However, Rickey and O'Malley became bitter enemies near the end of Rickey's tenure with the Dodgers. O'Malley heard them utter Rickey's name. Bavasi also worked for the Angels and the Padres after his days with the Dodgers. Bavasi was realistic about his end with the Dodgers - O'Malley's son was ready to run the club, so Buzzy knew that his time was up. He could have had some hard feelings about the way O'Malley promised him a plot of land in Brooklyn that he had already sold, but Bavasi somehow understood O'Malley offer.
Operators understand fellow operators.
Bavasi admired a few of his modern players, such as Dave Winfield, Reggie Jackson, Rod Carew, and Brian Downing. There's the obligatory bitterness of a baseball executive who worked before and after free agency. Nearly every executive who worked in both eras complains about the influence of player agents. Agents certainly made contract negotiations much more difficult for owners. Before agents, it was the owner who had the expertise in the ploys of contract negotiations.