I love baseball. It’s a simple game that’s played without a clock.
The only requirement is that you have to be able to run, catch, throw and hit a baseball. You don’t have to be able to do those four things equally well. Most pitchers don’t hit very well. Most fielders on the right side of the diamond don’t throw as well as those on the left side of the field. If you are able to consistently get 3 hits out of every 10 attempts, the Baseball Hall of Fame beckons. It’s a sport where the players don’t have to like each other, but they do have to believe in each other. It’s a sport where the cut off man has to be in the right position to make the play and be aware of what going on around him so he knows which base to throw to. The pitcher has to believe that if he throws a slider in the dirt, the catcher can prevent it from rolling to the backstop; otherwise that pitch comes out of the arsenal.
The successful teams believe in each other, the unsuccessful ones don’t. We used to call it team chemistry.
That brings me sadly to subject of this rant. I follow and love the San Diego Padres baseball team. For years, they were the best minor league team in the majors. This is a team that over its 37 year history has finished as many as 43 games out of first place and has also been to the World Series twice (losing both time). It’s a poor, small market team that occasionally plays excellent ball and provides a great family experience. But it has never had the type of owner/ general manager leadership that was prepared to invest in the team for the long haul. Case in point this season:
This team needed a third baseman. Badly. They had a solid defensive third baseman in veteran Vinny Castilla. He had no offense this year (and he wasn’t likely to because he constantly swung at the first pitch). But he contributed to the team by working with and mentoring Adrian Gonzalez (a young first baseman who is having a breakout year) and other young players. He helped keep the team focused and reminded them they were never out of a game until it was over. (He was the spark in a game against the Dodgers where the Padres scored five runs in the ninth inning to win the ball game.)
The season started in April and the team announced in May that they needed a third baseman. Thus, in May, management hung poor Vinny out to dry, but his attitude never changed and he kept doing things on and off the field to help the team improve. Finally, San Diego released him outright after the All-Star break.
Funny thing about chemistry – you don’t know you got it until it’s gone.
Before the break, San Diego had 48 win – 40 losses. That’s eight games above .500. After Vinny leaves? They lose 12 out of 20 and are now four games over .500. They still don’t have a third baseman after acquiring Todd Walker (the second baseman) from the Cubs.
The Padres may have had enough talent to win their division, but now I don’t think so. It’s not Walker’s fault, but any team management that allows the Dodgers to get better by getting Greg Maddux deserves what they’ll get: a chance to watch the World Series on TV like the rest of us.
Chemistry does matter.