Epstein: I should 'commit a felony' to quash my supposed political future

Bringing an end to two World Series droughts after a combined 194 years between the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs qualifies you for any job really, but that doesn't mean Theo Epstein envisions himself as a politician.

The esteemed Cubs president of baseball operations - who's seen his name persistently come up in the world of politics - squashed any sort of rumor that he'd be interested in a governmental position.

"I just laughed," Epstein said in regards to insinuations he has a future in politics, according to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe.

"Crumpled up the piece of paper, threw it in the garbage. This stuff is ridiculous, all these articles. I think I need to go do something really ill-advised or commit a felony or something. I can put a stop to it in a hurry. But people who know me would just laugh at that. I barely can get out of bed and get my job done the right way in the morning most of the time."

Epstein, who was rewarded with a five-year extension following the Cubs' championship, believes that team presidents and general managers are heralded far too much in today's game.

The front office guru was also recently named among Time Magazine's 100 most influential people.

"It's a group effort. Every time a team wins a championship it's because of hundreds of people making sacrifices and it's just a sign of the times. These days the GM gets a lot of credit for it when it's an organization-wide effort," he said.

"When I was growing up (watching the 1984 Tigers), you didn't know who the GM was, you just knew it was (shortstop Alan) Trammell and (second baseman Lou) Whitaker up the middle. You didn't know it was (Tigers GM) Bill Lajoie behind the scenes drafting those guys. And I wish Bill Lajoie got more credit but I wish I got a lot less. It's just kind of weird the way the game's evolved."

Evolution or not, it's safe to say Epstein will go down as one of the best the game has ever seen.