Tom Werner is the Chairman of the Boston Red Sox and the Partner-Executive Producer of Carsey-Werner- Mandabach, a
preeminent independent television studio.
In his presentation, Tom Werner discusses the "enormously complex enterprise" of baseball from a Chairman's perspective.
"We have so many different constituencies," he explains. "We have to deal with our fans, our players, our sponsors..., our viewers, but
most importantly, the community." The Boston Red Sox officers take their community responsibilities very seriously, recognizing the
importance of their team to the greater New England area. Mr. Werner explains that being Chairman of the Red Sox involves him in a much
larger enterprise, and that much of his time is spent dealing with issues that pertain to Major League Baseball, in general. He
describes his involvement with the Commissioner's 21st Century Initiative, a committee that unites various important people (including
owners, players, and the Commissioner) to generate fresh and exciting ideas for the sport.
In an effort to make the team more competitive, the Red Sox hired Bill James, a writer who began recording baseball
ideas, strategies, and statistical analyses in the 1970s and gained a fanatic following. In his final baseball abstract in 1998, he
wrote an essay about what he had learned in his twelve years of research, and he created a list of fifteen items that would help improve
a major league baseball team. The Red Sox have used some of his ideas to improve their pitching and drafting strategies, as well as to
use James' explanation of the unequal distribution of talent to inform their salary decisions. Leaders in the baseball business try to
ascribe a certain value to every player in the market in order to make the most of their money. However, despite all of the necessary
analysis and calculation involved in a team's success, Mr. Werner emphasizes that "this is beautifully not a science," and that "what
makes baseball so wonderful is its unpredictability."
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