Post-season MLB baseball brings us the best players in the world playing the greatest game in the world at the very highest level. And oftentimes, the post-season teaches us the game while the world watches.
Yes, the 2013 World Series was also teaching. But were you watching? And studying?
The much-anticipated match-up between the Cardinals and Red Sox brought us the NL's best vs. the AL's best, the teams that so many wanted to see. This WS was considered to be a fairly even, and it featured a number of classic games.
And in the end ... the better team won. Sorry, Cardinals fans. That is just how it is ... and was. But the real gold here is found in digging deeper. Why were the Red Sox the better team?
In my view, it was their relentless commitment to two things ... their approach and their teammates ... that carried the day. This comment is meant as no disrespect to the Cardinals, who had a great team and season, but it is merely a recognition that in the end a superior approach and chemistry won out.
When I was watching pivotal Game 5, I knew ... I just knew ... that the Cards were done. This was a different team than the 2011 world champions. Indeed, the Cards were missing two key pieces from that team -- Albert Pujols and Lance Berkman. And not so coincidently, those two hitters and team leaders reminded me in their approach of the two leaders of the 2013 Red Sox - David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia.
On Approach ...
In each game ... every game ... the Red Sox made the Cardinal pitchers throw more pitches as they relentlessly hunted to get a good pitch to hit. What this meant was that Red Sox hitters saw more pitches, and thus got better and more prepared as each game (and the series) continued, all while getting deeper and deeper into the Cardinal bullpen and wearing the opposing pitching staff down.
And Pedroia and Ortiz led the way, like they always did. Indeed, David Ortiz was having a series for the ages, and so the Cards eventually decided to pitch around him and avoid having the big guy beat them. Ortiz's response? He stayed within himself and his approach and let the Cardinal pitchers walk him (sometimes on 10-11 pitch AB's that ended in 3-2 walks), thus elevating pitch counts, knowing that eventually the dam would break. And it did. It broke in pivotal Game 5.
In Game 5, it was ace vs. ace -- Lester v. Wainwright -- and after about 5 innings Boston's Lester was at 60 pitches and St. Louis's Wainwright was well over 80. The breakout was inevitable, like gravity, especially since this was the second start for both of the series.
And so it came in the 7th inning, after the Red Sox had worked Wainwright to the point where he exited. Then, David Ross got the go-ahead single in the 7th, off of what had previously seemed to be an unbeatable Cards' bullpen. (But Boston had seen these guys by now ...) And then, the Red Sox were then in the driver's seat as the series was coming down the stretch.
On Team ...
In spring training, the Red Sox showed up prepared to put a horrible 2012 behind them. How soon we forget, but Boston lost 93 games in 2012. Yes, they finished last in their division and were one of the worst teams in the AL just a year prior to winning the WS.
After 2012, the Red Sox took stock and jettisoned three high-paid players who, although talented individuals, were net team negatives overall -- Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, and Adrian Gonzalez. In return, they added guys like Shane Victorino, Mike Napoli, and Johnny Gomes. And this was a positive for the Red Sox? You bet. It was Gomes' 7th-inning HR that pulled the Red Sox even in the series in Game 4 when things looked bleak.
Indeed, the players who came to the Red Sox brought a hunger and work ethic ... and a love of the game while embracing the daily grind necessary to be a champion. The difference was felt immediately.
Napoli and Gomes even started growing beards in Spring Training. Others followed, for fun, superstition, or whatever. But as the team continued to played well, the length of the beards grew.
To be clear, rather than advocating facial hair for any team (including ours!) I am simply pointing out that the beards were evidence of a commitment to the team and each other.
After the Game 5 win, the Red Sox went back to Boston and did what they usually did. On their supposed day off, they practiced. They were back at the ball yard, taking BP ... together. I watched the TV reports as a group of about 8-9 players stood around talking, smiling, having fun, working ... comparing notes. They respected each other and liked being teammates. So, coming to work was, well, not much like work at all. It was fun. And they hit pretty well, too, didn't they? The AL's best team had its best offense. No surprise.
They worked at it. And respecting each other made the environment easier to do so.
And now, the team that used to be under the Curse of the Bambino has won more World Series titles than any other MLB team in the last decade ... by doing what they do. Let's learn from them.
So ... here's to relentlessly committing to doing what we do in 2014.
See you on the field.
