Without playing an inning, Theo Epstein rose to a level approaching Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski as a Boston baseball hero after delivering two World Series titles in nine years as general manager of the formerly luckless, allegedly cursed Red Sox.
On Tuesday the 37-year-old one-time boy wonder accepted a challenge just as daunting. Epstein agreed to a five-year contract as president of baseball operations for the Cubs, whose history is every bit as star-crossed as the Red Sox’s was before he took over.
As most every Chicagoan knows, the Cubs’ 103-year title drought is the longest in professional sports. They haven’t made a World Series appearance since 1945, they have won one playoff series since 1908 and they’re coming off back-to-back fifth-place finishes in the six-team National League Central.
Epstein is unfazed. “The Red Sox hadn’t won in 86 years when we took over,” he reminded a packed news conference at Wrigley Field. “We didn’t run from that challenge, we embraced it. There’s a gap between where we are and where we want to be, but the goal is to lay a foundation for long-term success and begin playing baseball in October regularly. If you do that, you can win the World Series.
“I really believe we will do that. And when we do, it won’t happen because of one person. It will happen because of all of us.”
As a beaming Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts introduced him, Epstein could have passed for a Wall Street banker or the attorney he is in his dark gray suit, white shirt and striped, light gray tie. Personable and well-spoken, he was alternately self-assured and self-deprecating as he fielded reporters’ questions, acknowledging that a Starbucks employee who reported spotting him in Chicago last week had, in fact, spotted him, despite his denials.
“I like to have some privacy, especially where my family is concerned, so when I’m recognized I’ll usually say something like, ‘I get that all the time,’ or ‘Theo Epstein? Who’s that?’ “ I didn’t expect to be recognized in Chicago, so I used both those lines. I didn’t think the guy bought it.”
Epstein grew up in Boston and conceded it was difficult parting company with the team he rooted for his entire life. He took out a full-page ad in Sunday’s Boston Globe thanking Red Sox fans for a wonderful decade, and in an op-ed piece he wrote for the paper on Tuesday, he cited the example of an accomplished executive from another sport in explaining his rationale for leaving with one year remaining on his contract.
“Bill Walsh said that after 10 years in any position that’s stressful, it’s probably best to seek a new landscape and different challenges,” Epstein said, referring to the Hall of Fame football coach who guided the San Francisco 49ers to three Super Bowl titles in 10 seasons. “I’ve had it in the back of my mind that there might be a transition coming.”
Epstein believes the similarities between the storied franchise he is leaving and the one he is joining will make the transition easier.
“Baseball is better with tradition, with history,” he said. “Baseball is better with fans who care. Baseball is better with parks like this one, and it’s better during the day. And baseball is best of all when you win. Ultimately, that’s why I’m here.”
After two years of ineffectual leadership, Ricketts is suddenly a popular guy among Cub fans for landing a strong executive with a proven track record as the replacement for Jim Hendry, who was fired as general manager in August. Epstein jerseys were already on sale in the Cubs’ souvenir shop.
“As the chairman I’m pleased with the results of our search,” Ricketts said. “As a Cub fan I’m excited by it. I can’t think of a better person for this job.”
Epstein’s first order of business is a decision on manager Mike Quade, who has one year left on his contract. He said he’ll meet with Quade “within the next week” and refused to discuss Ryne Sandberg or any other potential replacement until the meeting with Quade takes place.
Other major decisions involve a $16 million contract option on 33-year-old third baseman Aramis Ramirez, the team’s best hitter, and the $19 million owed troublesome pitcher Carlos Zambrano, 30, who was suspended after walking out on the Cubs in August and hasn’t pitched since. Expensive as they are, there are no obvious replacements for either player.
Epstein wouldn’t say if the Cubs would participate in the free-agent bidding for slugging first basemen Prince Fielder of Milwaukee or Albert Pujols of St. Louis, whose departures would affect the balance of power in the N.L. Central.
“There’s a time and a place to pursue high-impact free agents,” he said. “We have to be sure it’s the right time, the right place and the right guy.”
The front office Epstein will run is structured to add a general manager, though he wouldn’t confirm whether former Boston associates Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod would be joining him from San Diego, as has been rumored.
He also refrained from discussing five-year plans or any other sort of timetable for a turnaround.
“I didn’t use the word ‘rebuilding,’ and I won’t,” he said. “Scouting and player development is the key to year-in and year-out success, not the occasional lucky hit. There are no definitive answers in this game, no shortcuts. When you think you’ve got it all figured out, you can get humbled very quickly.”
