A columnist wrote Lucchino's success building ballparks alone, from Camden Yards to Petco Park, “merits a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame” Getty Images
An "integral part of Red Sox history" died yesterday with the passing of LARRY LUCCHINO, according to Bill Speros of the BOSTON GLOBE. Lucchino’s Red Sox “tried to win every inning. Every game. Every series. Every season.” He “saw the cash-cow potential” in Fenway Park and “realized how its milk and honey could be used to finance the most successful MLB franchise during the first two decades of the 21st century.” Speros: “Not soccer teams. NASCAR teams. Hockey teams. Or the PGA Tour.” Lucchino “more so than any other person in the front office changed the historic trajectory of the Red Sox” (BOSTON HERALD, 4/2). NESN.com’s Tim Crowley wrote Lucchino “truly set the tone for the new era of the Red Sox,” which brought four World Series trophies to Boston in fifteen years (NESN.com, 4/2).
RED SOX REVIVAL: NBCSPORTSBOSTON.com’s John Tomase wrote Lucchino “did as much as anyone to remake the Red Sox from cursed sad sacks to one of the most valuable brands in professional sports.” His success building ballparks alone, from Camden Yards to Petco Park, “merits a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame.” But his impact on the Red Sox is what he will be "remembered for locally,” with his “influence still permeating the organization.” Tomase: “It's hard to imagine anyone being better at the job of running a team, especially on the business side. Lucchino was exacting, relentless, and brilliant” (NBCSPORTSBOSTON.com, 4/2). THE ATHLETIC’s Steve Buckley wrote Lucchino “should be enshrined” in the Baseball HOF. The late exec “falls under the category of ‘executive’ for Hall of Fame purposes, or, as they are often called, 'builders.'" And yet “neither term does justice to Lucchino” (THE ATHLETIC, 4/2).
NOT FLAWLESS: In Providence, Bill Koch wrote Lucchino was not “without his professional faults.” He “was at the center” of the misguided negotiation process that ultimately cost the Red Sox former MLBer JON LESTER, presenting a “substandard initial offer that soured contract extension talks beyond repair.” The constant tension his operational tactics created “helped lead” to then Red Sox GM THEO EPSTEIN’s brief resignation from the club in October 2005 and “infamous clandestine departure from team offices in a gorilla suit.” But the core of Lucchino’s philosophy -- the “urgency to win at all costs, the venom directed at the Yankees while dubbing them ‘The Evil Empire,’ the constant thirst for advancement both on the field and in the public conscience -- is lacking in the Red Sox front office today” (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, 4/2). THE ATHLETIC’s Ken Rosenthal wrote Lucchino’s polar extremes -- his “brilliant, creative mind and his intense, mercurial personality -- were perhaps best embodied by his relationship with Epstein.” It was Lucchino’s influence that “led to the Red Sox’s hiring of Epstein at 28” as the youngest GM in baseball history. The “issues of control and respect” between the two led to Epstein’s temporary departure in November 2005. The Red Sox since have “stagnated in recent years," finishing last in three of the past four seasons, “drawing criticism for ownership’s failure to spend the way they did in the past.” Rosenthal: "It's reasonable to ask, would Lucchino have tolerated such a malaise” (THE ATHLETIC, 4/2).
SAVING A LEGEND: In Boston, Peter Abraham wrote Lucchino working with architect JANET MARIE SMITH “saved Fenway Park from a date with the wrecking ball.” The duo “added seats, turned Jersey Street into a carnival-like concourse, and created new sections of the park designed to look and feel as if they had been there for years.” The ballpark became a venue for weddings, football games, hockey games, concerts, graduations, and “whatever else could be dreamed up.” There are people throughout New England who do not know the first thing about baseball but “have had a reason to visit Fenway.” Lucchino built Polar Park in Worcester in the last stage of his career, “changing an overlooked section of that city with a sparkling new Triple A ballpark.” Abraham wrote Lucchino “should be in the Hall of Fame as an executive if only for having built Camden Yards,” the “charming retro ballpark in downtown Baltimore that changed the look of the entire sport over time.” He “did the same in San Diego, revitalizing its downtown with Petco Park” (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/2).
FATHER OF MODERN BALLPARKS: In Massachusetts, Matt Vautour writes Smith and Lucchino built three new parks together -- Camden, Petco Park in San Diego and Polar Park -- and renovated Fenway Park, but there are “countless others around the sport, that were inspired or influenced by Lucchino’s quest for parks that were both timeless and intimate.” Smith said, “Larry used to love to say ‘We didn’t set out to change the world, we wanted to make the best ballpark in Baltimore that we could.’ The fact that it did change things is a reflection of his genius and how laser-focused he was on the things that matter” (MASSLIVE.com, 4/3). In Massachusetts, Sean McAdam wrote former MLB Commissioner BUD SELIG “credited” Lucchino for the construction of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, which opened in 1991, and “served as a blueprint for an era of new ballparks across the game that include retro designs mixed with more modern amenities.” Selig: “Look at how Camden Yards changed baseball. It was just huge, huge. It’s one of the critical (turning points) in the game” (MASSLIVE.com, 4/2).
MORE THAN BOSTON: In Baltimore, Andy Kostka wrote Lucchino’s presence atop the Orioles “helped to steer Baltimore away from the concrete bowl stadiums that were fashionable at the time.” He hired Smith to be the Orioles’ VP of Planning and Development, and together they "led a collaborative effort with the Maryland Stadium Authority, HOK Sports (now Populous), contractors and state to create a gem of a ballpark in downtown.” After opening in 1992, Camden Yards “was immediately hailed for its intimate retro design.” Many of the baseball stadiums teams have opened since them "have taken cues from Oriole Park” (BALTIMORE BANNER, 4/2). In San Diego, Tom Krasovic wrote Lucchino’s stewardship of the Padres’ baseball side “is overlooked because his first mission was to get the ballpark subsidy.” But his decisions about the ballclub’s manager, GM and others in baseball operations “panned out,” with the Padres advancing to the 1998 World Series and “building excitement for the public’s ballpark-funding vote two weeks later.” The Padres have not “employed a baseball CEO as savvy as Lucchino" since his seven-year run ended in 2001. It was largely through the leadership of Lucchino that the Padres “aced out the Chargers for perhaps as much of a sports-venue subsidy that could be had in San Diego” (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 4/2).
