Friday, October 23

Welcome to this edition of the Red Sox Beat newsletter.

Shortly after legendary baseball executive Larry Lucchino died in the spring of 2024, an idea started to form in the mind of Assumption University president Greg Weiner.

And that vision came to fruition earlier this week with the announcement of the Larry Lucchino Institute for the Study of Sports, which will be unveiled as part of Assumption’s curriculum in the fall of 2027.

While Lucchino was fulfilling the final chapter of his highly successful career as chairman and principal owner of the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox, he formed a partnership with Assumption, which is located in Worcester. 

“Assumption had made an agreement with Lucchino and Jack Verducci [the leader of corporate partnerships with the WooSox] to be one of the WooSox's 21 founding partners,” said WooSox president Dr. Charles Steinberg. “That means they were making a substantial investment in us, and they wanted to be the leading higher education partner [affiliated with the WooSox] and it's been a really good relationship ever since.”

Assumption has served as a pipeline to the WooSox for internships and eventual full-time positions the last several years.

But in the aftermath of Lucchino’s passing, Weiner had a longer-lasting vision which he couldn’t shake. In fact, he flew to Lucchino’s hometown of Pittsburgh to present it to members of his family, including older brother Frank Lucchino and nephew David Lucchino.

The Lucchino Family Foundation made a multimillion dollar investment to get the program off the ground.

What exactly will the Larry Lucchino Institute for the Study of Sports be? 

Allow Steinberg, Lucchino’s longtime most trusted confidant, who has fittingly been installed as the institute’s founding director, to explain Weiner’s vision.

“He had to explain to me what that meant. Like, is that a place? No, it's a method of study that goes beyond your major. It goes beyond your required courses. You may take courses that relate to your major,” said Steinberg. “Your major might be finance, but you can study ballpark financing. Your major might be philosophy, but you might study the ethics of sport. 

“We will make sure that there's an interdisciplinary opportunity that validates a liberal arts education with courses and speakers and forums and visits to Polar Park, where we become your lab and are open to anybody, no matter what your major is.

“The whole point is, it's not just sports management. It's not just sports marketing, although you can do that. But if you are a designer, well, you may be interested in ballpark design. You might be interested in graphic design. You might be interested in mascot design. So it's to build an interdisciplinary, radial asterisk where there are all these spokes coming from the center, and sports is the center.”

It is all so very Lucchino.

“You can teach the lessons that he taught, but he usually taught by example," Steinberg said. "Larry didn't usually say to me, ‘Now here's what I'm going to do, and here's why I'm going to do it.’ He was just action all the time. And if you were an attentive student sitting next to him, you watched what he did, you listened to his language, you saw the methods to his madness, and you saw that he was interdisciplinary before we talked about such subjects.”

The possibilities for this new institute are endless, and Steinberg looks forward to being at the forefront of the implementation.

“Regardless of your major, say you love baseball, you could hear [ballpark architect] Janet Marie Smith speak on ballpark design, or you could hear her speak on municipal relations in sports. How do you partner with a city and a state?” Steinberg said. “Imagine if you and some of your [journalism] colleagues came and talked about journalism, or the journalism public relations interface. What were the pivotal courses that shaped your career?

“What if Courtney Cowsill, the brilliant artist who's created the designs for our mascot and all our mascots and all of our iconography, spoke? You have access to all of these people. Greg Weiner knows George Will very well. He could get him in there. Or you could listen to Mike Barnicle. You're getting an education and a half.”

And, inevitably, the in-field training that comes with it.

“It helps you get internships,” said Steinberg. “It helps you get placed, and once you've got the internship, well, then you're ready to go swim with the big thing. That's how so many of us started.”

It is the perfect way to preserve Lucchino’s legacy as one of the most innovative, tireless and bold executives of all-time. With the Red Sox, he was the president/CEO for the World Series championships of 2004, ‘07 and ‘13. And part of his legacy? The dramatic renovation of Fenway Park, including the Monster Seats and many other enhancements that have allowed MLB’s oldest ballpark to remain a prized destination.

Who better than the affable and charismatic Payton Tolle to serve as a correspondent for MLB during the World Series?

Boston’s power lefty was a correspondent during Thursday’s World Series media day and will also be enlisted for Game 1 in Milwaukee on Friday. He will appear on MLB Network, produce content across MLB social media channels and offer a player’s perspective on the matchup between the Brewers and Rays. 

Two players who played in last year’s World Series, Miguel Rojas (Dodgers) and Ernie Clement (Blue Jays), will also be correspondents.

Established in 2021, the World Series Correspondent Program provides players with the opportunity to be featured across MLB’s digital media platforms, showcase their personalities and give fans a behind-the-scenes look at the World Series through exclusive interviews with players, coaches and celebrities.

The baseball world got some sad news this week as Todd Benzinger, best known for his time with the Red Sox and Reds, died Wednesday at the age of 63.

Benzinger played a central role in Morgan’s Magic in 1988. That was when the Red Sox won the first 13 games and eventually 19 out of 20 when Joe Morgan replaced John McNamara as manager after the All-Star break. Benzinger had arguably the most memorable hit during the streak, a game-ending three-run homer down the right-field line that curled around Pesky’s Pole.

To Reds fans, Benzinger will always be remembered for catching the final out of an upset sweep of the Athletics in the 1990 World Series. The switch-hitter’s nine-year career also included stints with the Royals, Dodgers and Giants.

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