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Theo EpsteinTheo Epstein

The Cubs would not have won the World Series without the Game 7 rain delay

Do you think the Cubs win the World Series if that rain delay doesn't happen? No. I did not look like the most confident... i doubt we win without first of all if you blow a lead late in any game it's hard to then come back and win... the guys were shell-shocked as we all were and that rain delay... catching a little glimpse of our players meeting and it was awesome... I don't think we win the World Series without that, but you can't prove it.

A counterfactual that can never be proven, but carries weight coming from Epstein.

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Loss
Dec 29, 2017
#26899
Big CatBig Cat

Bob Stoops could be the next head coach of the Chicago Bears

We also thrown in Bob Stoops, who may be the new coach of the Chicago Bears by the time this airs. Ooh, he owns a house in Chicago. Two houses next door to each other. We call that a compound. Yeah, a little bit of a compound going on, so maybe he's the next coach.

The Bears hired Matt Nagy in January 2018; Bob Stoops never coached the Bears.
Void
Dec 29, 2017
#17770
Jim HarbaughJim Harbaugh

Toughness and grit can be acquired like a callus on the human body

Absolutely, you can improve and become better at toughness. It's a talent, but it can be acquired too. I think of it like building a callus, just like the human body. What a tremendous organism. It actually craves contact... much like conditioning can be improved, so can that callus of toughness and grit also be acquired or improved. You've got a blister. It's soft. It's got fluid in it. It's going to break, but the great thing about it, when it does break, it'll callus over even stronger and harder and better.

While psychological resilience (grit) is a debated topic, the idea that toughness can be improved through exposure to difficulty is a standard coaching tenet.
Void
Dec 29, 2017
#17771
Jim HarbaughJim Harbaugh

I need the sport of football like some people need ice cream or a drug

You know, people are going to be better at things that they love, right? I mean, you're going to work harder at it... Some people need the sport of football. I would put myself in that category. No, I do. I love it... Some people like and need ice cream. You know, they want to eat it every day. I look at football like that. I need it. I need football. It's like a drug, yeah.

This is a personal statement of feeling.

More from Theo Epstein

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Theo EpsteinTheo Epstein

The biggest competitive advantage in baseball today is understanding players as human beings rather than just data

The ironic thing about that is it's kind of swung the pendulum back where I think the biggest competitive advantage now is actually understanding players as human beings, what makes them tick, getting the right kind of guys, building the right kind of chemistry, and then treating them the right way so that the team can take off.

This is a management philosophy that has gained significant traction in the 'post-Moneyball' era of MLB front offices.
Win
Theo EpsteinTheo Epstein

Position players are significantly better first-round draft bets than pitchers

The best bets in the first round are position players. They return, on average, about twice as much value as pitchers. If we were going to put our resources... we wanted to do it with position players.

Historical draft data generally supports the idea that first-round position players have a higher success rate and lower injury risk than high school or college pitchers.
Win
Theo EpsteinTheo Epstein

Media attention on Moneyball changed how baseball front offices operate by forcing owners to ask more questions

When Moneyball came out, it hit the New York Times bestseller list. And who reads bestsellers like rich dudes on their yachts who are the same guys who own baseball teams? So they all read the book. Then they started looking at their GMs. I was like, what the hell are we doing? ... It was an example of the media kind of changed in the way the game operates because they started asking questions.

Epstein is reflecting on his firsthand experience during the 'Moneyball' era of the early 2000s.

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