Face of the Franchise

COULDN'T resist and had to post this picture of a 5-year-old Ben Cherington, shown at Fenway Park in 1979. As I wrote in my feature story in the New Hampshire Union Leader, Ben was engrossed by the game -- "especially the pitchers," said his mom -- and never lost interest. Pretty cool story now that Cherington is the 11th general manager in Red Sox history.

“Ben was just riveted,” said his mother, Gretchen, reflecting on their first family trip to Fenway. “I think every other 5-year-old wasn't paying attention, but he just watched what was going on. There was a focus and passion for the game way back then.”

                                                 Courtesy Cherington family

NH native Ben Cherington has his day

BOSTON -- After rising through the franchise as a scout, farm director and assistant GM, Ben Cherington officially replaced Theo Epstein Tuesday afternoon during a press conference at Fenway Park. This where Cherington, of Meriden, N.H., watched his first game from the bleachers as a 5-year-old. The highlights:

• Cherington came across as genuine when saying he felt the anguish and "pain" along with Red Sox fans during a tumultuous September and into the off-season. "We've let our fans down in some important ways recently," he said.
• Sad news for other teams: John Lackey won't be pitching in 2012. Boston's overpaid, TMZ-hating starter is undergoing Tommy John surgery any day.
• The Red Sox have a "handful" of candidates for manager. Cherington wants “someone who cares about players, but is also willing and ready to have tough conversations with them ... I want someone who’ll collaborate with the front office and ownership but also is willing to make an argument when he disagrees.”
• When addressing the team's downward spiral and questionable clubhouse behavior, he said, "There is a great motivation to clean up what needs to be cleaned up.”

                                                   Michael Ivins/Boston Red Sox

From the bleachers to the front office

I sat with Ben Cherington's mom, Gretchen, and looked at family pictures of her only son last week. In each picture baseball picture of Ben, he was completely focused on the action -- even as a 5-year-old watching his first Red Sox game from the bleachers.


“Ben was just riveted,” his mother, Gretchen, said. “I think every other 5-year-old wasn't paying attention, but he just watched what was going on. There was a focus and passion for the game way back then.” More on a Lifetime of Preparation for Ben Cherington in my full story here.

What you didn't know about Ben Cherington

How does a kid from the tiny village of Meriden, N.H., grow up to become GM of the Red Sox? Hard work, vision and good genes. Ben Cherington, who will be promoted by the Red Sox on Tuesday, found inspiration from many relatives as a kid. I met with Ben's mom, Gretchen, this week and learned the following about Mr. Cherington:

His maternal grandfather Richard Eberhart taught at Dartmouth and won a 1966 Pulitzer for poetry ... Paternal grandfather Paul Cherington taught at Harvard Business School and worked in the Nixon administration as assistant secretary of transportation. Ben's middle name is Paul ... His mother's cousin, Susan Butcher, was a four-time Iditarod champion and the second woman to win the great Alaskan sled dog race.


“Ben followed her and was very close to her. She was inspiring to him,” Cherington's mother, Gretchen, said in my Sunday story. “He grew up around people on top of their field, in different fields. It's a small town, maybe 700 residents back then, but he knew there were things one could do in life.”

Ben pitched in the 1991 Class I baseball championship and was a National Merit Scholarship finalist at Lebanon (N.H.) High. As of Tuesday, there will be five New Hampshire natives working as major-league GMs: Cherington, Jed Hoyer (Cubs), Neal Huntington (Pirates), Bill Smith (Twins) and Brian Sabean (Giants).

Breaking: Red Sox, Cubs, move forward on Theo deal

It's now official that Theo Epstein has resigned from the Red Sox, taking the position as president of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs. Compensation has yet to be hammered out, but both clubs have agreed to a process in which that will be resolved "in the near term," according to a Red Sox statement. The Red Sox will name Ben Cherington general manager during a press conference on Tuesday at Fenway Park.


Later, during a lunch at Harry Caray's Steakhouse, Theo and Ben can hammer out player compensation for the Red Sox.

Big Ben to the rescue

WHAT A MESS. Red Sox owner John Henry came out swinging yesterday, taking the airwaves at 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston and speaking to the media outside the Brighton studios. 


The usually quiet and private owner, in response to getting "hit below the belt," said the media has created a frenzy over the Red Sox' collapse. That tends to happen when a team with Boston's payroll and tradition suffers the worst September collapse in baseball history. 


Now it's up to New Hampshire native Ben Cherington to rescue a scrambling front office. Cherington, hired as a scout by Dan Duquette in 1999, is the only choice to succeed Epstein.


“He's been in the organization for a long time. He knows the people, and he's learned a number of different jobs to learn the business from the ground floor up,” said Red Sox GM Dan Duquette, who hired Cherington in 1999.


Duquette spoke with me at length yesterday, talking about Cherington's rise to the top and what qualities distinguish him from other top baseball execs. 



“Ben really has a passion for baseball and works well with other people and because he has a steady, even-keel personality, I think he's a big asset in this market. Most importantly, what probably distinguishes himself is he knows talent," Duquette said. “He has a real good instinct for players. I also think one of his best qualities is that he's a good listener. Executives that can listen are rare.”


Cherington, climbing the ladder to farm director and assistant GM, helped build Boston's farm system that produced all-stars Jacoby Ellsbury, Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon and Dustin Pedroia.

Breaking: Theo Epstein to the Cubs

Theo Epstein, the kid who ended the 86-year curse in Boston is heading to Chicago. Epstein already has agreed to a five-year deal with the Cubs believed to be about $15 million.

The deal is expected to be finalized by the end of this week, once negotiations for compensation with the Red Sox have been finalized, according to WEEI's John Dennis. 


Can't say I'm surprised. It's a great opportunity for Theo, who takes on the ultimate challenge of bring a World Series champion to the Cubs.


You can bet Epstein's successor will be New Hampshire native Ben Cherington, who played high school ball at Lebanon (N.H) against my Plymouth Bobcats. Remember, it was Cherington who took over as co-GM along with Plymouth, N.H., native Jed Hoyer for a brief stint in 2005. Cherington and Hoyer pulled off the trade for Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell. Here's a look at Cherington as the right man for the job, an extensive piece written by Alex Speier.