There were so many wonderful subplots in the story of the 2004 Boston Red Sox, the World Series champions.
There was the emergence of David Ortiz, a one-time role player for the Minnesota Twins who came to Boston and became a superstar. There was the late-season trade of Nomar Garciaparra, the shortstop who piled up impressive statistics over the years but never seemed to buy into the “team first” approach. There was gritty catcher, Jason Varitek, who stood up to Alex Rodriguez – igniting a brawl and uniting a team.
There was, of course, Pedro Martinez, who finally had the chance to deliver to the fans a World Series performance befitting a star. And there was loveable Manny Ramirez, whose hitting exploits made us all forget his foibles in the field.
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There was Curt Schilling, who pitched brilliantly despite a painful ankle injury that required surgery – during the playoffs. His performance earned him legendary status among Boston athletes, right up there with Larry Bird and Bobby Orr.
And we can’t forget Derek Lowe, whom so many of us had given up on, only to see him pitch better than he had ever pitched before on the largest stage in the world.
But our favorite chapter of the Red Sox story was written just over two years ago. That was when the team’s management took a huge leap of faith and hired a 28-year-old named Theo Epstein as general manager, the youngest person to hold the title in the history of the Red Sox.
Epstein grew up in Brookline, a line drive’s distance from Fenway Park. He was always a baseball junkie. He played on his high school team, but was not a star. But he knew the game. He studied it. He went on to Yale, eventually majoring in American Studies.
Along the way, he secured an internship with the Baltimore Orioles and then a job with the San Diego Padres. For a time, he worked 70-hour weeks with the Padres while studying full-time at San Diego Law School. He passed the California bar in 1999 and a Los Angeles law firm offered him a job that would have paid him twice what he was earning with the Padres.
Epstein stuck with his first love – baseball.
The rest, as they say, is history. The kid gets a chance to come home and work for his beloved Red Sox. And then one of the team’s top jobs – general manager – opens up. But surely the kid was too young.
Or was he?
And there’s the rub – the lesson we can all learn.
Red Sox management looked past Epstein’s age. Instead, they looked at his work ethic. They looked at what he had done in Baltimore and San Diego. And then they took what would become an historic leap of faith.
What individual was most responsible for leading the Red Sox to their first World Series championship in 86 years?
You could cast a vote for David Ortiz or Manny Ramirez or Pedro Martinez or Curt Schilling and make a sound argument.
But we’re casting our vote for Theo Epstein, who has reminded us all to follow our dreams and do what we love – because that’s probably what we’re going to do best.
