Theo Epstein Reflects on ‘Sad’ Ending to 2011 Season and Red Sox Tenure, ‘We Brought It on Ourselves’

Theo Epstein is, in some ways, a million miles away from Fenway Park. That doesn’t mean the sting of the way the 2011 season — and his tenure with the Red Sox — ended isn’t still felt.

The new Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations has moved on to the Windy City, and with that, he has new challenges. However, after spending a decade in Boston, the Epstein era won’t soon be forgotten.

And while the decade Epstein spent as general manager for the Red Sox was by and large highly successful, with two World Series titles, Epstein will also be remembered for being one of the men who oversaw the club during its ugly 2011 collapse.

The Red Sox are in Chicago beginning Friday afternoon for a three-game series with the Cubs, meaning that Epstein is once again back in the spotlight, both in Chicago and back in Boston. 

He’s been making the media rounds prior to the series, and Epstein opened up in a big way in an interview with The Boston Globe.

Naturally, the disastrous end to the 2011 season was discussed, and it’s clear that the way things ended for Epstein and the Sox are still fresh in his mind.

“In a way, I’ll never recover from September,” Epstein told the Globe in reference to the club’s 7-20 record in the final month of last season. “I don’t fully understand it. It was so disheartening. We were playing, I thought, world-class baseball for 4 1/2 months. I thought we were the best team in the league for a long stretch. Clearly, we had our vulnerabilities. The pitching attrition was real, and we were walking a tightrope.”

Epstein also acknolwedged that the club’s deficiencies extended beyond just the on-field play, too.

“But for the wheels to fall off the wagon the way they did, for us to lose not only our competitiveness and our place in the standings, but our identity as a team, was painful to watch,” he said. “I’ll never really ever get over that. But a few weeks later, I was embroiled, I was forced to have to make a really tough decision.”

Ultimately, Epstein acknowledged the fault fell upon himself and the club, not only for the way things ended last season, but also for how they spiraled out of control even further upon season’s end.

“But the bottom line is, we brought it on ourselves,” he said. “If we win nine games in April, none of that stuff happens. If we collectively handle ourselves more maturely, more professionally, none of that happens. So we brought it on ourselves.”

Even so, Epstein knows that the good times will eventually outweigh the bad.

“It was just unfortunate to experience,” he told the Globe. “But I do think what we accomplished for a decade there really meant something and I think will continue to mean something, and will continue to last and will be a part of the identity of the franchise. The things that happened in September were antithetical to that, so it’s uncomfortable to even think about.”

Read the entire in-depth interview with The Boston Globe by clicking here.