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Theo Epstein won the Boston Red Sox’ first World Series championship since 1918 when he led them to the 2004 title. Then he went to Chicago and in 2016 won the Cubs’ first championship since 1908. Ending droughts of 86 and 108 years virtually guarantees Epstein’s enshrinement, especially when one considers that as an advisor to commissioner Rob Manfred he was also the architect of many of the fundamental rules changes put in place over the last few seasons.
Brian Sabean had extraordinary tenures as general manager of the San Francisco Giants. Taking over in 1997, he led the Giants to three World Series wins (2010, 2012 and 2014), along with the 2002 National League pennant. Among recent GMs, only Cashman (1998, 1999, 2000, 2009) has more.
Sabean did come under criticism in the Mitchell Report on steroid use in baseball for what was identified as his indifference to reports of steroid use on the Giants. It’s possible that could hurt his candidacy. But the numbers are with Sabean: they include a career .534 winning percentage (1,556-1,358).
If nothing else, the candidacy of Dave Dombrowski is enhanced by its length and breadth. Since being named general manager of the Montreal Expos in 1987, Dombrowski has been the chief baseball officer of one-sixth of all the teams in baseball: the Expos (1987-1991), Florida Marlins (1991-2001), Detroit Tigers (2002-2015), Boston Red Sox (2015-2019) and Philadelphia Phillies (2021-present.)
That tenure alone makes Dombrowski a logical candidate for enshrinement. Add to that the championships he won in Florida (1997) and Boston (2018) plus the league pennants his teams captured in Detroit (2006) and Philadelphia (2022) and you have a candidate likely to be enshrined in the near future.