CLEVELAND (AP) – Holding the World Series trophy in his right hand, Theo Epstein grinned: “We don’t need a plane to fly home.”
After putting together the first Boston Red Sox team to win the World Series in 86 years, he masterminded the Chicago Cubs’ first title in 108.
Good chance baseball’s drought-buster will be flying to Cooperstown one day for his Hall of Fame induction.
“It’s fitting it’s got to be done with one of the best games of all time,” he said after Wednesday night’s 8-7, 10-inning thriller over the Cleveland Indians in Game 7. “Just unbelievable. What a testament to our players, their grit.”
A sports editor of the Yale Daily News with a 1995 degree, Epstein interned with the Baltimore Orioles, went along with Larry Lucchino to the Padres and earned a law degree at the University of San Diego. He was hired by the Red Sox under Lucchino in November 2002, at 28 the youngest general manager in major league history.