Larry Lucchino dead at 78

jacklamabe65

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I have a hunch that if LL was still part of the trioka he wouldn't have allowed John Henry to become a mute. Like most human beings, he was complicated - moving the Sox out of Rhode Island, hiring Bobby Valentine - but the good outweighs the bad, for sure.
 

snowmanny

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The complaint about not replacing Fenway is weird to me. I was definitely a "build a new park" guy but the Harrington plan notwithstanding, the space and mechanics and cost of doing so were all obvious obstacles. So with reluctance and skepticism I understood why they didn't start over. But the improvements they made to Fenway Park, which have happened just about every year, have been terrific. And they've marketed and monetized Fenway is ways that seem effective and acceptable. They've executed their plan way beyond expectations. And it has been great fun, if not extremely comfortable fun, going to Fenway the last couple of decades.

Yeah, I'd still like a modern park, and now that I'm no longer 14 I suppose I'd like a park that's easier to drive to. But that's just me. And at the same time I do like the Red Sox playing in the middle of the city in the same place they've been for 112 years. So overall, Henry, Werner and Lucchino get a big win.
 

soxhop411

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The complaint about not replacing Fenway is weird to me. I was definitely a "build a new park" guy but the Harrington plan notwithstanding, the space and mechanics and cost of doing so were all obvious obstacles. So with reluctance and skepticism I understood why they didn't start over. But the improvements they made to Fenway Park, which have happened just about every year, have been terrific. And they've marketed and monetized Fenway is ways that seem effective and acceptable. They've executed their plan way beyond expectations. And it has been great fun, if not extremely comfortable fun, going to Fenway the last couple of decades.

Yeah, I'd still like a modern park, and now that I'm no longer 14 I suppose I'd like a park that's easier to drive to. But that's just me. And at the same time I do like the Red Sox playing in the middle of the city in the same place they've been for 112 years. So overall, Henry, Werner and Lucchino get a big win.
You would also have better luck finding the holy grail buried somewhere in Boston than ever getting a new stadium built in today's age.... There will be an absurd amount of pushback and even thats underseller things
 

Jungleland

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He was easy to rag on when it seemed like he was the face of the gimmicky stuff in a time where baseball still could and should have been selling out the park, but when he hit he hit really well. The 100 year celebration comes to mind - absolutely masterfully done.
 

Dewey's 'stache

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This figuratively happened at the urinal troughs all the time. Larry did a remarkable job renovating the park. I went as a kid in the 70’s and the sausage fest at the trough is still a horror I can’t quite get out of my mind. Just getting rid of this ode to the Roman baths was a huge step forward.
Rest in Peace Larry, yes you sometimes ruffled feathers, but you did so much for the game and the Sox.
 

rodderick

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Larry was a prick. He also was a fighter, put his face out there for scrutiny and wanted to win more than anything. Huge cog in completely transforming the Boston Red Sox, don't know how one could deny or even minimize his contributions. We could certainly use someone in his mold right now. RIP.
 

ShaneTrot

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This figuratively happened at the urinal troughs all the time. Larry did a remarkable job renovating the park. I went as a kid in the 70’s and the sausage fest at the trough is still a horror I can’t quite get out of my mind. Just getting rid of this ode to the Roman baths was a huge step forward.
Rest in Peace Larry, yes you sometimes ruffled feathers, but you did so much for the game and the Sox.
Yeah, that was something. As a ten-year old boy standing on my tippy toes to take a leak while seeing a seventy-year old guy peeing directly across from me was certainly an experience.
Mr. Lucchino was a guy who got things accomplished and I appreciate his accomplishments. Godspeed!
 

BoSoxLady

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Are the concourses or seats wider? Is it faster to get through the turnstiles? Were garages built for parking?
Ooooh you can sit on the monster for $500 or face god knows where while drinking a $15 beer on the RF roof.

What renovations?
When was your last visit to Fenway?
He was responsible for: Big Concourse in RF; Expanded concourse in LF (ground floor and 2nd level; Five years ago, ALL of the red seats were replaced with new and slightly wider ones with cupholders. Several season ticket holders were relocated because the seats were removed; Expanded concourse behind the plate; Green monster seats; Pavilion seats; It is faster to get through the turnstiles, even with the updated security. Fans without bags (mostly men) walk right in.

The Red Sox have done as much as possible to update the park and despite its flaws, it’s still one of the best places to watch a baseball game. Fenway today is Larry Lucchino’s vision.
 

Arroyoyo

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I remember being in Baltimore opening day in 2004 and seeing him in a restaurant. I was all of 19 years old at the time. At one point I was washing my hands next to him in the restroom and as I’m drying my hands I turned to him and quietly said “hi Larry, I just wanted to say thanks for…”

And then he cut me off and said “who’s Larry?” and then walked out the door. My buddy was waiting outside the restroom and as I came out he’s like “did you see Larry Lucchino in there?” And I was like “don’t get me started.”

