The Dodgers this week hired a new chief operating officer, bringing aboard Caroline Perry as an executive vice president with the team after 16 years with the San Diego Padres. Perry will take over on November 30 for retiring COO Bob Wolfe.
Perry was instrumental in negotiating with the City of San Diego in bringing the All-Star Game to Petco Park in 2016; in the development of Gallagher Square just outside the stadium; and in sales of the Padres in both 2012 and 2026.
“It is a tremendous honor to
join the Dodgers,” Perry said in a statement. “On the field, they have set an unparalleled standard of excellence in baseball under the current leadership. Off the field, their historic legacy, passionate fan base and service to the community speak for themselves. While I am incredibly grateful for my time with the Padres and for the colleagues who made those years so meaningful, I am excited to take my place with the Dodgers and to contribute to their continued success. Thank you to Mark Walter, Stan Kasten and the entire Dodger family for welcoming me.”
Perry is one of three COOs in Major League Baseball, along with Marti Wronski for the Milwaukee Brewers and Samantha Englehardt of the New York Mets. Perry talked about the rarity of women in such roles with Ranch & Coast Magazine in San Diego in 2024:
Perry has noted significant progress in her 14 years in sports when it comes to who’s in the room. “We’re right on the cusp of seeing so many of these young women start to move into more senior roles in sports, which is really great to see,” she says. “You never want to create that world where women feel like there’s only one spot and so everyone’s got to fight for it and you’ve got to tear other people down on your way to try and get it. That’s not how we grow as a sport, as an industry. We grow by creating more opportunities.”
Links
Pitcher Hideo Nomo, whose signing with the Dodgers in 1995 helped usher in a wave of Japanese players coming to Major League Baseball, was honored with a sports pioneer medal by the Asian Sports Hall of Fame on Thursday. Mark Langill at Dodger Insider has more on the honor.
Former infielder Andre Lipcius, who spent 12 days on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster during 2024 spring training and played that season for Triple-A Oklahoma City, retired as a player this year. Now the 28-year-old has a new role in baseball, as game-planning coach for the Colorado Rockies, working with general manager Josh Byrnes, who was in the Dodgers front office in 2024. J.P. Hoornstra at Sports Illustrated has more on Lipcius and his new career.
Former Dodgers outfielder Dusty Baker is one of eight people on the Contemporary Baseball Era ballot for managers, executives, and pioneers for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, recognizing folks whose primary contributions came since 1980. Baker, who managed five different franchises to the postseason and won a championship with the Houston Astros in 2022 (the only team in the last 13 years to clinch a title on their home field). Baker and Bruce Bochy are perhaps the likeliest candidates on this ballot to be inducted in Cooperstown on December 6, needing 12 of 16 votes. Jayson Stark at The Athletic wondered if both managers might be unanimous inductees.
