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Not Just Boy Wonder: Red Sox’ Shadow Government

By Blake Yagman

Dec 22, 2014; Evanston, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein watches a game between the Northwestern Wildcats and the Illinois-Chicago Flames during the second half at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Northwestern Wildcats defeated the Illinois-Chicago Flames 63-46. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 22, 2014; Evanston, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein watches a game between the Northwestern Wildcats and the Illinois-Chicago Flames during the second half at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Northwestern Wildcats defeated the Illinois-Chicago Flames 63-46. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports /
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Aside from former GM Theo Epstein, the Red Sox have been built with the help of several masterful, unsung team leaders.

Over the past few months, former Boston Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein has finally received due praise for his work as Front Office Jedi Master. Epstein, deservedly, has all but secured a space for his bust in the Hall of Fame.

However, many Red Sox fans– some of which may not have been fans during Epstein’s reign, wonder– why is Epstein receiving so much credit for a team he hasn’t been a part of for over five years? And, how was Epstein able to create such a successful organization?

Theo Epstein’s impact on baseball is undeniable. His meteoric rise began in San Diego, where the full-time law student started interning for the Padres’ CEO Larry Lucchino in the early 2000’s. When Lucchino joined the current Red Sox ownership group in 2003, Epstein followed. The Boston Red Sox made Theo Epstein the youngest General Manager in MLB history on November 15, 2003. Epstein– ‘Boy Wonder’ of Brookline, Massachusetts– only needed one year to assemble the first Sox team to win a World Series since 1918.

Nov 2, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox executives (left to right) Larry Lucchino , John Henry and Tom Werner hold World Series trophies inside of Fenway Park prior to the World Series parade and celebration. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 2, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox executives (left to right) Larry Lucchino , John Henry and Tom Werner hold World Series trophies inside of Fenway Park prior to the World Series parade and celebration. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /

Epstein’s Red Sox would break the ‘Curse of the Bambino’ by way of Epstein’s own key acquisitions– starting pitcher Curt Schilling, closer Keith Foulke, and shortstop Orlando Cabrera. Masterfully, Epstein’s front office navigated the mine field known as the Boston media while maintaining detente in egotistical locker room. The current team’s still has Epstein’s fingerprints all over it; his regime drafted Dustin Pedroia, Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr., Travis Shaw, and Christian Vazquez and signed Xander Bogaerts.

Epstein’s Red Sox (though he was not part of the team for the last one) would win three World Series based on a new team model never employed: competency. Perhaps the Red Sox were not cursed as much as they had historically been poorly run. For over half of the time that the Red Sox were cursed, they were owned by Tom Yawkey.

The microcosmic example of his reign: he notoriously turned away future Hall-of-Famers Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays because they were black. After Tom Yawkey passed, his wife held control of the team for almost two decades; then, her mentee’, John Harrington, ran the team by way of the Jean Yawkey Trust. Ultimately, the Boston Red Sox were under control of the Yawkey family for nearly seventy years. Harrington sold the Red Sox to Larry Lucchino, John Henry and Tom Werner.

Dec 8, 2014; San Deigo, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane (right) during MLB Winter Meetings at Manchester Grand Hyatt. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 8, 2014; San Deigo, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane (right) during MLB Winter Meetings at Manchester Grand Hyatt. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /

But I digress– for all of Theo Epstein’s talent, there were (and are) key members of the Boston Red Sox organization that have quietly worked in the shadows. One such name: Baseball Abstract editor and Sabermetrician, Bill James. At the time of Epstein’s initial hire, he was 28 years old; James had been with the Athletics and leading baseball’s statistical analysis movement for decades. If Epstein needed a veteran influence in shaping the Red Sox organizational philosophy, James (and thus, Billy Beane and Moneyball) played a role.

Bill James was hired away from the Oakland Athletics and Moneyball-czar Billy Beane. Beane, who was actually seconds away from becoming the Red Sox General Manager before Theo Epstein (but backed out), credits Bill James as one of the founding philosophers behind baseball’s Moneyball movement.

One of the reasons the Red Sox have been successful has been because of their organizational strategy stemming from the front office. Two particular strategies, I believe, can be tied back to the Moneyball movement and Bill James. First, that prospects are not just for trading; baseball franchises cannot be built purely on free agent talent alone. Winning teams must be developed and indoctrinated with Sabermetric, Moneyball philosophy– offensively, to drive up pitch counts and manipulate on-base percentage, and defensively, to avoid giving up runs by using a high fielding percentage, shifting infield behind a groundball/pitch-to-contact pitcher. The Red Sox also had the man that Moneyball specifically referred to as “the Greek God of Walks,” Kevin Youkilis.

The next strategy is also consistent with Moneyball philosophy. Second, to have a negotiation cut-off point. Because the Oakland Athletics had limited funding, James and Beane were notorious for their negotiation cut-off point; if a player demanded one dollar above their imaginary cut-off, negotiations would be terminated. Epstein’s Red Sox, in some instances, used this contract negotiation style almost exclusively.

Apr 5, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; Chicago Cubs Manny Ramirez, working as a hitting consultant, before the game against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 5, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; Chicago Cubs Manny Ramirez, working as a hitting consultant, before the game against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

For example, the Red Sox traded Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008. At the time, Ramirez and Ortiz were the most feared duo in baseball since Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. In return, Boston received Outfielder Jason Bay from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Bay, who finished with 36 HR and 119 RBI, priced the Red Sox out in negotiations; ultimately, he would go on to sign (and struggle) with the New York Mets for a pricey $66,000,000 over four years. Essentially, the Red Sox netted two compensatory draft picks (Brandon Workman and Anthony Ranaudo) for Manny Ramirez after letting Bay walk.

Aside from Bill James, another name in the Red Sox ‘shadow government’ may seem obvious– former General Manager Ben Cherington. Cherington, who took over after Epstein departed in 2011 to the Cubs, was replaced last off-season by current Sox-GM Dave Dombrowski.

Cherington’s pre-GM role with the team is really important; in the winter of 2005, Epstein (temporarily) resigned and Cherington worked with Jed Hoyer to lead the Red Sox over the off-season. Cherington and Hoyer’s trade of Hanley Ramirez (then a Red Sox SS prospect) to the Marlins for Mike Lowell and Josh Beckett helped the team win the World Series in 2007 (Lowell was World Series MVP; Beckett was un-hittable).

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Over the time that Epstein stepped away from the Red Sox, Cherington ably filled in. Likely leading to his promotion to General Manager in 2011 when Epstein left Boston permanently. As General Manager, Cherington was able to add the finishing touches to the team left by Epstein, winning the World Series again in 2013.

Further, Cherington maintained the philosophy of not trading prospects; he left Epstein’s farm system, and now the Red Sox current lineup, intact. On multiple occasions, Cherington had the opportunity to trade Betts, Bogaerts, and others for pricey starting pitchers like Cole Hamels and James Shields.

Although Theo Epstein was the architect of the ship, other current Red Sox staffers have helped to bring the team to where it is today. Current Sox President Sam Kennedy is partially responsible for bringing the (historically antiquated) team into the 21st century; Kennedy has been with the team since 2001, and has been pivotal in the Sox development of new media, fan accessibility and merchandising.

While the Red Sox are overflowing with offensive talent, perhaps more sports media outlets should examine the brilliant minds behind the team’s architecture.

Next: Homegrown: The Red Sox 2016 Draft Class

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