I both hate and respect LL tremendously for the way he handled that situation.
 

Yaz Fan 4 Life

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RIP Larry. I agree with a lot of what has been said in this thread especially this,

This figuratively happened at the urinal troughs all the time. Larry did a remarkable job renovating the park. I went as a kid in the 70’s and the sausage fest at the trough is still a horror I can’t quite get out of my mind.
I remember as a kid going to many games at Fenway and not wanting to go to the bathroom due to those "troughs". So for just updating the bathrooms he deserves a lot of credit.

I all seriousness though, I think he did a lot of good for both baseball and the team. As an "old timer" i remember Fenway of the 70's, 80's and 90's very well. Don't get me wrong, I truly miss the days of being able to skip out on school, drive down to Boston go up to the ticket window and get seats 2 rows from the field behind home-plate for like $7. I miss being able to sit near Clemen's wife in the stands on days he pitched, or Dewey's wife along with others as they used to seat players family in the section behind homeplate in the early to mid 80's, at least on the several occasions I was there during that time period. But, having said all that the place was starting to get a bit run down and there have been may improvements to the ballpark since then and a lot of that was due to Larry and the ownership group at that time. There are many of the things that have changed that I am not a fan of but to me, at least for today I will stick to the fact that he did many good things for this team and I will say thanks to him for that. Lastly I will thank him for his part in bringing 2004 to all Sox fans.
 

Traut

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I saw him walking through the concourse before game 1 of the 2007 ALDS.

We were walking by each other. I recognized him and said “thank you”.

Without hesitation he smiled, shook my hand, and thanked me for being a fan.

For all the reasons mentioned in this thread he’s a hall of fame level baseball executive.

I’m grateful for his time in Boston.
 

Salem's Lot

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When was your last visit to Fenway?
He was responsible for: Big Concourse in RF; Expanded concourse in LF (ground floor and 2nd level; Five years ago, ALL of the red seats were replaced with new and slightly wider ones with cupholders. Several season ticket holders were relocated because the seats were removed; Expanded concourse behind the plate; Green monster seats; Pavilion seats; It is faster to get through the turnstiles, even with the updated security. Fans without bags (mostly men) walk right in.

The Red Sox have done as much as possible to update the park and despite its flaws, it’s still one of the best places to watch a baseball game. Fenway today is Larry Lucchino’s vision.
And let’s not forget Janet Marie Smith who may have been Lucchino’s best hire after Theo Epstein. They took a place that was falling down and turned it into a place where hundreds of thousands of visitors travel to Boston to experience.

And it would have been so much easier for them to buy some piece of land out by 495 and build another generic ballpark for half the money.

Red Sox fans are damn lucky that he was running the team at a pivotal point in the club’s history.
 

RoDaddy

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He was connected to a lot of big and incredible moments in his life. And without fanfare, cool that one of them was being a member of the great (below the rim) 1964-65 Princeton Tigers basketball team that went to the final four.
 

Jim Ed Rice in HOF

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I saw him walking through the concourse before game 1 of the 2007 ALDS.

We were walking by each other. I recognized him and said “thank you”.

Without hesitation he smiled, shook my hand, and thanked me for being a fan.
I had the exact same interaction walking into the park on Jersey Street before a World Series game one year. It may have been '04 because he was pretty goddamn happy.
 

joe dokes

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Life well-lived. Teammates with Bill Bradley and Hillary Clinton.
He played guard on the Princeton varsity that finished third in the 1965 national championships.
“He wasn’t as quick as our other guards but he always worked hard at his game,” said teammate Bill Bradley, who went on to play for the New York Knicks before becoming a US senator. “I never saw him slack off.”
Mr. Lucchino went on to Yale Law School, where he was a classmate of Hillary Rodham Clinton. The two would serve as staffers on the House committee that investigated the Watergate scandal.
He then joined the Washington law firm of Williams & Connolly, where he was a protégé of Edward Bennett Williams, one of the country’s foremost litigators and also an owner of the Orioles and the NFL’s Washington Redskins.
“He gave me a chance, and everything flowed from that,” said Mr. Lucchino, who became general counsel for both franchises, a member of the Redskins board of directors, and subsequently Orioles president. He is the only person to have a Super Bowl ring, a World Series ring, and an NCAA Final Four watch.
Larry Lucchino dies: Former Red Sox president was 78 (bostonglobe.com)
 

YTF

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One thing that may not have been mentioned yet is his relationship with the Jimmy Fund and the Dana Farber Institute. When high profile people who have a connection to the team or the area share their personal stories about cancer and what Dana Faber means to them it resonates because people feel a connection with that person. While that might only be a part of his legacy, it's probably his most meaningful work.
 

azsoxpatsfan

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RIP Larry. I was too young to really understand what his job was in the early 2000s, but he’ll forever be associated with turning the Sox into World Series champions.

