Customer Reviews

Fred Claire: My 30 Years in Dodger Blue

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Anyone who is a Dodger fan (or was a Dodger fan until the bumbling Fox regime got their grubby hands on the team) will find this book to be an interesting and candid look at three decades of Dodger baseball. Claire's book is great because it lets you know what made the Dodgers win with class (a front office under Walter O'Malley all pulling in the same direction), and what recently made the Dodgers a sad laughingstock (a Fox TV exec making a terrible trade to finalize a cable TV deal). And the best part about the whole book is that Claire isn't out to glorify himself or grind an axe towards the Fox people --- he simply tells his story like it was at Dodger Stadium.

This was a great book to read for all baseball fans to get a look behind the scenes into the business aspect of each and every game. The level of detail in this book was remarkable, really accentuating Fred Claire's passion for baseball. He writes very honestly, conveying emotions beyond the words on the page. He describes his experience with the Dodger's team but moreso in detail of every singly person who makes it work on a daily basis, who sweat and cry and laugh for the "family members" in this family culture that they've developed. Claire is not only talking about the last 30 years of his professional experiences but of the last 30 years of his life in general, ending with life beyond the Dodgers. Even to someone as clueless about the world of baseball, I was emotionally captivated by this book and the pages just flew by. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in baseball, his objective story-telling makes it very easy to read.

Fred's book offers an excellent first-hand account into the world of a baseball GM. His stories and experiences help to shed some light on what it takes to become a successful sport executive. I don't think there is any better way to learn how to become successful in this business than through someonee who did it himself. This book is excellent for sport management classes as it shows students what skills are necessary in different situations. A MUST READ, I will put this book in my baseball library as one of the most useful books on the business of baseball.

If you are a Dodger fan, this book is definitely the book to read! It will give you many insight stories of Dodger's history. I personally have been inspiried by Fred's great dedication to sports. Also, it is a interesting book for those of you who want to be part of the baseball organization. His experience is absoultely helpful!

Fred Claire writes in detail and is very candid about what went on for 30 years behind the scenes of a successful professional baseball organization. If you want to learn more about a storied baseball franchise, this is an excellent book. It was also very interesting from a business perspective. Fred's point of view and the way he takes responsibility for all of his decisions is refreshing. This is a must read for the sports fan, the business person or anyone else who likes to learn from people who have done it the right way.

If you are looking for a book that describes the business side of baseball with lots of personal experiences and honesty, this is one of the best. As a lifelong Dodger fan, I thoroughly enjoyed reading and re-living many of the great Dodger moments through Mr. Claire's eyes and work. Fred Claire is a first-class G.M. and his ethical, honest way of doing business is sorely missed in today's game.
Fox Baseball made a huge blunder when they fired him from his position. But as you will see, Fred Claire's personal beliefs and moral compass were too much for the idiotic "don't know nothin about baseball" folks at Fox.

Being a lifelong fan of the Dodgers hasn't been easy for the past 23 years. As fans, we may not understand perfectly the business side of the industry. Fred Claire's "My 30 Years in Dodger Blue" is a great introspection of his long tenure with the Dodgers organization. His memoir relays his account from covering the team as a beat writer to joining the front office in the PR department and his term as the 4th General Manager since moving to Los Angeles starting and ending with controversy. Claire also gives insight to his career and how he became successful in the business of sports.

The beauty of "My 30 Years in Dodger Blue" is Claire's ability to tell his side of the story without sensationalizing the many controversial events during his career with the team. This is a must read for any Dodger fan, baseball fan, sports fan and people who want to work in sports.

The story of Fred Claire is in many ways, a mirror image of the social history of the postwar emergence of the city of Los Angeles and the state of California. Born in Ohio in 1935, Claire moved with his family to Torrance, California during his formative years. A journalist by trade, Claire graduated from San Jose State University in 1957 before embarking on a meteoric rise through the print media industry. He honed his trade in Whittier, Pomona, and Long Beach before accepting a job at Chavez Ravine in Los Angeles in 1969. As the title suggests, he spent `three decades in Dodger blue' as a beat writer, director of public relations, executive director, and from 1987 to 1998, general manager.

