Red Sox’s Craig Breslow Gives Fiery Response To ‘Nerd’ Label

It’s hard not to be impressed with Craig Breslow’s resume, as the new chief baseball officer of the Red Sox has lived many lives both in and out of Major League Baseball.

There’s a reason Boston made him a first-time head executive, after all.

Breslow is a graduate of Yale, played more than a decade in the big leagues and needed just five seasons of working in a front office before being tabbed by the Red Sox. The 43-year-old has done it all, and took time at his introductory press conference Thursday to remind everyone of it.

“I understand that some of you will see me as another Ivy League nerd with a baseball front office job,” Breslow said, as seen on NESN. “It’s true. I am that, but I’m also a 13-year big leaguer and a 2013 Boston Red Sox World Series champion. I know what it takes to win here and I’m willing to make the hard decisions necessary to deliver.

“My contribution to winning in this role will be different than it was back then, but one thing remains constant: My desire to win today is as strong as it was as a player, and I can’t wait to get started.”

It was a sharp message from the former reliever, as he’s reentering a market that has mixed feelings regarding executives with an Ivy League background. Breslow’s the third Yale alum to be hired by the Red Sox since 2000, as his mentor Theo Epstein started things off with an incredibly successful run before Chaim Bloom was eventually hired and fizzled out in a short period.

There’s reason to be optimistic for Red Sox fans, though. Texas Rangers general manager Chris Young is an Ivy League-educated, former big league pitcher who took his job with no experience much like Breslow, and he just won the World Series.

It will take time for Breslow’s vision to come into place, but recent history should give Red Sox fans a glimmer of hope as they enter yet another new era in the front office.