The Texas Rangers won the World Series on Wednesday night. It was the crowning achievement for a team built by a brilliant, Ivy League-educated, former big league pitcher who took over the organization’s most important role with, well, no experience sitting in the big chair.
Sound familiar?
It’s fitting that a day after Chris Young’s Rangers won the first World Series in club history, the Boston Red Sox introduced Craig Breslow as the organization’s new chief baseball officer. Obviously, the Sox are hoping Breslow can replicate in the Hub what Young was able to do deep in the heart of Texas as executive vice president and general manager.
The similarities almost feel too obvious to point out. Young’s big league pitching career spanned 13 seasons with five different teams. Breslow did 12 tours of duty spread among seven clubs. Both spent their fair share of time in the minors, with Young — a starter — making over 100 appearances while Breslow made nearly 300 trips from the bullpens in minor league parks across America. Before pro ball, Young pitched (and played basketball) at Princeton. Breslow, meanwhile, is a Yale man.
It’s not just that their playing resumes matchup, either.
Upon retiring, Young went straight to Major League Baseball’s front office where he played a huge hand in on-field operations. He eventually took over for Joe Torre as disciplinary czar. He then parlayed that into the GM job in Arlington where he took over for Jon Daniels, long considered one of the best executives in the game. Young did so, as you can see, without any real experience in a front office.
By that specific comparison, Breslow brings a wealth of experience to the Red Sox. There’s certainly something to be said about Young having a leadership role with the league, but he didn’t have the experience behind the scenes with an organization that Breslow brings to Boston. Theo Epstein handpicked him to join the Cubs, and Breslow quickly shot up the ranks despite largely working remotely.
It’s easy to see why former players — especially ones who are quite smart — are a draw to front offices. The Rangers’ World Series win could make it even trendier. There are obvious benefits to hiring ex-players. They obviously know how to relate to and communicate with uniformed personnel, especially the players themselves. They know what it’s like to grind away at the lower levels of the sport, experiences that only enhance their ability to communicate tough decisions to players of all ages. They’re fiercely competitive, and when it’s necessary, they’re likely to push in the chips because they know how aggressiveness will play in the clubhouse.
The Rangers were willing to spend and spend big over the last few offseasons. That’s only half the battle, though, as you have to pick the right players; World Series MVP Corey Seager, for example, was a wise use of $325 million. The Red Sox have proved a willingness to spend in the past, and coming off back-to-back last-place finishes, it’s reasonable to expect there will be significant financial contribution as early as this winter. They need to improve the roster, and that’s the quickest way to do so.
“One thing that became very, very clear through this process is the unwavering commitment to winning from ownership,” Breslow said Thursday at his introductory press conference. “I think the responsible, prudent path of a front office operation is to kind of search all corners for those opportunities, to overturn every stone, to unearth every option, there are multiple pathways to building sustainable winners, and we need to run down all of those.”
Breslow is the man the Red Sox believe can best spend their money, and if the former reliever can steer the ship the way the former starter in Texas did, this will be one of the better decisions in franchise history.
