Theo Epstein, who broke both the “Curse of the Bambino” and the “Curse of the Billy Goat,” will resign as the Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations. The Cubs announced on Wednesday that Jed Hoyer will take over as their top baseball operations official as Epstein steps down a year before his contract expires. Hoyer is a long-time assistant of Epstein.
“Those types of decisions are best made by someone who will be here for a long period rather than just one more year,” said Epstein, adding that he plans to spend more time with his wife and two sons although baseball is everything to him.
Epstein became the youngest general manger in the history of MLB when the Boston Red Sox hired him at the age of 27 in 2003. The Red Sox won the first World Series in 86 years breaking the “Curse of the Bambino” in 2004, which brought him to fame. After the 2011 season, he became the president of the Cub, which broke the “Curse of the Billy Goat” by winning the World Series in 2016 for the first time in 108 years.
Kyu-In Hwang kini@donga.com