Which leads back to the question of how much Theo Epstein is enjoying the ride. He says that he is enjoying it, but he says it without his voice raising even a little. He tells a cool little story. Every day, he walks back to home after games – he lives fairly close to the park.
“There’s a difference from three or four years ago,” he says. “First of all, I did not have that much company walking back with me then. But it felt like part of the ‘Walking Dead’ walking back. There was no energy coming from the game, from the park. It was all about, ‘What are we doing next?’ And that was painful. That was tough, seeing all those long faces. People did recognize me and they gave lots of advice or they questioned what we were doing.
“Now, walking back, you feel like you’re part of a party on the sidewalk. People are floating home from the ballpark, really happy. You walk back and you’re walking with a Bryant jersey or Rizzo jersey or Schwarber jersey. It’s a collective experience.”