BOSTON -- Long before Theo Epstein was born, a phrase that describes his challenge as the youngest general manager in baseball history was scripted by two of his relatives.
"Here's looking at you, kid," grandfather Phillip and grand-uncle Julius Epstein wrote in Casabalanca. Now, Theo is the kid being looked at very closely by passionate Boston Red Sox fans.
What, they ask, will he do to bring the team its first World Series title since 1918?
How, they wonder, did this clean-cut prodigy who grew up a mile from Fenway Park and is just 28 years old get to the point where he can decide the futures of Pedro Martinez and Nomar Garciaparra, free agents after the 2004 season?
A home video of Theo in Central Park provides a clue as to how it all began. Not yet 5, he is shown playing wiffle ball.
"Crowds used to gather and kind of watch, so I think maybe I did peak at about age 4, baseball-wise," he said in an interview at Fenway Park. "So it was a huge amount of my life early on."
His parents, who moved from the Upper West Side of New York when Theo was 4, still have the video in the home where he grew up in the Boston suburb of Brookline. They also have the Oscar statuette awarded for the Casablanca screenplay.
"The Academy Award, which actually rests in the den at my parent's place, represents our grandfather and our great uncle. So nothing would ever trump that," he said. "But I think we can make room for a World Series trophy."
Epstein has been hooked on baseball for most of his life.
"If my mom wanted to go vacuum or do some housework and leave me occupied, she would turn on the baseball game and that would be it for a couple of hours," Epstein said. "My dad tells stories of me early on aligning the defense in the outfield" of televised games.
He played baseball and soccer in high school.
His father Leslie, a Rhodes Scholar, was a professor at Queens College before becoming head of the creative writing department at Boston University. One of dad's household rules: For each minute of television Theo and his twin brother Paul watched, they had to read for a minute.
"I was angry about it at the time, but I'm pretty happy about it now," Theo said. "We read most of the classics by the time we were through with elementary school."
That helped foster the kind of mental agility that would help him in academic and social circles.
His grandfather's movie "was just sort of a neat part of family history that I could use to meet girls," he said, "and a great source of pride."
About two years ago, he took up rhythm guitar, which he now plays in a band that practices in a friend's basement.
Epstein went to Yale, where he was sports editor of the school newspaper, and the University of San Diego, where he got a law degree. In 1992, he was a summer media relations intern with the Baltimore Orioles. While there, he organized a tribute to players in the Negro Leagues.
He was an intern for two more years, then moved to the Padres, spending three more years in media relations. In 1998, he became a baseball operations assistant and in 2000, baseball operations director with San Diego.
"This was not your average intern," said Red Sox vice president Charles Steinberg, who hired Epstein in San Diego.
J.P. Ricciardi saw that and, when he was named general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, he wanted to name Epstein his assistant GM. But Epstein wanted to be available if the Red Sox called.
When Larry Lucchino, who had been president of the Padres, was part of the group that bought the Red Sox in February, he brought Epstein with him as assistant general manager.
"It will be clear to you over time that this is a gifted person with a real opportunity to have a profound impact on this franchise," Lucchino said.
Epstein immerses himself in details. With the Padres, one of his tasks was to learn every team's depth chart of prospects from top to bottom. He would scout hundreds of games and put in countless hours of work.
With the Red Sox, he encourages input. He'll get plenty from a group of experienced aides, including former GMs. He already has helped develop a plan to build the farm system and add players to the major league roster and proceed aggressively.
"There's going to be a lot of pressure to go for the quick fix," he said. "If that means sacrificing more of the future than we're willing to do, we have to remain disciplined and pass on a potential quick fix."
Epstein is confident he can handle fan scrutiny. He's already deflected cynics who suggest he's just a Lucchino puppet.
"I laugh at people who call me sort of a yes-man for Larry or who claim that I'm beholden to Larry in any way," he said. "I wish they could see some of our discussions. We really go at it."
AP NEWS
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