Sam Kennedy has been tabbed as the next Red Sox president, causing many to wonder how Larry Lucchino’s successor will handle the job and what role he’ll play in Boston’s roster construction.
Kennedy obviously will have a lot on his plate, but he plans to leave the organization’s on-field baseball evaluations in the hands of those who know the game best.
“I really see the role of president as the day-to-day leader of the organization, the whole organization,” Kennedy told WEEI.com on Sunday night. “But I don’t see the role of the president as someone who is going to get into the nitty-gritty of baseball operations. I think the role is to be more of a resource, kind of a sounding board — help with communications with ownership, with fans, with the media.
“I strongly believe that the baseball decisions, evaluations, acquisitions, all of that, needs to be left to the baseball experts. That’s really served us well in our 14 years. Of course, we’ve had some high highs and some low lows. But to me, the team in baseball operations are the ones who are charged with making the recommendations to ownership and then they execute on their recommendations and their plans. That’s really how I think it should work and how it has worked. It will play out in the coming months, but that’s how I see it working.”
Kennedy has been with the Red Sox since the current ownership group took over in 2002. He’s been around the game for years, even playing baseball in college, so he knows how things work.
Kennedy clearly doesn’t want there to be too many cooks in the kitchen as far as evaluating on-field talent, though. He’ll instead focus on his area of expertise, which is the business side of baseball.
“In terms of my role and how I see it is really having a seat at the table for all decisions within the company, but when it comes to specific baseball evaluations, recommendations, my strong feeling is to leave those recommendations, those decisions to the baseball experts,” Kennedy told WEEI.com. “I would feel the same way with the ticketing department, the sponsorship group, legal, HR, finance. Get the best people in the best positions and have them make decisions and empower people to take responsibility for their own area and hold them accountable if things go wrong.
“That’s an important ingredient to being a successful leader — to get people in the right position and allow them to do their job.”
Lucchino is expected to remain with the Red Sox in some capacity. He’s made a lasting impact on the organization and his passion for baseball, for the Red Sox and for the city of Boston is undeniable.
Lucchino, Red Sox principal owner John Henry and chairman Tom Werner have high hopes for Kennedy, though. The 42-year-old native of Brookline, Mass., has earned the respect of his peers and has lofty expectations upon transitioning into his new role.
“I’m ready to lead this organization,” Kennedy said Sunday on NESN. “We have big challenges in front of us, and I stand ready to meet those challenges. Again, I’ve learned from the very best. We’ve got amazing ownership to give us all the resources we need to get done what we need to get done.
“It’s going to be a big challenge. I’m ready for it. I love this city, I love the town.”
The Red Sox won three World Series titles with Lucchino serving as president. The good news for Boston is the franchise will remain in good hands even as he steps back.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@BostonGlobe
