The Plan: Epstein, Maddon, and the Audacious Blueprint for a Cubs Dynasty

by David Kaplan, Anthony Rizzo, Bud Selig

On October 12, 2011, Theo Epstein became the new Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations, flipping a switch on the lovable-loser franchise and initiating a plan to accomplish in Chicago what he'd succeeded in as general manager of the Boston Red ending a World Series drought. It would require a complete team tear-down and turnover, a new farm system foundation of young talent which Epstein and Cubs GM Jed Hoyer gradually added to with gutsy trades and timely signings. After years of rebuilding, Epstein's crystalline vision has been unquestionably realized in the form of one of the most exciting and talented teams in baseball, led by heavyweights like Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant as well as visionaries like manager Joe Maddon. In The Plan, David Kaplan of CSN Chicago and ESPN Radio goes behind the scenes with the Cubs and their front office, walking the steps of their captivating rise to becoming 2016 World Series champions. Featuring exclusive interviews with Epstein, owner Tom Ricketts, and other team insiders, this is the definitive account of a new era on the North Side.

Genres: Sports, Baseball, Nonfiction

321 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 1, 2017

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Jay French · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strange, little book, aimed squarely at Cubs fans. While you might think this is all about the players and the front office machinations to put together this Series-winning team and begin a dynasty, there is a good percentage of ink, say half, focused on the Ricketts and their buying, then building of the team. Given the title of this book, I found it surprising, and a bit disappointing, that the story that gets the most interest from the author is about the contracts between the Cubs and the owners of the rooftops. This contract, unbeknownst to the owners, allowed the Cubs to add a site-blocking video board, limiting the value of those properties. Kaplan writes this story as though he were a gloating victorious lawyer. He didn’t write at length about the other contracts the Cubs were involved in that had a more direct impact on the club’s plan on building a dynasty, including the players contract that allowed the Cubs to delay Bryant’s introduction to the team for a few days into the season to ensure an extra year of contract life. The writing needed editing. There were many stories repeated. I’m a Cub fan that doesn’t always pay attention to the team every season. I read a few things I didn’t know. I found bits of this interesting, but it was a bit repetitive.

[Geoff · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book does a disservice to the interesting stories and people involved in the Cubs' historic season by being superficial, slapdash, poorly editied, and repetitive.

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a die hard, I really loved the story and reading about front office stories I never knew happened (particularly what went wrong for so many years). There were actual reasons for being bad over & over, and the problems were in operations... it wasn't just that the team "sucked". Bad ownership & mismanagement. It's more sad than I realized.

But, good story aside, and we all know how it ends, I'm rating it lower than I'd like because I'm picky about the writing voice. Aw Kap. So much repetition in the chapters, man. Reused quotes, buzzwords, it was just not a great voice to read. It didn't captivate me.

[Heath Morber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read, but the amount of redundancies in the book were ridiculous. Twenty pages of repeated facts and quotes could have been cut and it would have been a better product.

[CK · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps the biggest fault with David Kaplan's rushed and generally sloppy book is I'm a White Sox fan and I still knew most of this. The Cubs transformation from perennial losers to curse-breakers is a wild trip, but I'm not entirely sure Kaplan is the historical scribe we need. How did he get this access? What part of the story did Theo kill?

Kaplan is able massage some good information from noted weirdo Jon Lester, but chapter-after-chapter feels like an annotated version of a Wikipedia page. Each chapter's introduction reminds you that the Cubs haven't won or been to a World Series in a hella long time. We get it.

It's fun. Reliving the trades and acquisitions that Theo made provides a nice memory, but offers no insight.

[Matt Monaghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great history of how the Cubs became the world champs

David Kaplan has done a wonderful job laying out how the Cubs became the world champs. Unlike other books that only covered 2016 season, he goes way back to when the Cubs were still owned by the tribune, details how the rickets were able to purchase the team from sam zell, how they were successful in hiring Theo, Jed, Jason and joe Maddon, how they rebuilt a bad team thru good trades, an amazing rebuild of the farm system and a few good trades and free agent signings. This is a must read for die hard cub fans.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's the time of the year for baseball literature! The facts, stories about the Cubs rebuild, and quotes right from the staff and players are all great to read, but I give a three star rating because the editing is poor and the book is repetitive in some instances. Certain quotes from players and staffers seem to appear two or three different times. It's like listening to the same conversation over and over again. Otherwise, this is a great book about the Ricketts family ownership of the ball club and the Theo Epstein plan to build a team into a champion.

[Joseph Matuch · Rating 2 out of 5]

There isn't much here that hasn't already been written, and more poetically, in Tom Verducci's book.
I skimmed much of this. My biggest complaint is the repetition, especially of quotes. There are several instances where you read the same thing within a 3-page span. It's pretty choppy overall.
If this is your first book on the 2016 Cubs, you'll probably enjoy it a little more than I did. If you've already read a couple, you can pass on this one.

[B. Cheng · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm aware of a few other books that came out quickly and take a look at the Cubs historic victory last year, the drama behind it, and the process (or "plan") that the Ricketts family and Theo put in place. If you're a huge Cubs fan and want to relive the joy of last season, with a few insights here and there, this may be worth a quick read, but for anyone else, this doesn't offer much.

[Carolyn Leshyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kaplan details the sale of the Cubs to the Ricketts family and their employing Epstein, Hoyer and Maddon to lead the players of the Chicago Cubs to a World Series Championship. He changed the culture of the club and built the organization from the bottom up. Nice background on how Tom Ricketts grew into owndership, especially with the help of Bud Selig.

[Thomas P Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a Cubs fans (or not)....

This is a must read book about how the current Cubs management built this team to win the championship. Being a lifelong Red Sox fan, it was interesting to see how Theo built the Cubs organization up so that they could end their long World Series drought. Congrats to all Cubbie fans.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of how the Ricketts Family bought the Chicago Cubs, and how the decision they made to hire Theo Epstein and Joe Maddon led to the team's first World Series in 108 years. Being a lifelong Cubs fan, I found this to be fascinating, and even though I was familiar with most of the story, there were tidbits I hadn't heard before. It helped to know it had a happy ending!

[TheBookWarren · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars - It feels like yesterday the Chicago Cubs finally broke through to win the Pennant, in a dominant display of modern baseball, setting the table for the next 10-20 years & breaking one of the longest Championship droughts in all of sports.

Giving thoughtful insight into the proposal & strategic vision & execution that broke said drought & changed baseball forever in the process.

[Josh Skogman · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a Cubs fan this was fun to read about and relive the “Theo Years”. There was a lot of repetition though…quotes or themes that were constantly repeated, which made the read a little tiresome. If I was just a baseball fan reading this out of interest to the game, I would not have given this 3 stars.

[Brad Lyerla · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE PLAN is a great companion to Tom Verducci's THE CUB's WAY. I preferred Verducci's profiles of Tom Ricketts, Theo Epstein and Joe Maddon. But Dave Kaplan is better at covering the Cubs' news stories: the rooftop dispute, the trade for Chapman, Tommy LaStella going AWOL, etc.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about the rebuilding of the Chicago Cubs. Very many interesting aspects about the tab that I was not aware of. Mr. Kaplan does a very good job taking readers into the inside of the organization. I enjoyed the book vey much.

[April Suter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still cry every time I see video or read descriptions of the Great Event: Chicago Cubs Winning the World Series 2016. The author does an excellent job describing how the new owner took our beloved Cubbies and made them the winners we knew they could be.

[pianogal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read a couple other books on this topic, and this one has been my least favorite. I liked the angle, but the writer repeated himself a lot. Like the exact phrase - repeated. I can forgive once or twice, but once I noticed it, I saw it everywhere. Made the book a little tiresome to read.

[Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

And now for something completely different

As a lifelong Cubs fan becoming a champion was a mind bending change in perspective. This book shares insight into the men that charged the course on the Cubs championship journey.

[Bob Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're a Cubs fan, this is a must read. Great insight into retooling the organization, the team, the business, and the mindset. A very inspiring story of having a vision and putting a plan in place to make it happen.

[Bob Kuster · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know if Cubs' fan can sink their teeth in this book. Baseball fans cannot sink their teeth into The Plan either. The book did not go in depth on either the plan or the 2016 season. Chapters seemed rush and you will want more information.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great stories and insight into the Chicago Cubs, but the writing is brutal: constantly repeating itself and making the same point over and over again

[Brian Miller]

Great insigh

Great insight to what it took to build this team!! Great book, Great read, highly recommended for any fan but especially CUBS fans!!

[Gabriel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible book. It is just the author sucking up to the Ricketts family, and telling us how great they are without paying much attention to the actual team or baseball business.
The Cubs Way by Tom Verducci is way better than this book.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty disappointing. I expected something more in-depth--more insider information. There's nothing here that I didn't (or couldn't) learn already by following the Cubs everyday (or less often) in the news.

[Jim Blessing · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a big Cub fan and attended Game 3 of the World Series (first Cub home World Series game in 71 years0. Obviously, I enjoyed the book.

[Robert Deaton · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was fun reading how the Cubs put a plan in place and executed over a number of years, some of which were very frustrating, culminating in their first World Series win in 108 years.

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had this one not been about the Cubs, I would have stopped reading. It's basically a collection of quotes. I'm disappointed.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

An in depth look at how the management of the Chicago Cubs started from the ground up, enroute to their first world series championship in 108 years.