NEW YORK (AP) — Owners of the Boston Red Sox thought the team wasn’t marketable after the 2010 season and needed to add “sexy players,” former general manager Theo Epstein says in a new book co-written by former manager Terry Francona.
Epstein says owner John Henry, chairman Tom Werner and president Larry Lucchino made the team’s image a priority, according to excerpts released Tuesday by Sports Illustrated. “Francona: The Red Sox Years” is co-written by the Boston Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy and is scheduled for publication by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on Jan. 22.
“They told us we didn’t have any marketable players. We need some sexy guys,” Epstein was quoted as saying.
Francona said of the ownership group: “I don’t think they love baseball. I think they like baseball. … It’s still more of a toy or hobby for them.”
Francona worked for ESPN in 2012. Cleveland hired him in October as its manager.
