Winning the Inning

It is another beautiful Friday (last day of winter!!), with great expectations for this weekend's tournament.

As my wife and I were talking this morning, she asked about the championship teams I played on in the past and what it was that made them successful.

I know it reminds me of Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days" also but please indulge me for a moment.



I notice two models in MLB. The New York Yankees way...buy the best talent. Which certainly works. The Yankees have won 27 World Series compared to the next most successful team in Majors the St. Louis Cardinals with 10 championships.

Another way of winning championships is the Braves model used in the 1990's of developing talent from within their organization's minor league system.

Although acquiring the talent to win championships may differ...buying vs. developing. I believe there is a common thread that runs through both ways of building championship caliber teams.

In 1991 and '92 I was fortunate enough to play on  two championship teams with the Scottsdale A's of the Arizona Rookie League. It's funny how a group of young men worked so hard for a ring. I still have one of the rings (I lost the other). The prize was not the important part (although, I wish I could find that other ring), rather the achievement of winning was most memorable and gratifying.

Based on those two seasons, my perspective on winning championships is different than the Yankees model in acquiring talent. Our team only had one "bonus baby". A bonus baby is a kid that gets a huge signing bonus based on his potential. Sometimes they pan out and make it to the Bigs. Most of the time they are a headache to be around. But the do drive pretty sweet cars for 18 year olds.

Our team was made up mostly of guys that were either late round high school picks, 4th year college seniors or free agents from Latin America and did not get big signing bonuses. Basically, we were not in high demand by other clubs.

One game when I was catching, I remember looking out at the fielders and realized that the first baseman, Rob O'Leary and I were the only English speaking players on the field. And O'Leary had his own language of conjugating the same cuss word for nearly every situation. Communciation or backgrounds certainly was not the key to our teams' success.

Side Journey...
In retrospect, the Latin players received very little compensation to play in the minor leagues. But they were much easier to get along with than the "bonus babies". I think it had to do with their "attitude of gratitude" (sounds like the title to a future post).

So Then What Makes a Championship Team?

Without the best players in the league, How then did we win back to back championships?

"Winning the inning"

A motto that both Dickey Scott and Bruce Hines used in their managerial tactics. Basically, no matter what happened, the goal was to win each inning.

I believe this motto was the main ingredient to our success. Even when we gave up a big inning, say 4 or more runs and we were trailing in the game, we would come back and try to win the next inning.

It was evident that when other teams fell behind, they would give up on the entire game because the task of winning the game seemed insurmountable. However, with us all we had to do was win the next inning.

By winning the inning we never gave up. There was always a chance to still achieve "wins" throughout the game (that we may ultimately loose). And with that mentality we ended up winning more often than not. There was a culture of winning surrounding our team. Every little success was a "win".

Baseball is full of failures. Therefore, it is important to develop a culture of winning whenever and wherever you can.

I love baseball because of innings. Every inning is a brand new start. It requires us to put last inning behind us no matter how great or badly we played. Each new inning requires us to press on towards the goal of achievement by making one play at a time.

As it is with youth baseball, it is very easy to ride the emotional roller coaster of good plays and bad plays. "Winning the inning" is a rudder that can stabilize a team and build an environment of winning amidst the failures of baseball.

When individuals and teams buy into the "winning the inning" mentality it has been my experience ("Glory Days") that teams succeed.

One of the most quoted baseball quotes of all times ties in well with this idea...

"It ain't over 'til it's over" 

(Yogi Berra)

***By the way Berra played in 14 World Series; 10 "rings"--the most by any player in MLB history!***

Acquiring championship caliber talent may differ but the heart of a champion is found in winning the inning!

Telling the Greatest Story Ever Told Through the Greatest Game Ever Played!
I believe God has the corner on this idea...Every day is a new day and opportunity to be great!

Check out what Lamentations 3:22,23 says:
Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Read more at Blue Letter Bible...