Cubs’ President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein sat with MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand for a podcast about coming up in the game, player evaluation, his time as a young “outsider” executive, leadership, and what he helped build in Boston and Chicago.
You will probably especially like his discussion, near the end of the podcast, about the importance of player evaluation/human assistance in an era dominated by data and metrics. The pendulum is swinging back toward understanding the human better, not just the numbers.
Epstein also got into the delicate and difficult balance between maximizing a window of competitiveness while also trying to extend it – obviously that’s where the Cubs are right now. By comparison, in terms of the decisions you make, building a club up is much easier. Moreover, it’s much easier to “win” those kinds of “building-up” trades, rather than the “buying” type trades, you simply aren’t going to win. You have to stay focused on winning, and not care how the deals are perceived.
Epstein is such a thoughtful, introspective guy that it’s always enjoyable and informative to hear his take, even after accomplishing so much. I pretty much always walk away from interviews with him feeling like I have a slightly improved perspective on a range of things.
If you’ve got some time, give it a listen, or load it up on your podcasts app: