ST. LOUIS — Theo Epstein became a rock star general manager in Boston, winning two World Series and being in charge when the Curse of the Bambino was lifted.
There’s something to be said, though, for the GM who puts together a winning band.
Ben Cherington, 39, the Red Sox GM who has rebuilt this team after last season’s disastrous 69-93 season, is a low-key GM.
His Red Sox sit one win away from winning the World Series after Monday night’s 3-1 victory over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium to take a 3-2 lead in the Series.
“Ben is the guy who put all this together,’’ star second baseman Dustin Pedroia told The Post. “He’s the reason why we are here.
“He understands what it takes for a team to win in Boston, in that environment. He sees everything at every different angle. He doesn’t necessarily think there is only one way to do things. He’s very smart. He’s always a guy you can trust. It’s awesome. He wants this team to win so bad, and he’s been here so many years.’’
Principal owner John Henry stood in the hallway outside the Red Sox clubhouse after the win and said, “Ben has done an incredible job, he filled a lot of big holes. That’s hard to do.’’
Cherington is in his 15th season in the organization, his second season as GM. He is New England born and raised. Yes, they know him in Red Sox Nation, but he could walk through Anywhere Else, U.S.A., and not be recognized.
The Red Sox went from worst to first this year for the first time in their history. If they get that win at Fenway, these Red Sox will join the 1991 Twins as the only teams to win a World Series one season after finishing in a division cellar.
“By the end of last year,’’ Cherington said, “we realized we were a long way away from where we wanted to be on the field and off the field and we felt like in order to get back towards where we wanted to be, we wanted to add as much talent and as much baseball intelligence as possible.’’
Cherington brought in seven free agents and hit on them all. The first outside hand he signed was catcher David Ross, who doubled home the go-ahead run in the seventh inning against Adam Wainwright, snapping a 1-1 tie. Koji Uehara, another free-agent pickup, wrapped up a four-out save for winning-pitcher Jon Lester.
Another signing, Jonny Gomes, blasted a three-run home run to catapult the Red Sox to a 4-2 win over the Cardinals in Game 4.
Ross was in baseball heaven after the game as he sat at the podium and said, “I’m stoked, just having the World Series logo here behind me.’’
The catcher talked about everything — from a large paper airplane that landed on the field to Lester’s incredible performance. Personality is part of these Red Sox.
“Ben has surrounded everybody with winners,’’ Pedroia said. “It’s rubbing off on everybody and it’s been fun.’’
Some would say Cherington’s best addition has been the terrific John Farrell. Cherington is quick to note, though, the first free-agent the Red Sox signed this past offseason was David Ortiz, who is putting up video game numbers after three more hits Monday lifted his Series average to .733.
“We knew we had to bring David back, and it was important to us. It was the first move because we felt like there was a core here that was worth building around,’’ Cherington said. “We felt the core was much better than a 69-win team. It was symbolic, too, because we felt this group deserved to have a better story written about them.’’
What a story.
“I know I need to rely on people around me, the front office, John, the coaching staff,’’ Cherington said. “I can’t even come close to doing the job by myself. I’m better as a GM when I allow that to happen.
“That’s the way it works best for me.’’
And for the Red Sox.