Larry Lucchino to step down as Red Sox CEO after season

Larry Lucchino during a pregame tour of Fenway Park before the Red Sox' home opener on Monday, April 13, 2015. Alex Speier/Globe Staff

By Chris Greenberg

August 1, 2015

2 minutes to read

Change is coming to the Boston Red Sox.

Larry Lucchino is stepping down after this season as the franchise’s president and CEO after a historic 14-year tenure that included three World Series championships.

“Fourteen years in a 24/7 job is a lot. I’ll be 70 in September,’’ Lucchino told The Boston Globe. “That’s sort of why I’m ready to step back.’’

In a statement released by the Red Sox Sunday afternoon, Lucchino suggested he will remain with the team in some capacity despite stepping down, adding that executive vice president and COO Sam Kennedy is his choice to take over as president.

“We would have preferred to announce all of our transition plans at once, including my new role, but I can tell you we all feel strongly that Sam Kennedy, who has been with me for 20 years, should be the next President of the Boston Red Sox,’’ Lucchino said. “Sam will do a terrific job.’’

Red Sox principal owner John Henry praised Lucchino in an email to the Boston Herald after news broke of his stepping down.

“Larry Lucchino is a hall of fame baseball executive who has left an indelible mark on Fenway and on the relationship between the Boston Red Sox and New England,’’ Henry told the Herald. “We’ve won three world championships under his leadership and set the longest sellout streak in professional sports history. His accomplishments are many and will have a lasting impact.’’

Henry is also the owner of Boston.com.

Along with Henry and Tom Werner, Lucchino was a member of the ownership group that purchased the Red Sox in January 2002. In December of that year, Lucchino famously referred to the rival New York Yankees as the “evil empire.’’ After a stunning comeback against the Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series, the team won its first World Series championship since 1918. The Red Sox won the World Series again in 2007 and 2013. Following a last-place finish in the AL East in 2014, Boston was again struggling during the 2015 season when news of Lucchino’s impending departure was first reported.

“[Red Sox owners] have been discussing this with Larry ever since they renewed Sam’s contract in 2012 with the assurance he would one day become president at the appropriate time,’’ an unnamed club source told ESPN Saturday night.