Theo Epstein and the Boston Red Sox
From espn.com
BOSTON -- At 31, boy wonder Theo Epstein was ready to step out on his own.
The Red Sox general manager walked away from his hometown team on Monday, stunning Boston and the baseball world just one year after helping the franchise win its first World Series championship since 1918.
"I gave my entire heart and soul to the organization," Epstein said in a statement. "During the process leading up to today's decision, I came to the conclusion that I can no longer do so. In the end, my choice is the right one not only for me but for the Red Sox."
Epstein will continue working for a few days to assist in the transition and prepare for the offseason. The Boston Herald, which first reported the news on its Web site, said the Yale graduate has told associates that he might leave baseball or at least take a year off.
The Dodgers, Phillies and Devil Rays have GM openings, but none has a $120 million payroll to match the one Epstein was given in Boston.
Once the youngest GM in baseball history and still the youngest to assemble a World Series champion, Epstein was reportedly offered about $1.5 million a year for a three-year extension. That was quadruple his previous salary but still short of the $2.5 million the Red Sox offered Oakland's Billy Beane in 2002 before hiring Epstein.
In case you are not a hard core baseball fan, let me fill you in. Theo Epstein is a young Yale graduate. He is pretty much a nerd who followed sabermetrics, which is a method of calculating a players effectiveness by using statistical formulas. Not many other GMs use this method, Billy Beane and Paul DePodesta are a few who do. For more information on sabermetrics, pick up the Basbeball Abstract by Bill James or Moneyball. Epstein is probably one of those performance oriented perfectionists. He achieved his goal by winning a World Series and now he has nothing left to do. He might feel bored and needs a new challenge. I’ve got a challenge for him. Go to the Devil Rays and try to build a championship team. Instead of having 120 million to work with you can have 25 million. If Theo needs a challenge, it can’t get tougher than that.
From espn.com
BOSTON -- At 31, boy wonder Theo Epstein was ready to step out on his own.
The Red Sox general manager walked away from his hometown team on Monday, stunning Boston and the baseball world just one year after helping the franchise win its first World Series championship since 1918.
"I gave my entire heart and soul to the organization," Epstein said in a statement. "During the process leading up to today's decision, I came to the conclusion that I can no longer do so. In the end, my choice is the right one not only for me but for the Red Sox."
Epstein will continue working for a few days to assist in the transition and prepare for the offseason. The Boston Herald, which first reported the news on its Web site, said the Yale graduate has told associates that he might leave baseball or at least take a year off.
The Dodgers, Phillies and Devil Rays have GM openings, but none has a $120 million payroll to match the one Epstein was given in Boston.
Once the youngest GM in baseball history and still the youngest to assemble a World Series champion, Epstein was reportedly offered about $1.5 million a year for a three-year extension. That was quadruple his previous salary but still short of the $2.5 million the Red Sox offered Oakland's Billy Beane in 2002 before hiring Epstein.
In case you are not a hard core baseball fan, let me fill you in. Theo Epstein is a young Yale graduate. He is pretty much a nerd who followed sabermetrics, which is a method of calculating a players effectiveness by using statistical formulas. Not many other GMs use this method, Billy Beane and Paul DePodesta are a few who do. For more information on sabermetrics, pick up the Basbeball Abstract by Bill James or Moneyball. Epstein is probably one of those performance oriented perfectionists. He achieved his goal by winning a World Series and now he has nothing left to do. He might feel bored and needs a new challenge. I’ve got a challenge for him. Go to the Devil Rays and try to build a championship team. Instead of having 120 million to work with you can have 25 million. If Theo needs a challenge, it can’t get tougher than that.
posted by David Lithman at 9:13 AM
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