Theo
Epstein
(1973 - )
Theo N. Epstein (born December 29, 1973, New York City, New York) is the Executive Vice President/General Manager of the Boston Red Sox. In November 2002, the Red Sox made him the youngest GM in the history of Major League Baseball by hiring him at the age of 28. Epstein resigned in October 2005, and was rehired as GM and also named Executive Vice President on January 24, 2006.
Early career and education
During the summers of 1992-1994, Epstein interned with the Baltimore Orioles. Epstein attended Yale University where he was a member of Jonathan Edwards College, and graduated in 1995 with a degree in American Studies. He took a job in the PR department of the San Diego Padres, and rose to become the team's Director of Baseball Operations. While working 70-hour weeks for the Padres, he studied full-time at the University of San Diego School of Law, where he earned a Juris Doctor degree and passed the California bar exam in 1999.
Red Sox
When John Henry bought the Red Sox in 2002, he appointed Epstein's former boss at the Padres, Larry Lucchino, as President and CEO. At the end of the 2002 season, Lucchino appointed Epstein to replace interim GM Mike Port.
Under the regime of Henry, Lucchino, and Epstein, the Red Sox have stressed the discipline of sabermetrics, the analysis of baseball through objective evidence and methods. In 2002, they hired the father of sabermetrics, Bill James, to be a special advisor to the team, and also hired statistical analysts such as Eric Van and Voros McCracken. This devotion to the new wave of talent evaluation has seen the team stress on-base ability as the most important ability of a hitter, and not-so-coincidentally the 2003 Red Sox led MLB in runs scored. They led the majors with a .289 batting average, set a team record with 238 home runs, and set a new record with a slugging percentage of .491, breaking the .489 mark of the 1927 Yankees.
Epstein crafted the Red Sox team that finally ended the World Series title drought for the New England Nine in 2004. Excelling in the early part of the 2004 season due to Epstein's trade for Diamondbacks Ace Curt Schilling, as well as key free agent acquisitions Keith Foulke and David Ortiz, the Red Sox stumbled at the season's mid-point. Shortly before the July 31 trading deadline, Epstein completed one of the most significant and controversial trades in modern Red Sox history by sending star shortstop and Boston icon Nomar Garciaparra to the Chicago Cubs in a multi-team deal that brought first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz and shortstop Orlando Cabrera to the Boston Red Sox. Epstein then brought speedy outfielder/pinch runner Dave Roberts to the team, who in the ALCS would have one of the most significant stolen bases in Red Sox and baseball history. After the trading deadline, the Red Sox soared into the playoffs, sweeping the Anaheim Angels in the first round. In the ALCS, trailing three games to none against their rivals the New York Yankees, the Red Sox won four games in a row to send themselves to the World Series. It was the first time in MLB playoff history that a team had rallied from a 3-0 series deficit to win a series. In the World Series, the Red Sox swept the St. Louis Cardinals in four games, for a historic eight game post-season winning streak, led by Epstein acquisitions Schilling, Foulke, Ortiz, and Mark Bellhorn.
On October 31, 2005, Epstein rejected a three year, $1.5 million per year contract for personal reasons, and walked away from his position. He left Fenway Park disguised in a gorilla suit to avoid having to speak to the press. According to the Boston Globe, "This is a job you have to give your whole heart and soul to," he said. "In the end, after a long period of reflection about myself and the program, I decided I could no longer put my whole heart and soul into it."
But he remained in contact with the team's front office, and on January 19, 2006, Epstein and Red Sox management announced he would return. Five days later, the team announced that he would re-assume the title of General Manager and add the title of Executive Vice President.
Partly because Epstein grew up a short distance from Fenway Park, and partly because he constructed the team that brought Boston a World Series championship for the first time in eighty-six years, Theo remains wildly popular among members of the Red Sox Nation.
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