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Theo Nathan Epstein (born December 29, 1973 in New York City) is the Executive Vice President/General Manager of the Boston Red Sox. In November 2002, the Red Sox made him the youngest GM in the history of Major League Baseball by hiring him at the age of 28. In 2004 he engineered the first World Series championship by the Red Sox in 86 years. Epstein resigned in October 2005, and was rehired as GM and also named Executive Vice President on January 24, 2006.

Contents 1 Early career and education 2 Red Sox 3 Trivia 4 See also 5 External links

During the summers of 1992-1994, Epstein interned with the Baltimore Orioles. Epstein attended Yale University where he was a member of Jonathan Edwards College and served as sports editor of the Yale Daily News, and graduated in 1995 with a degree in American Studies. He was almost 22 years old. He took a job in the PR department of the San Diego Padres, and rose to become the team's Director of Baseball Operations. While working 70-hour weeks for the Padres, he studied full-time at the University of San Diego School of Law, where he earned a Juris Doctor degree and passed the California bar exam in 1999.

When John Henry bought the Red Sox in 2002, he appointed Epstein's former boss at the Padres, Larry Lucchino, as President and CEO. At the end of the 2002 season, Lucchino appointed Epstein to replace interim GM Mike Port.

Under the regime of Henry, Lucchino, and Epstein, the Red Sox have stressed the disciplines of sabermetrics, the analysis of baseball through objective evidence and methods. In 2002, they hired the father of sabermetrics, Bill James, to be a special advisor to the team, and also hired statistical analysts such as Eric Van and Voros McCracken. This devotion to the new wave of talent evaluation has seen the team stress on-base ability as the most important ability of a hitter, and not-so-coincidentally the 2003 Red Sox led MLB in runs scored. They led the majors with a .289 batting average, set a team record with 238 home runs, and set a new record with a slugging percentage of .491, breaking the .489 mark of the 1927 Yankees.

Epstein crafted the Red Sox team that finally ended the World Series title drought for the New England Nine in 2004. Excelling in the early part of the 2004 season due to Epstein's 2003 offseason trade for Diamondbacks ace Curt Schilling, as well as the key free agent acquisition of closer Keith Foulke, the Red Sox stumbled at the season's mid-point. Shortly before the July 31 trading deadline, Epstein completed one of the most significant and controversial trades in modern Red Sox history by sending star shortstop and Boston icon Nomar Garciaparra to the Chicago Cubs in a multi-team deal that brought first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz from the Minnesota Twins and shortstop Orlando Cabrera from the Montreal Expos. Epstein then brought speedy outfielder/pinch runner Dave Roberts from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the team, who played a significant role in the Red Sox' ALCS victory. After the trading deadline, the Red Sox soared into the playoffs, sweeping the Anaheim Angels in the first round. In the ALCS, trailing three games to none against their rivals the New York Yankees, the Red Sox won four games in a row to get the first ticket to the World Series in 18 years. It was the first time in MLB playoff history that a team had rallied from a 3-0 series deficit to win a series. In the World Series, the Red Sox swept the St. Louis Cardinals in four games, for a historic eight game post-season winning streak, led by Epstein acquisitions of Schilling and Foulke.

On October 31, 2005, Epstein rejected a three year, $1.5 million per year contract for personal reasons, and walked away from his position. He left Fenway Park disguised in a gorilla suit to avoid having to speak to the press. According to the Boston Globe, "This is a job you have to give your whole heart and soul to," he said. "In the end, after a long period of reflection about myself and the program, I decided I could no longer put my whole heart and soul into it."

But he remained in contact with the team's front office, and on January 19, 2006, Epstein and Red Sox management announced he would return. Five days later, the team announced that he would re-assume the title of General Manager and add the title of Executive Vice President.

Partly because Epstein grew up a short distance from Fenway Park, and partly because he constructed the team that brought Boston a World Series championship for the first time in eighty-six years, Epstein remains wildly popular among members of Red Sox Nation.

• Epstein's father, Leslie Epstein, directs the creative writing program at Boston University. The most recent of his nine novels is San Remo Drive: A Novel from Memory, based on his childhood in Hollywood in the 1940's and 50's.
• Epstein's grandfather Philip G. Epstein and great-uncle Julius J. Epstein won Academy Awards for the screenplay of Casablanca.
• Epstein's brother-in-law is the actor Dan Futterman, best known for his role as Judge Amy Gray's brother Vincent in the television series Judging Amy. Futterman also wrote the award-winning screenplay for the film Capote. He is married to Epstein's sister, Anya Epstein, a writer for the television series Commander in Chief
• Epstein was raised just a few miles from Fenway Park in Brookline, where he attended Brookline High School, played baseball for the Warriors, and dreamed of working for the Red Sox.
• The night he resigned from the Red Sox, Epstein was reported to have left Fenway Park wearing a gorilla suit in an attempt to avoid reporters. It was Halloween, and he may have decided that was the best way to leave the office without attracting press attention. A witness reported a gorilla was driving a Volvo similar to Epstein's that night. It could not be confirmed if Epstein had rented the suit, or if it was something he owned and planned to use regularly.
• On May 25, 2006, Epstein made an appearance on stage with Pearl Jam at TD Banknorth Garden playing rhythm guitar on the concert's penultimate song, Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World." Part of that concert's ticket prices went to local charities, and, as announced from the stage by Eddie Vedder, Epstein agreed to meet the amount that the band paid to the charities.
• Epstein was originally said to have been secretly married to Marie Whitney at the site of the original Nathan's Famous hot dog stand.[1] Epstein's father, Leslie Epstein, actually made his comments on the place of the wedding jokingly in an email to Boston Globe sportswriter Gordon Edes, later saying, "Neither Theo or Marie has ever been to Coney Island as far as I know, or has ever tasted a Nathan’s Famous (though I have -- perfectly delicious), and Rabbi Schnitzlebaum slept undisturbed all day long. In short, not a word of it was meant to be taken seriously."[2] It was later reported that the actual location of the wedding was Red Sox owner John Henry's yacht.[3]

• Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game

Preceded by Mike Port (Interim)	Red Sox General Manager 2002 - October 31,2005	Succeeded by Ben Cherington & Jed Hoyer (Interim)
Preceded by Ben Cherington & Jed Hoyer (Interim)	Red Sox General Manager January 25, 2006 -	Succeeded by Current General Manager

• Theo Walks Away From Sox
• Theo Epstein News Video Clips
• Theo's Statement of Resignation
• Sox Make An Executive Revision, article discussing Epstein's rehiring, from The Boston Globe, January 25, 2006.
• Theo Epstein bio/profile