Theo Epstein rewards baseball department for job well done – Chicago Tribune

Theo Epstein gets most of the credit for building the Cubs team that advanced to the National League Division Series with their wild-card win over the Pirates on Wednesday night.

As president of the baseball operations department, he made the personnel decisions and brought in the people who helped make the changes that resulted in this dream season.

But Epstein is the first to acknowledge the work of dozens of employees in the baseball operations department, the ones who scouted and developed the young talent, as well as the major league scouts who advised Epstein on the sign-and-flip veterans like Paul Maholm and Scott Feldman, and pickups like Jake Arrieta and Dexter Fowler.

Now the Cubs are going to reward their baseball operations employees with a night at Wrigley Field.

“Watching this Cubs team play, what it means to be a Cub in 2015, I often think back to the long hours in those hotel rooms figuring out what it was we wanted to be, how we were going to get where, what we wanted to teach and all the different people who contributed to that in some small way, it’s really special for them,” Epstein said. “So we’ve actually invited all our full-time baseball operations staff, all the scouts and all our development people, when we host that first game at Wrigley, Game 3.

“They’ll all be there with their wives, which will be a really cool moment because they were all a part of it. Looking out on the product they helped create, a beautiful, fall evening at Wrigley Field would be pretty special.”

The Cubs would not be where they are without them. And while the kids were all right, the additions of veterans like Fowler, Miguel Montero and David Ross were also instrumental in creating the proper clubhouse culture.

“I love numbers,” manager Joe Maddon said. “God, I love numbers, though I was horrible in math. Algebra III. Second semester of Algebra II was my Waterloo, to be honest with you. Algebra III and Trig could have been Latin or Greek, it wouldn’t matter to me. But I do love numbers.

“Beyond that I really like people and humans and what makes this guy tick? And I don’t think that because you can’t necessarily quantify it, it’s not as popular of a way to acquire a player, but it really matters. It really matters right now in our clubhouse. But I guess my point is it’s a combination of skillful young players that everybody saw coming along. But I don’t believe we would be here without the appropriate seasoning among the veterans.”

Some of Epstein’s special assistants were on hand Wednesday, including former Cubs pitchers Kerry Wood and Ryan Dempster. Eddie Vedder was watching in a suite with Dempster when Dexter Fowler came up in the fifth. Dempster told Vedder that Fowler would homer, and Fowler promptly homered to make it 4-0.

“Dempster called it,” Vedder said. “It was the craziest thing.”

The Cubs had a long road the last four years to get to that one playoff win, and getting past the Cardinals will be even more difficult.

But the wild clubhouse celebration was merited, and Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer could finally enjoy their first taste of October madness in Chicago.

Was there ever any time when they thought this rebuild wasn’t working out the way they’d hope?

“I don’t think there was ever a point of being totally frustrated,” Hoyer said. “I think the losses were really hard. There were a lot of frustrating nights, driving home together or walking home, it was tough. Losses are really hard, especially when you’re striving for an environment like Boston, where Theo was winning 90-95 games every year.”

Maddon’s “30-minute rule” for celebrating wins was extended on Wednesday, but when the Cubs wake up today in St. Louis they’ll be back at work, looking to extend a magical season.