A Man with a Plan
Genius isn’t a word we throw around easily in sports. The word is reserved for those who have shown a true mastery of the game, guys who have created dynasties with just their presence and their understanding of what it truly means to coach, to manage, to lead. The first few that come to mind in our modern sports world are Phil Jackson, Bill Belichick, and Gregg Popovich. However, for the past 14 years, baseball has witnessed arguably its greatest mind at work, and the results speak for themselves.
When Theo Epstein was first hired as General Manager of the Red Sox in 2002, they hadn't won a World Series in 84 years. He was only 28 years old at the time, the youngest GM in the history of baseball, and it was a large burden placed on the shoulders of such a young man. There were a lot of questions surrounding the move, and whether he could compete with the guys who had been in the business for so long. Those questions were put to rest when he signed David Ortiz just two months into his new job. He then acquired Kevin Millar and Curt Schilling, giving the Red Sox three stars and unquestionable leaders to a team looking to get over the hump. Two years later they were World Series champions. That's how long it took for Theo Epstein to work his magic in Boston. Letting go of Nomar Garciaparra wasn't an easy move either, one most GM's probably wouldn't have made, but it was a move that freed up money to spend on players that would be instrumental in winning the World Series again in 2007. It had been 86 years since the Red Sox had won the World Series. In just five years on the job, Theo Epstein had done it twice.
When Epstein resigned from his job as Red Sox General Manager in 2011 to take a job with the Chicago Cubs, it was a risk. The Cubs were a cursed franchise who rejected success at all costs, and for a young man who had just built two championship teams in Boston and had spent almost his entire life in Massachusetts, the move seemed questionable. As President of Baseball Operations in Chicago, Epstein inherited a 71-win team with a roster that was less than exciting. He made quick work of manager Mike Quade, firing him a few days into his tenure, and Epstein immediately began to rebuild the entire Cubs roster.
The first of Epstein’s big acquisitions came a couple months after his hiring, as he traded for first baseman Anthony Rizzo, sending Andrew Cashner to the Padres. Rizzo was a valued prospect in San Diego, a familiar face for Epstein, who drafted him in 2007 with Boston. Rizzo would soon become the face of the franchise. When they acquired Kyle Hendricks at the trade deadline midway through Epstein’s first season, nothing was made of it. Hendricks was a young pitcher who appeared to simply be a value guy in a deal that sent Ryan Dempster to a playoff-bound Rangers team.
Anthony Rizzo has been through it all with Theo Epstein, and he finally got the chance to celebrate the Cubs' first World Series since 1908.
Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
The next of Epstein’s moves came a year later, when he sent starting pitcher Scott Feldman to Baltimore in a deal that netted Pedro Strop and a guy named Jake Arrieta. Strop was a hard throwing reliever who had trouble finding the zone at times. Arrieta was a major disappointment, sporting a 7.23 ERA when the Cubs acquired him in 2013. Meanwhile the Cubs were worse than when Epstein started, winning only 61 games in 2012 and 66 more in 2013. Epstein fired manager Dale Sveum at the end of the season, moving on to Rick Renteria in what was an uninspiring move.
Midway through the 2014 season the Cubs were struggling again, and Epstein saw an opportunity to deal two starting pitchers away for good young talent. Those pitchers were Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija, and a promising Oakland team was happy to oblige, sending 20-year old shortstop Addison Russell to Chicago. Once again the Cubs finished under .500, dropping 89 games in 2014, and Renteria was out the door just a year into his tenure. Epstein jumped at the chance to hire Joe Maddon, the former Rays manager who had put together several playoff teams in Tampa Bay including an AL pennant winner in ’08. Maddon was on board, and so was John Lester, an ace that Theo Epstein knew all too well from his years in Boston. Lester was the first big name veteran that the Cubs had signed in the Epstein era, and they went all in, giving Lester approximately $26 million a year. The Cubs then traded for Dexter Fowler from the Astros, and that’s when everything started to click.
