NEW HAVEN >> Theo Epstein recalled sporting a Red Sox hat when he sat amidst the vast crowd at Yales Class Day ceremonies 22 years ago, even though he had recently finished an internship with the Orioles.

Two days later, after commencement exercises, Epstein boarded a plane for San Diego ostensibly donning a Padres hat, beginning his career in Major League Baseball in that teams front office.

At Yales 2017 Class Day program on Sunday, Epstein was again a man of many hats, swapping his Yale cap for a Cubs hat midway through his address as this years featured speaker. Like the lids atop his head, Epstein, who has led both the Red Sox and Cubs to historic, curse-busting World Series titles, has proven to be amenable to change.

Famously calling for longtime Yale football coach Carm Cozza to step down while the sports editor of the Daily Campus as a Yale junior, Epstein has since confessed to regretting the situation. More famous as one of the poster boys of analytic and sabermetrics that has engulfed baseball over the past 15-20 years, Epstein has similarly changed his tune a bit.

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Thats one of the great ironies of the digital information age, he said shortly after his speech. Now theres so much information out there, so much data and statistics, that its easy to attempt to precisely quantify a players contribution. You can never really quantify a human being. You cant quantify character. That stuff does matter, especially in a group situation, where players really do have impact on one another and leadership matters. The ability to bounce back from adversity matters, lifting each other up in tough moments. Its something that Ive come to appreciate more and more, every year, each of the 26 years Ive worked in baseball.

The gist of Epsteins speech, which included a good-natured request for Yankees fans to head for the exits and his own astonishment that he would ever be invited back as Class Day speaker (If you had ranked all the people, whos most likely to come back, I probably would have been last, he said afterwards), centered around the now-famous story of the Cubs ability to bounce back from adversity last season and win their first World Series in 108 years. Specifically, he pointed to the story of how the team, led by slumping outfielder Jason Heyward, held a meeting in the midst of a brief rain delay during Game 7 that rallied the troops to their ultimate historic victory.

Many sabermetricians of today, some of them disciples of Epstein, often pooh-pooh things like clubhouse chemistry and players with good character, arguing that, ultimately, its all about the numbers. But Epstein has diverged off that path in recent years.

I think theres a wide spectrum of ways people assess talent, he said. I still think datas important, because it can give you some real, empirical truths about a player. Facts are important, objectivity is important. But you have to combine it with an understanding of the player as a human being.

Chemistry is really hard to pinpoint and discern the magic formula, he continued, but if you look for enough high-character players, players who are invested in one another and are willing to connect, that really helps uplift the whole team.

Epstein was in good spirits during his return to Yale, reflecting on the good times he had as an undergrad. He specifically remembered the speech delivered by Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke at Class Day in 1995, which encouraged people to live heroic lives in small, understated ways.

Epsteins memories of his visits to Toads Place were a little more fuzzy.

Really, the best memories are just pre-partying with friends, then heading there and all the hijinks that would ensue on a nightly basis. The best memories, by definition, you cant remember.

Epstein has helped deliver lifelong memories to Red Sox and Cubs fans, and hopes this years Cubs team can make more. The Cubs have been idling around .500 as they try to snap out of a potential post-World Series hangover. Epstein sees some similarities with the 2005 Red Sox, who were coming off their first world title in 86 years the prior October.

I remember in 05, we dealt with a lot of injury problems, he noted. We dealt with some downturns in performance, and we had to scratch and claw our way to 95 wins and get into the postseason. We were kind of spent by the time the postseason rolled around. I hope that this year, we find a way to fight through it and show up in October in a little bit better condition, ready to play another month of baseball.

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For Theo Epstein, chemistry now matters -- a lot - New Haven Register