Red Sox and Theo Epstein Agree to New Deal
A little over 2 weeks ago, the Boston Red Sox and General Manager Theo Epstein agreed to a new deal that will keep Epstein as the team’s General Manager for years to come. Although terms of the deal were not disclosed, one would think that Red Sox management wants to lock this guy up and not get into the “pissing match” that saw Epstein leave the club for 3 months following the 2005 MLB season.
Epstein took the the GM job in November 2002 – at the green age of 28, he was the youngest GM ever hired in MLB history. The club made it within 1 game of reaching the World Series in 2003, bowing out in Game 7 of the ALCS to the arch-rival New York Yankees. That off-season, Epstein signed Curt Schilling. And less than a year later, Epstein and the Red Sox achieved the ultimate goal by winning the 2004 World Series, ending an 86-year World Championship drought. Along the way, the Red Sox became the first team in MLB history to win a best of 7-games post-season series after trailing 3-0 in the series. They defeated the hated New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium to reach the 2004 World Series and then went on to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals for the title. Only once during Epstein’s tenure have the Red Sox not made the playoffs – that being in 2006. The Red Sox won their 2nd World Series in 4 years when the Red Sox swept the Colorado Rockies 4-0 in 2007. That year, the Red Sox overcome a 3-1 deficit against the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS.
Epstein has created a perfect balance within the Red Sox organization. The Red Sox continue to draft, nurture and develop quality major league baseball players each and every year – just look at Jonathan Papelbon, Jon Lester, Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Jacoby Ellsbury and Justin Masterson. Epstein has also made quality trades and free agent signings to fill in the missing pieces when good opportunities arise – just look at David Ortiz, Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, and JD Drew. Epstein hired Manager Terry Francona. And the Red Sox have also emerged as a pipeline for Japanese players with the recent signings of Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima. Not every move will be the perfect move, but Epstein is thorough, patient, realistic and determined. When you put all of those characteristics together, you have a winner who will make his organization a winner – just look at the 2 World Series titles…
