Lucchino to step down as Red Sox president and CEO
Larry Lucchino's work is done.
The Red Sox president and CEO will leave his post at the end of the season, according to multiple reports out of Boston.
"Fourteen years in a 24/7 job is a lot. I'll be 70 in September," Lucchino told The Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy. "That's sort of why I'm ready to step back."
Sam Kennedy, the team's executive vice president and chief operating officer, will take Lucchino's job as president, but won't be involved in baseball operations, according to the Boston Herald's Michael Silverman and Steve Buckley.
The Red Sox won't name a CEO for now, Silverman and Buckley add. They write:
The Red Sox have been exploring a succession plan from Lucchino for some time. With his contract expiring at the end of the year, the club finally decided the time was right for Lucchino's everyday responsibilities to come to an end. A key factor in the timing also was the club's desire to promote, and not lose, the next generation of leaders, topped by Kennedy, in the Red Sox' executive branch.
Lucchino, who will turn 70 years old next month, has been less visible over the past year, partly as a result of a serious motorcycle accident over the winter. He has also been deeply involved with the purchase of the Pawtucket Red Sox and their bid to build a new stadium in Providence, R.I. Lucchino's duties on the PawSox front increased with the death of the group's president, Jim Skeffington, in May.
Lucchino endorsed Kennedy's promotion:
The truth is Sam is an important part of this puzzle. He's been working for me for 20 years, right out of college. He's certainly my choice, as well as that of (owners) John (Henry) and Tom (Werner).
Kennedy, 42, has been the brains behind Boston's business operations.
An announcement is expected next week, according to The Boston Globe, and Werner is hopeful of keeping Lucchino involved with the Red Sox in some capacity.
We are hopeful and confident that we will conclude an agreement with Larry going forward where he will continue to be an integral part of upper management. He will have less of an everyday role but he will continue to have an important strategic role not just with the Red Sox but also within Major League Baseball.
A transition plan from Lucchino to Kennedy has reportedly been in place for some time now, according to The Boston Globe.
Lucchino joined the Red Sox in late 2001, played an integral role in Fenway Park renovations, and will likely be remembered as the man who famously called the New York Yankees "The Evil Empire."