Love of 'The Game' stays all in the family

By Benjamin Gleisser

David Beeston’s heart may be true ‘blue,’ but he sees only ‘red’ when it comes to business.

That’s because Beeston, BA’01 (Philosophy), LLB’07, grew up in Toronto, where his father, Paul, BA’67 (Political Science), was president of the Toronto Blue Jays. Today, David is the senior vice-president/strategic planning and senior counsel for the Boston Red Sox and his No. 1 priority is giving his dad’s former team a run for its money.

Last year, the American League Eastern Division rivals finished at opposite ends of the standings – the Jays went to the American League Championship Series while the Sox sat at the bottom of the division. This season, the two teams will duke it out thanks to several Red Sox free agent signings, including inking former Blue Jay All-Star pitcher David Price to a 7-year, $217 million contract.

“Last year, (Toronto) had a great season and I was really excited for my dad seeing it was going to be his last with the team,” David said of Paul, who retired last year. “But I’m looking forward to the new season.”

As a senior advisor to the Red Sox ownership, Beeston keeps management partners informed on all fronts by helping the group develop its business strategy.

“Every day is different for me,” he said. “Today, I was working with stadium engineers on Fenway Park accommodations. Yesterday, I was busy working on budgets. We spent the day before that developing media and TV strategies.”

Red Sox President Sam Kennedy acknowledges the importance of Beeston’s input.

“Since his arrival in 2013, David has been a tremendous asset to us,” he said. “His baseball acumen, legal expertise and ability to work across all levels of the organization have made him a key member of the executive team. For me, he’s become an indispensible teammate whose opinion I value on all major decisions affecting the club. We’re fortunate to have him as part of our front office.”

One point Red Sox management wrestles with is making sure all fans can afford to enjoy a game at the 37,673-seat Fenway Park, one of the smallest stadiums in the Major Leagues. There’s always pressure to raise ticket prices to pay players’ salaries, increase seating or tear down Fenway and build a bigger ballpark.

“Boston is a baseball town, and Fenway Park is a special place for Red Sox fans,” Beeston said. “But we agonize every year over the issue of affordability. We definitely have expensive seats, but we also recognize it can be expensive for the average family to come here. One way we make it affordable is by charging high school and college students $9 and offering other tickets as low as $12.”