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Theo Epstein Has Hilarious Response To Being Named World's Greatest Leader In Fortune Magazine

BOSTON (CBS) -- Theo Epstein received quite the honor on Thursday, with his name atop of Fortune magazine's list of "The World's 50 Greatest Leaders."

The Brookline native has broken a pair of lengthy World Series droughts as a GM/team president, first with his hometown Red Sox in 2004 and then again last fall with the Chicago Cubs, but he hardly sees himself as one of the world's greatest leaders. Epstein had a hilarious response to Thursday's honor when ESPN's Buster Olney reached out to him for his thoughts.

"Um, I can't even get my dog to stop peeing in the house, " Epstein said in a text to Olney. "That is ridiculous. 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 case you need a quick reminder of the epic Fall Classic, Zobrist hit a go-ahead double in the 10th inning of Game 7 in Chicago's 8-7 win over the Cleveland Indians, ending a 108-year World Series drought for the Cubs. It's the third World Series title of Epstein's career, after he won a pair while at the helm of the Boston Red Sox.

Fortune describes their leaders as those who are "transforming the world and inspiring others to do the same," but as you can tell from his comments to Olney, Epstein clearly doesn't think he belongs in such a group. At least not until he can get his dog potty trained.

 

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