@yeahlunchbox, Rhode Island is the 44th most populated state. You aren’t entitled to a team at your front door. Do what the rest of the country does and travel to games.

@Ale Xander, this is twice in two weeks you’ve said “fuck cancer” followed by criticism and jokes about the subject. Are you shitting me with how has Fenway been renovated? Have you been there in 30 years?
 

Norm Siebern

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Lucchino was treated for prostate cancer in 2000 in Boston. He talked openly about his love for Boston as a result. The experience drove him to make the remaining part of his life center around how he could use his position, privilege and wealth to fight cancer and aid cancer research. I know this because I was treated for cancer in 2000-2001, and was struck by the shared experiences that Lucchino and I had and clearly remember reading about Lucchino's commitment when the Werner group bought the team in 2002-03. For his role in the fight against cancer alone I will be forever grateful. Add in that George Steinbrenner hated Lucchino, and Lucchino's esteem rises IMHO. RIP and Godspeed Larry Lucchino, you are pain free and in peace at last.
 

grimshaw

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As much as I detested D&C in the mornings, I tuned in for his weekly appearances. He took every pointed question and criticism they asked him fully in stride with no defensiveness and was leagues better than Sam Kennedy, the dentist, Werner and Henry in giving at least some information. It almost seemed to amuse him taking all the heat.
 

cannonball 1729

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In addition to being a good baseball man, he is responsible for the construction of Camden Yards, Petco Park, and the renovations at Fenway Park. Changed the landscape of baseball at the end of the 20th century for the better. And saw the talent in a young Theo, who he hired as an intern right out of college. RIP Mr. Lucchino.
I came here to post something similar. Camden Yards was really the first of the new stadium era and it's just a beautiful park to watch baseball in. She may not have all the bells and whistles of the parks that followed, but it really captures the feel of another era. I was so hoping he would be able to work similar magic when he came to Boston. The renovations at Fenway have transformed the old park, but I still can't help but to wonder what an architectural wonder a new Fenway might have been.
I was going to add...I would say Camden Yards was probably the most important stadium built in the last 100 years. It ended the era of the multi-purpose, way-too-big-for-baseball stadiums and completely changed the world's perception of what a baseball stadium should look like. Nearly every team in baseball now has a stadium that owes at least some of its design to the Camden idea...and most of the exceptions to that statement (i.e. the Rays, A's, and White Sox) are teams who are trying to get out of their leases.
 

richgedman'sghost

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Guess what, he did a lot of terrible for baseball fans in Rhode Island. Sorry I'm not ready to give him a tongue bath upon his death on the day I should be going to see the PawSox in McCoy or a new park built near Slater Mill.
Haven't you heard of the saying "Speak no ill of the dead"? It would be a good idea for you to shut up. The man passed just a few hours ago. There were alot of factors that went into the PawSox move. Some but Not All of the blame can be placed at Larry Luchino's feet. I'm not saying that Larry was a Saint but to put it in sports terms, on the Scoreboard of life, Larry had more positives than negatives and lived a successful life.
 

8slim

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If all Larry Lucchino did was hire Janet Marie Smith to renovate Fenway I’d be forever grateful. He turned a dank, cramped dump into a restored gem that maximizes every inch of space.

I’ve been able to take my kids to the same ballpark that my father and grandfather took me to. There’s value in that beyond a new park with bigger cup holders and playgrounds beyond the outfield fence.

Plus, he called them the evil empire, which was just so fucking great.

RIP, Larry.
 

Kull

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Thanks Larry, you played a big role in ending 86 years of existential angst. You might have been a prick, but you were OUR prick.
 

InstaFace

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Front Office Sports, a business-of-sports media outlet, has a nice obit of Lucchino up:

https://frontofficesports.com/larry-lucchino-one-of-baseballs-most-influential-executives-dies-at-78/

It's behind a login wall but not a paywall, so if nobody minds I'll quote parts of it:

Lucchino is most known for his 14-season run as president and CEO of the Red Sox between 2002 and ’15, during which the team won three World Series, ended the so-called “Curse of the Bambino,” and conducted more than $300 million in renovations for Fenway Park, in turn preserving the iconic ballpark for future generations. Before the ’02 arrival of Fenway Sports Group, of which Lucchino was a part, Fenway Park had been eyed for potential demolition.

