FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Later this month, Red Sox owner John Henry and chairman Tom Werner will celebrate the 15th anniversary of their purchase of the team.
It has been a memorable run that has included three World Series championships, and neither owner seems inclined to step away any time soon.
"I think we're still on top of it and excited about going to work every day. And Larry [Lucchino, former team president] used to say, 'We're in the toy department of life,' so I think we feel privileged to be a part of the Red Sox," said Werner on Friday. "It's not going to be forever, but we're very proud of what we've done and yet we're hungry to continue to do better."
"We hope to be healthy and focused for a long, long time. We know that nothing is forever, but [stepping away] is not something we're going to be contemplating. Hopefully, we'll be having these conversations in 10-15 years."
Henry and Werner, in keeping with their annual tradition, addressed the media together just prior to the first full-squad workout of Spring Training.
"After 15 years together, most of us have been together for 15 years, but almost every day we talk about how fortunate we feel to be involved with this organization, a tremendous organization that has accomplished tremendous things," said Henry. "It really is, from our perspective, a meaningful, wonderful experience to come in every year and start over every year."
When the Henry-Werner ownership group took over, the Red Sox had gone 84 years without a championship, a drought that ended in the epic October of 2004.
"While I said we consider it a success to be playing meaningful games in October and September, we really are focused on that fourth ring as much as we were focused on the first," said Henry. "Anything short of that is, I think we would say is a limited success. I know every few years we have to swat down rumors that we're perhaps sellers, but that's just not something we talk about. We talk about how long we can do this -- not when should we stop."