tidbit from this discussion was that Friedman also mentioned that he was on a Zoom call trying to recruit a free agent when the call from Nez Balelo came in. It makes you wonder who exactly he was speaking with, but he did say that he told them he had to leave to get the call — and I'm sure that player understands.

Maybe that meeting went well, and the Dodgers will have another free agent joining the squad soon. Whether he joins or not, though, that player will always be connected to the Dodgers as the man who was there when Friedman got one of the most important calls of his career.