American Icon: Theo Epstein
We want to thank and congratulate both the Cleveland Indians and, of course, the Chicago Cubs, for giving baseball fans everywhere a World Series to remember! Two teams feverishly trying to break a very long World Series drought, back and forth series leads bringing it down to game 7, leads gained and lost during regulation play, rain delays, extra innings…and finally, the winner.
As a New England based company, if it wasn't us in the WS, we couldn’t have asked for two better teams to go head-to-head as there were so many ties back our own Red Sox curse-breaker of a World Series.
However, there is one in particular who we salute today- Theo Epstein.
Only 28 when he started out with our beloved Sox, we thought the head office was nuts bringing in such a young, relatively unknown…but boy, were we wrong. In 2004, through his creation of a team who displayed a bond like no other we’d seen before, broke the 86 year long “Curse of the Bambino”
Last night proved it was no fluke. He showed that he is, in fact, a Phenom when his Cubs won the World Series, first time in 107 years.
This is not , by any means, to take away the extreme efforts on behalf of the coaching staff and the players, as Theo would be the first to note that he is only one of many on the team who made last night possible.
But Theo understands the heart and soul of the word TEAM. Team is not just a word to be bantered about on a page in a press release. He realizes that it is a living, breathing organism that needs to be nurtured, fed and cared for…and this is what he does best.
He gets to know his prospects inside and out…what makes them tick, what makes them happy, what they fear. Once they are on the team he continues to listen to them, encourage them, ask them for their ideas, assist them, help them bond to one another. His front office staff is made up of like-minded people.
Though an analyst, his secret is not just in the numbers. His secret might just be that he is the kind of leader who people gladly follow into battle because he has a huge heart and soul. He has a genuine interest in people and a desire to help them see the best in themselves. He values each and every person and that transcends back to them, making them believers. If you speak to anyone on that 2002 Red Sox team, or the 2016 Cubs team you will find the same thing….They care about each other. The help one another. They believe in their hearts and souls that when they do this thing together, they come out victorious.
Your Boston fans will be forever grateful for what you gave us Theo Epstein as are the Chicago Cubs Team and fans… but more than that, you have shown the world that Good Guys DO Finish First!
Knock Knock. Who’s There? Cleveland! Watch out Baseball…those decades-long droughts are going away.