Fred Claire's tenure as general manager was marred by controversy on either end. Having been hired in the wake of some ill-timed remarks by predecessor Al Campanis, he was fired weeks after a blockbuster trade sent the Dodgers' franchise player to the worst team in baseball. This was a deal over which Claire had absolutely no control. The narrative begins at the end, where the reader is a presented with a surreal portrait of Claire and manager Bill Russell in the Dodger Stadium parking lot, two franchise stalwarts both having been terminated only months after the O'Malley family sold the team to the Fox Corporation.

Fred Claire describes to his readers how he became interested in baseball as a Reds' fan in the Buckeye state. In journalism school, he authored an article arguing why the Pacific Coast League had the capacity to challenge baseball's establishment as a third major league. Working in the Dodgers' front office, Claire was privy to startling developments behind the headlines. Read how the seemingly mild mannered, avuncular manager Walter Alston disciplined one of his players for losing his temper on club property and how he conveyed disappointment in a star outfielder to the press. You'll see why when the Dodgers became the first team to crack the 3 million attendance barrier in 1978, owner Walter O'Malley reacted with disappointment. Read about how Claire and Don Newcombe invaded Maury Wills' house to save his life and why Joe Morgan nearly replaced Tommy Lasorda as manager following the 1983 season. Would the Nightline controversy have ever seen the light of day with Morgan piloting the Dodgers?

The crowning pinnacle of Fred Claire's career was, of course, winning the World Series in 1988, but what few realize is that Claire was nearly bypassed for a more experienced general manager following a pedestrian 1987 campaign. Claire describes his tribulations with trades and signings, agents and injuries as he rebuilt the Dodgers into a powerhouse. He took risks by signing Mickey Hatcher and trading for John Shelby, releasing Don Sutton and promoting Ramon Martinez, acquired Jesse Orosco and Alfredo Griffin in an unorthodox three team trade, and watched in horror as staff ace Fernando Valenzuela lost considerable time to the disabled list. The greatest risk taken was signing new look free agent Kirk Gibson; alongside Orel Hershiser, he paved the way to upset heavily favoured Mets and Athletics teams to win the World Series.

Fred Claire goes on to describe his disappointments as general manager. He would not have been alone in envisioning another World Championship banner with Eric Davis and Darryl Strawberry patrolling the Dodgers' outfield in 1992. That season, Los Angeles finished in last place. He also described the political difficulties in the clubhouse in promoting a replacement player during the 1995 season. We learn why Peter O'Malley decided to sell the Dodgers in 1997 and the real reason behind the Mike Piazza trade one season later. Did the Dodgers meet their aim in trading Piazza?

Finally, Fred Claire reminisces on his career with the Dodgers and how he reconciles his 30 years on Elysian Park Avenue with the other accomplishments in his life. Looking back, the Dodgers do not rank high on his list. They represent what he did rather than who he is. In the final chapter, we read about what is most important to Fred Claire: his wife, children, and grandchildren, his general accomplishments as a writer, a journalist, and a consultant, his hobbies such as golfing and fishing, and relationships with people he met through his professional life, including the Dodgers. Walter Alston's granddaughter even went on the record to say about after Claire was fired, she could no longer be a Dodgers fan.

Work hard and seize opportunities and you will succeed. Persevere when confronted with the unknown and the surprising. The social history of California is the biography of Fred Claire.

-30-

I am a San Francisco Giants fan till the end, and Fred Claire's book about his time with the Dodgers was a great read. It offered personal and professional stories about his time in Major League Baseball. Anyone who is a BASEBALL FAN will enjoy reading his insights. Get it, read it, and enjoy.

It isn't often that a baseball fan gets the real story about what transpires when it comes to GM's and their player personnel moves and how they work with ownership and the team manager. It is even rarer to find a GM who can write about those details and was trained as a reporter. This book, written by former newspaper sports writer and Dodgers' general manager Fred Claire is the perfect combination of both and is insightfully presented in this book. Unfortunately, you will also find out the manner in which the new wave of baseball ownerships operate.
This is more about where baseball is and what happened to the Dodgers. Those Dodger days are gone and people like Fred are no longer on the scene. Like it or not, it is part of the baseball evolutionary process.
If you loved the Dodgers and are amazed at what is going on right now ironically, this book will give you a glimpse into why. This is a easy and quick read thanks to Fred's willingness and ability to tell the story.