The Boston Red Sox announced in October of 2023 that Craig Breslow ’02, Yale College alum, would be the new Chief Baseball Officer. Breslow graduated from Yale in 2002 with a double-major in molecular biophysics and biochemistry while also playing varsity baseball for the Bulldogs. After graduating, he pitched for seven different teams in Major League Baseball, and now works in the Red Sox’s front office.
In 2009, the Wall Street Journal wrote an article calling Breslow “the smartest man in baseball, if not the entire world.” Indeed, his accomplishments both on and off the field speak for themselves.
Craig Breslow was born at Yale New Haven Hospital and grew up in Trumbull, CT, less than a 30-minute drive from Yale’s campus. Although Yale was close to home, Breslow said that proximity was not why he decided to become a Bulldog.
“Yale was always this elite institution that I would never be able to go to,” Breslow told the News. “But my academic achievement merited consideration from Ivy league schools and pretty early on [Yale] became the most aggressive recruiters. Ultimately when it came time to make the decision it felt like it was important to use baseball to pursue the best education I could.”
Breslow arrived at Yale in 1998 as a student-athlete with the intent of studying medicine and continuing his baseball career. From the age of 11, Breslow knew that he wanted to study medicine — his sister, 13 at the time, had been diagnosed with pediatric thyroid cancer. The experience had a lasting impact and motivated him to study molecular biophysics and biochemistry while at Yale, and ultimately to think about pursuing a professional career in medicine after graduation.
While an undergraduate at Yale, Breslow pitched for the Bulldogs on the men’s baseball team. He had an impressive four-year run, and notably as a senior, had the lowest ERA in the Ivy League with a 2.56 Earned Run Average, or ERA.
Still interested in pursuing a career in medicine, Breslow applied to medical school and was accepted into New York University Medical School and planned to attend after graduation. His medical school plans were interrupted, though, by his dream of becoming a professional baseball player.
“If you ever turn on a TV and think that could be you out there, then you are not ready to give [baseball] up,” Breslow said.
After talking it over with his Yale teammates, Breslow made his decision. He declared for the MLB draft.
In 2002, Breslow was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers and began his career in MLB. He would go on to pitch for 12 seasons with the San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Guardians, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks and Miami Marlins. At one point while pitching in MLB, Breslow was the only Yale alum playing major-league baseball.
