Thursday, February 26, 2015

Lobel's Question of the Week: The Best Owner in Boston Sports


Every week, legendary sportscaster Bob Lobel wants to hear your opinion on a sports question he's been thinking about.

You could make a case that, since the turn of the millennium, Boston has been blessed with the two best owners in major American professional sports.

Since purchasing the New England Patriots in 1994, Robert Kraft has seen his team appear in seven Super Bowls, winning four. Things have been especially great since Tom Brady and Bill Belichick teamed up, as the Pats have the league's highest winning percentage since 2001 (Brady's first year as a starter), a league-high 12 division titles, league-high four Super Bowl wins and league-high six conference championships.

Yes, the last 14 years have been very kind to Kraft and his club.

But it could be argued that what John Henry and his ownership group have done with the Red Sox has been more impressive.

Since purchasing the Red Sox in 2002, Henry's group has invested heavily in player salaries, while still utilizing baseball's now popular Sabermetrics. This approach helped the Sox end the "curse of the Bambino" in 2004, then capture another championship in dominant fashion in 2007.

2013's championship may have been the most improbable of the Sox' three titles the last decade, but also the most satisfying after the city was rocked by the Boston Marathon Bombing.

With three titles in his 13 years as owner (tied with San Francisco for the most in that span), Henry is among the most successful current owners in Major League Baseball. His willingness to invest in his product and embrace innovation have made him successful in nearly all of his business ventures, and this approach has made the Red Sox one of the most successful, and interesting teams, since the turn of the century.

So, Bob wants to know, who would you take?

While Kraft has slightly more success, he also has a longer tenure as owner, plus the services of the greatest coach-quarterback duo in league history. Surely we can attribute some of his success to dumb luck. Then again, he did hire Belichick when The Hoodie was far from a sure thing...

Henry, on the other hand, has presided over some of the most memorable seasons in franchise history, but also some stinkers that almost defy logic (2014, anyone?).

Each has their flaws, but by and large, both are tremendous owners that any city would be thrilled to have leading one of their teams. Who ya got?

Participate in our poll here.

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