The Cubs finally started to play their past draft picks in 2015. It was no secret that Epstein had been gifted a gem in the 2013 draft when he picked Kris Bryant. Bryant slugged 43 home runs in his 2014 Minor League campaign and was brought up less than a month into the 2015 season. Javier Baez starting seeing significant time at shortstop and second base. And Kyle Schwarber made an unexpected leap into the starting lineup, playing catcher and outfield in his first big league season. Schwarber was a surprise pick by Epstein and his staff. The junior out of Indiana University was ranked as the 18th best prospect in the draft by Baseball America, but Epstein reached at the number four pick and grabbed a guy who only he saw top five potential in. It didn’t take long for Schwarber to insert himself into the starting lineup and prove Epstein right.
Kris Bryant is one of the game's bright young talents, and he smiled all the way through the last out of his team's World Series victory.
David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
With the addition of all these young acquisitions and signees, the Cubs won 97 games in 2015. Unfortunately, that was only good enough for third in the division, and they were forced to play the winner-take-all wildcard game in Pittsburgh, which they won. They then made quick work of the top-seeded Cardinals and earned a date to the NLCS, where they ran into the surging Mets. The Mets swept the Cubs, sending them home with nothing to show for a fantastic season.
The Cubs were on the verge of a title, but Epstein wasn’t done. He signed Jason Heyward and Ben Zobrist, who had just come off a World Series win with the Royals, in the offseason, and just months into the 2016 season the Cubs looked like title favorites. This was augmented in part by the presence of Willson Contreras, the 24-year old catcher from Venezuela, who had been a part of the Cubs organization for longer than Epstein. Their title chances only grew when Epstein acquired Aroldis Chapman from the Yankees, the flamethrower who had scared hitters ever since he stepped foot in the MLB. From there it was all Chicago. This Cubs team had far more talent than any other team in baseball. They had ace pitching up and down the staff, a top bullpen, young talented hitting that dominated opposing pitching, and one of the best defenses in history. They had a coaching staff that was experienced and savvy, and management that had turned a struggling franchise into a powerhouse.
The one thing Epstein couldn’t provide his team with was resiliency, but the Cubs seemed to have enough of that on their own. The Giants gave them a run for their money, but the Cubs stormed back to overcome a three run deficit in the ninth inning of game four to ruin San Francisco’s “even year” campaign. They then overcame a 2-1 Los Angeles series lead, beating Clayton Kershaw to clinch their first World Series bid since 1945. But the Cubs saved the best for last, overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the World Series, defeating the Indians in one of the best games of all time in game seven. This will go down as one of the most storied teams in history, and that’s thanks to Theo Epstein, a man who came to Chicago to try to accomplish a goal that looked impossible.
The most amazing thing about what Epstein did is that he completely rebuilt an entire roster. Not one player that was on the roster when he arrived is still there today. The entire 25-man roster that won the World Series days ago was brought into this Major League organization by Epstein. There are no remnants from that Mike Quade led roster that won 71 games in 2016. And every player he brought in made an impact. Every big move that he made worked out, and it was on display this past season and this past World Series.
Anthony Rizzo is now one of the best hitters in baseball, slugging 30+ homers in each of his last three seasons. He’s also a Gold Glove finalist.
Kyle Hendricks finished this season with the lowest ERA in baseball at 2.13.
Jake Arrieta won last year’s Cy Young award and has thrown two no-hitters in the past two years, also winning two games in this World Series.
Addison Russell is nominated for the Gold Glove award, and had six RBIs in game six, including a grand slam.
Jon Lester is one of the favorites to win this year’s Cy Young award, going 19-5, and winning game five.
Dexter Fowler led off game seven with a home run, and added two more hits in the game.
Kris Bryant is the favorite to win the National League MVP after winning the Rookie of the Year award last year. He also hit two home runs in the World Series.
Javier Baez homered in game seven, giving the Cubs a three-run lead.
Kyle Schwarber made an improbable recovery from an ACL to tear, hitting .412 and coming through with crucial RBIs for the Cubs.
Jason Heyward is also a Gold Glove finalist, and he gave what his teammates described as an emotional speech that rallied the team during the rain delay.
Ben Zobrist was this year’s World Series MVP, hitting .357 and delivering the go-ahead hit in the tenth inning of game seven.
Aroldis Chapman threw almost eight innings in the World Series, throwing three crucial ones to win game five and getting the win in game seven, bouncing back from a blown save.
And Theo Epstein, well all he did was create a team from scratch for a franchise that hadn’t won a World Series in 108 years and deliver just that to a city that so desperately needed it.
That, is truly genius.
