There’s indisputably that Theo Epstein is without doubt one of the biggest executives the sport of baseball has ever noticed. The long term Hall of Famer has gained 3 World Series titles sooner than the age of 50 and broke two of the longest championship droughts within the historical past of sports activities.
Epstein stepping down as Cubs’ president on Tuesday closes a a hit bankruptcy in franchise historical past, however the legacy that he leaves at the back of with the Cubs and the town of Chicago won’t ever be forgotten.
When Epstein got here to Chicago in 2011, he had a plan and that plan used to be a troublesome one. Take the Chicago Cubs from one of the crucial worst franchises in sports activities and switch them into now not just a contender, however one of the crucial premier organizations within the recreation.
“Well, little over nine years ago, we went looking for a new person to lead our baseball department,” Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts mentioned. “And we knew it would be a tall order. Not only did we need someone who could bring in some good players, and win some big games and maybe win a division, but we really needed someone who could change the culture and change the direction the organization had been going for a long, long time.”
Once employed, Epstein briefly gained over the fanbase. Not with fancy signings and blockbuster trades that might come down the road, however he did one thing that fanatics in Chicago had hardly noticed – honesty and transparency.
There used to be no hiding or working from complaint from the fanatics or the media. Epstein and Jed Hoyer, who can be named the brand new president of baseball operations, had been in advance concerning the difficult highway that lied forward.
“I think we rebuilt back then because we had to,” Esptein mentioned. “It used to be extra than simply our technique with what we did at the area. We needed to construct the group up, the infrastructure, the staff, the techniques that we had to put into position. And it coincided with a duration the place we clearly prioritized the long run over the fast time period, with the crew at the area.
“I think what we did was right for us.”
That honesty and transparency didn’t opt for naught because the on-field product started to check what Epstein’s imaginative and prescient used to be. That imaginative and prescient over the following 9 years become 5 postseason appearances, 3 journeys to the National League Championship Series and a 2016 World Series name.
Epstein’s legacy has written itself after breaking the Cubs’ 108-year drought. He oversaw the trade from Lovable Losers to World Series champions – one thing that many by no means were given to look of their lifetime.
But what he did as president modified the method of executives in Chicago. Before the Cubs went thru their entire overhaul, telling a Chicago fanbase that the street to sustained luck would now not be simple and that there could be tricky moments would were met with disdain and scrutiny.
But because the Cubs’ transformation, a number of groups in Chicago have additionally gone through their very own makes an attempt at rebuilds and feature had equivalent discussions with their fanatics concerning the procedure. While their luck nonetheless continues to be noticed for the ones groups, it’s onerous to believe that adjust ever taking place with out the luck Epstein and the Cubs had.
Epstein will have to be happy with what he used to be the architect of. The Cubs at the moment are a fashion group in baseball, one thing they weren’t when he first were given to Chicago.
He additionally leaves an enduring legacy as an government in Chicago and his taste and talent as a communicator has modified the way in which folks view entrance places of work on this town and Chicago sports activities are higher on account of it.