McAdam: Hiring of Bloom an attempt by Red Sox to return to their roots

Since the beginning of this century, the Red Sox have been arguably the most successful franchise in the game with four World Series championships, and even after this past season's disappointing finish, have won what may be baseball's toughest division in three of the last four years.

But outcomes aside, the process may have gone off course somewhat in recent years.

No longer were the Red Sox on the cutting edge when it came to analytics. No longer was there evidence of the creativity that had marked the franchise in the first decade or so under this current ownership. And perhaps most notably, gone was the notion of collaboration which had marked their operation.

Instead, the Sox, under president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, came to be known for dramatic signings (David Price! J.D. Martinez!) and blockbuster trades (Chris Sale! Craig Kimbrel!) -- big, sweeping gestures that, in part, led to three consecutive division titles that culminated with 2018's World Series win, but also stripped the minor league system of its depth and left it directionless when things didn't go as planned.



Worse, the free-flowing exchange of ideas that had typified the team's front office workings had been done away with, as Dombrowski largely withdrew and leaned on only longtime associates Frank Wren and Tony La Russa for input.

When the Red Sox went searching for Dombrowski's replacement, it was with the idea that they needed to return to what had made them successful under Theo Epstein, and his successor and protege, Ben Cherington.

In Chaim Bloom, they think they found their man.

Principal owner John Henry couldn't have been any more direct when asked about what the Sox had prioritized in finding their new executive.

"I wouldn't contrast the two,'' said Henry about Dombrowski and his successor. "I would just say we were extremely desirous of bringing in someone who would augment and add as opposed to just bringing in someone who might be an autocrat, for instance, or a one-man show.''

Well, that was blunt.

"One of my jobs,'' noted Bloom a bit more subtly, "is to add to what's already here.''

In 15 seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays, Bloom was known for his creativity and his ability to work well with others. Surely, it was no coincidence that "collaborate'' was the word perhaps most often uttered when Bloom was introduced Monday as the Sox' new chief baseball officer.

Team president Sam Kennedy, who conducted the job search, said it. So to did team chairman Tom Werner and principal owner John Henry.

The game is now too complex, too detailed, to rely on just a couple of familiar faces. Teamwork is needed, pushback is encouraged. And the more qualified voices involved in the discussion, the better.

That's how the Sox operated under Epstein, and apparently, will again under Bloom.

"Frankly, I talked to Theo a lot during the process -- as did Tom at one point -- just to do some digging on Chaim,'' Kennedy told BSJ, "and he couldn't have been more supportive (of Bloom). He said, 'if you're going to look at someone outside the organization, Chaim is someone you should target and you shouldn't waste time. You should go and get him.' ''

Kennedy was quick to dismiss the idea that the Sox were hiring the modern-day version of Epstein, despite the obvious comparisons (young, Yale-educated). For one thing, Bloom is already eight years older than Epstein was when he was given the reins of the Red Sox late in 2002. For another, Bloom, despite his experience hasn't been in charge of an organization to date.

But this is less about looking for an Epstein clone and more about trying to build a baseball operations department that is modern, innovative and unafraid of dissent.

"There's definitely a desire for one organization where everyone is functioning together,'' Kennedy said, "and there's a lot of questioning each another and everyone is trying to improve all the time. There's some similarities between the two, though Chaim is definitely his own guy.''

"Something that was very important throughout the process was to identify a leader to come in and supplement the group that we have. What we thought we knew about Chaim ended up being exactly what he is and that's someone who wants to be collaborative with the department. But, to be clear, he's had a successful track record in Tampa and we really did want to hear some new ideas and a new approach that could sort of blend with what we have.''

Kennedy was quick to dismiss any suggestion that the Sox are looking to capture past glories or retreat in a business that is constantly evolving.

''I don't think we're going back to the early 2000s in any way; I really think we're going forward,'' he said. "In several of my conversations (which included Epstein, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, Arizona general manager Mike Hazen and MLB executive Morgan Sword), it's incredible how baseball ops departments are advancing and new tools that folks are using to move forward.

"I do think Chaim represents the future of the game, which is using new and different ways to look at the game, using creativity. But at his core, he's a relationship-builder and that's really important.''

And, in the end, what landed Bloom the job.