But Lucchino’s legacy goes far beyond just Boston. He also helmed the Padres as president and CEO from 1995 to 2001, during which time Petco Park was funded and designed in advance of the ballpark’s ’04 opening, and also led the Orioles as president from 1988 to ’93, when Oriole Park at Camden Yards was designed and built. As a result, Lucchino has few equals in helping lead the sport’s stadium renaissance that saw a re-embrace of baseball-specific facilities with strong nods to history and asymmetrical dimensions.

During Lucchino’s Boston run, the Red Sox sold out 820 straight games, by far the longest such streak in MLB history. Lucchino boasts an extensive sports industry executive tree of those he either hired or mentored, including current Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy, noted stadium architect Janet Marie Smith, and pickleball executive Mike Dee.
 

curly2

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For those who can't see the tweet, it's a great letter Lucchino sent to an injured Lenny DiNardo, with Lenny writing, "Larry didn’t have to send me this. He was always thinking of others."

Larry could be tough, and as someone mentioned, was willing to be the "bad cop" in the ownership group, but it seems like he also had a heart of gold. Rest in peace.
View: https://twitter.com/DinardoLenny/status/1775254527995707526/photo/1
 

Patriot_Reign

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This figuratively happened at the urinal troughs all the time. Larry did a remarkable job renovating the park. I went as a kid in the 70’s and the sausage fest at the trough is still a horror I can’t quite get out of my mind. Just getting rid of this ode to the Roman baths was a huge step forward.
Rest in Peace Larry, yes you sometimes ruffled feathers, but you did so much for the game and the Sox.
I'm 48 and grew up in CT as a Sox fan. Every summer my parents and my friend's parents would drive us up to Boston for one game during the summer & I still have a vivid memory to this day of being 10 or 12 and standing at the trough with dude's hogs out everywhere just pissing into this common thing.
And having said that I will always appreciate Lucchino, shit got sideways at the end but he was always a real one and having lived through it the Sox don't get over the 1918 shit without him. God bless man.
 

Andy Merchant

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While I appreciate thinks like the monster seats and Camden Yards (the best I've seen in person), I'm a fan of Larry's contribution to the fight against cancer. Thank you Larry and RIP.

Bonus points for calling the Yankees the Evil Empire and making Big Stein upset. :)
 

sezwho

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Larry was a prick. He also was a fighter, put his face out there for scrutiny and wanted to win more than anything. Huge cog in completely transforming the Boston Red Sox, don't know how one could deny or even minimize his contributions. We could certainly use someone in his mold right now. RIP.
Couldn’t agree more, ever the pugnacious pugilist I loved to (sports) hate. This ownership really misses having someone who can stand out in front credibly and save them from themselves at the mike.

He even got San Diego to the World Series, try that one Theo : )
 

brienc

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Anyone that George Steinbrenner hated had to be a good guy. I have to thank Larry Lucchino for being able to spend the adult portion of my life in actual ballparks, and not cookie cutter municipal stadiums. I also have to thank Larry for handing me the evil empire stick I had so much fun using on Yankees fans.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Couldn’t agree more, ever the pugnacious pugilist I loved to (sports) hate. This ownership really misses having someone who can stand out in front credibly and save them from themselves at the mike.

He even got San Diego to the World Series, try that one Theo : )
Theo was in San Diego with Lucchino for that World Series.
 

MtPleasant Paul

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A smaller point than others are making here, but the Sox probably don't win in 2007 without Larry. During Theo's absence he made, or at least approved, the Hanley for Beckett and Lowell trade. It's doubtful that Theo makes that trade. As the Globe obit says Theo was more of a player development man while Larry was a Go For It Now guy. With the Sox down 3 to 1 in the ALCS and Beckett pitching the fifth game, I still believed that they would win it all.

What was it that Edward Bennett Williams said about Competition Living? Larry followed his mentor's precepts and did a lot of good in his time on this earth.
 

Patriot_Reign

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He was an asshole but he was our asshole. And he was my favorite of the trinity. He had chutzpah.
Don't know about being an asshole but he was from a bygone era where people stood up for themselves and fought back when needed.
 

grimshaw

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For those who can't see the tweet, it's a great letter Lucchino sent to an injured Lenny DiNardo, with Lenny writing, "Larry didn’t have to send me this. He was always thinking of others."

Larry could be tough, and as someone mentioned, was willing to be the "bad cop" in the ownership group, but it seems like he also had a heart of gold. Rest in peace.
View: https://twitter.com/DinardoLenny/status/1775254527995707526/photo/1
"PS: you can Paypal me your half of the pizza. No rush whatsoever."
 

CR67dream

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"PS: you can Paypal me your half of the pizza. No rush whatsoever."
PPS: And no, unfortunately microbrews do not qualify as domestic beers. ;)

Oh man, just watched the NESN tribute on the pre-game, hadn't noticed the room was so dusty.

What a life path he had. Good thing for all of us, I think. RIP, Lucky.