Less than two years after leaving the Tampa Bay Rays for Los Angeles, Andrew Friedman walked through the Tropicana Field parking lot with his old friend Rocco Baldelli.

He says it was weird greeting people he saw every day for more than a decade wearing Dodger Blue instead of his old Rays gear.

"I definitely had a very good thing in Tampa Bay, but I'm excited- invigorated for this chapter of my life that I'm currently living- very fulfilled," Friedman said.

"It's a great group of people that I'm working with.  This will always be a special place to me and my family.  But I really enjoy what I'm doing.  And I like the challenge of what I'm doing."

Friedman was originally hired by Tampa Bay after meeting Rays owner Stuart Sternberg in 2003.  Sternberg liked Friedman's analytical approach to the game and initially hired him as Director of Baseball Development.

Friedman was promoted to the role of Executive President of Baseball Operations and General Manager in 2006 at the age of 28.

His work rebuilding the roster translated to a huge turnaround and World Series appearance in 2008, and a stretch of four playoff appearances in six years.

"One thing we did a good job of as a group was finding the opportunity in the change," Friedman said. 

"I do think that as more and more large revenue teams adopt some similar behaviors while maintaining the financial advantage makes it tougher.  But I think every market has its own unique challenges."

Friedman left the Rays in October of 2014 to take a job with the Los Angeles Dodgers as their new President of Baseball Operations.  Friedman became the highest paid executive in major league baseball.

The 2008 Sporting News Baseball Executive of the Year says he's been impressed with the job that current Rays GM Matt Silverman has done since taking over for his former role.

"The thing that I was least concerned about was how the Rays were going to be," Friedman said.

"It's a tremendous group of people that work really well together and had a lot of confidence in being able to march forward and do really well.  And I think they have.  They've made a lot of bold moves and I think they have a really talented team.  And it's not surprising."

The Rays ran a short tribute video with clips of Friedman's time with the Rays during the first inning of Tuesday night's game.

It ended with a picture of Friedman with the words "Thanks for the memories," next to his face.

"I don't know if life has slowed down in a way to reflect back on it," Friedman said.

"Obviously, walking in here today, a lot of really special memories.  A lot of people I still keep in touch with.  As a group, we accomplished some pretty special things.  That will always be a meaningful part of my life."

"I'm incredibly appreciative of the time I had here.  So being able to connect with people that I wouldn't otherwise see has been really special."

Friedman says he still watches a lot of Rays games on television since they're usually on earlier than the Dodgers' games on the West Coast.

I asked Friedman how things are different for him now that he's in Los Angeles working with the largest payroll in baseball.

 

"I think it all just comes back to roster construction:  putting together the best 25 man roster that you can," Friedman said.  "And how certain players complement one another and finding depth."

"Obviously there are different avenues that we can explore here in L.A.  But it's all challenging in terms of putting a group of talented players together and having that depth for the things that come up during the course of the season.  Putting yourself in a position to compete in October."

Former Rays manager Joe Maddon also left Tampa Bay after the 2008 season to head for a new team:  the Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs are an MLB best 18-6 in 2016, and Friedman says he's impressed with Maddon's work in Chicago so far.

 

"I think he's doing a great job," Friedman said.  "It's not surprising to see them playing loose and having fun and playing well.  It's not surprising."