Theo Epstein has made quite a living off busting professional sports curses.
In his front office career Epstein has taken the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs — two franchises plagued by a combined total of 194 years of losing — and led them to championship prominence.
Twice, Epstein laughed in the faces of omens and curses and instead implemented common-sense, data-driven decision making.
The old ways of managing a front office are over, and although Epstein is not the innovator of analytical baseball, he has perfected its use.
The numbers don’t lie.
Hired by the Red Sox in 2002, Epstein became the youngest general manager in major league history at the age of 28.
At the time, Boston was suffering from an 82-year championship drought. This dry spell coincidentally ensued after the franchise sold Babe “The Bambino” Ruth to the New York Yankees, leading fans to dub their team’s misfortune the “Curse of the Bambino.”
Lucky for Red Sox fans, Epstein’s statistics pay no heed to curses.
His analytical approach made him buck conventional wisdom and sign David Ortiz as a player and name Terry Francona as a manager.
As a result, Ortiz and Francona went on to become centerpieces of Boston’s championship teams in 2004 and 2011.
In 2011, Epstein decided to part ways with the franchise that made him a household name.
He did not, however, leave the Red Sox for greener pastures.
No, he left Boston to become the President of Baseball Operations for the most pathetic franchise in professional sports — the Chicago Cubs.
Epstein took a Cubs franchise that finished with a record of 75-87 the year before he arrived and made them competitors.
Through Epstein, Chicago has built its pitching staff around stars like Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks while adding offensive fire power from Anthony Rizzo, Dexter Fowler and Ben Zobrist.
All played crucial roles in the Cubs’ recent World Series season, but perhaps Epstein’s greatest move was hiring Joe Maddon as manager.
Maddon consistently showed promise at Tampa Bay, winning with Rays teams that had no business doing so.
Maddon’s addition to the organization tied all of the pieces together, and it culminated in a 2016 World Series title.
After breaking yet another infamous curse, baseball fans across America are ready to name Epstein baseball’s greatest front office piece in the last 20 years.
They wouldn’t be wrong.
Epstein’s front office strategy turned the Red Sox into perennial contenders, and, based on the young talent and strong farm system Epstein has created in Chicago, the Cubs have a chance to win a few more titles in the coming years.
However, Epstein’s checklist does not end with another World Series. He’s already made that look too easy.
The next item on Epstein’s list is a destination in baseball’s Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
And after his most recent title, I’d say that box is as good as checked.