Theo Epstein once traveled to Arizona for Thanksgiving dinner at Curt Schilling's house. No word on how many slices of pumpkin pie he devoured, but over turkey and dressing he laid the groundwork that ultimately convinced Schilling to waive his no-trade clause, come to Boston and change history.
Last October, Epstein traveled to a small patch of sandy beach in the Florida panhandle to conduct a job interview over a few beach chairs, some wide-mouth bottles of beer and a $20 bottle of wine, working through sunset to convince Joe Maddon to come manage the Chicago Cubs and change history.