Cubs president Theo Epstein tops Fortune's greatest leaders list
Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein topped Fortune Magazine's annual list of the world's 50 greatest leaders.
Epstein, 43, was cited by the magazine as the "wunderkind executive who realized he would need to grow as a leader in order to replicate in Chicago the success he’d had with the Boston Red Sox."
"Um, I can't even get my dog to stop peeing in the house. That is ridiculous," Epstein told ESPN.com's Buster Olney. "The whole thing is patently ridiculous. It's baseball -- a pastime involving a lot of chance. If [Ben] Zobrist's ball is three inches farther off the line, I'm on the hot seat for a failed five-year plan. And I'm not even the best leader in our organization; our players are."
In 2004, at age 28, Epstein became the youngest general manager in the history of Major League Basball when he was hired by the Red Sox.
The Red Sox went on to win the World Series in 2004, breaking an 86-year drought without a title. Boston also won the championship in 2007.
Epstein was hired by Cubs in October 2011 to help that franchise get over their championship drought.
Last season, the Cubs finally got their first championship since 1908 in a thrilling seven-game World Series victory over the Cleveland Indians.
The only other sports figure on this year's list is Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James, who is 11th on the list.
- Scooby Axson
