All MLB Teams Have the Capacity to Win it All

Many players who were expected to be great stars for one reason or another failed to live up to the expectations of the scouts and general managers, and on the other hand there are players who completely surprised everyone with their success. How many times have teams heading into Spring Training picked by the experts to finish near the bottom only to have what was called an incredibly surprising season finishing near or at the top?

You and I could list these here but in this brief look around, I am going to focus on what more and more people are coming to know about, and that is the other elements affecting the results. An organization’s success does not depend primarily on the skill quality of its players. The most talented, physically skilled players in the world are playing professionally, and though on paper there are differences between them, it is not these stats that determine which team will win on any given day.

As a matter of fact, very few ‘what if’s’ during a game could have changed the score at the final out of the game. I’m mean for a multimillion dollar organization to say that a team is on a hot or cold streak and leave it at that is rather oblique. To me that would be like the chairman of the board whose bank had just been robbed saying we ran into some bad luck, and then doing nothing to investigate the flaw that allowed it to happen.

Am I saying that all teams are not looking for the edge that will find them playing for the championship? No, of course there are, in fact every teams has a gut feeling that this could be the year for them, even teams who finished at or near the bottom of the standings last year. Indeed the fact is there are no professional teams who can not find themselves making the playoffs. Whoa you say, surely I do not believe that. This is precisely the case, all major league baseball teams have all that is required to win enough games to make the playoffs. That some will not clinch a spot has nothing to do with the skill potential of its players and coaching staff.

How many times have you heard it said that some teams have great comradery and team spirit and focus for example? If these are being sited as reasons young teams found their where into the playoff, then someone at least thinks its more than skills. Or this or that team’s player have all found their potential as ballplayers.

Can you tell me the teams that do not have all that is required to play in the World Series? Is the coaching staff of that team capable or are they in over their heads? Not at all. Are there players on that team that do not possess the necessary talent to hit major league pitching? Are they not as skilled at fielding? And can’t their pitchers get even the best hitters out?

The longer a team becomes attached to the idea that they can not make the playoffs the more difficult it is to produce the kind of results needed to get there. Fans unwittingly support these diminishing ideas for their teams as they are influenced by the various curses inflicted on certain teams as the reason for their failures as the regular season draws to an end.

The truth is there are no external forces inhibiting an organization from succeeding in winning a World Championship. Players don’t win championships, organizations do. The skill level of coaching and players is so minuscule as to provide only an excuse for an organizations inability to produce a winning team.

Well what is the organization comprised of. Management, players, coaches support staff including sponsors and media type and even the hotdog vender. An of course the source body, the fans of baseball itself. Without the fans there is no MLB.

The most fascinating sport in the world as far as I’m concerned, baseball at the major league level, is perfection, from the beautifully manicured fields to the echo of that sweet sound of a ball on a wooden bat to the hundreds of variations and possibilities to it’s integrity as a game. Baseball can teach the young person all that one needs to know to live a successful life, though it is only scratching the surface in doing that. Though I have a bit of difficulty in the way MLB treats the sanctity of this truly American pastime, I believe the fans will always protect the integrity of the game. But that’s quite yet another topic.

There are hundreds of actions that an organization can implement causing a sort of trim tabbing of its great ship towards a more desirable outcome, And these actions effect many. Who are these people? Well first of course are the fans, and a fan could be considered anyone who follows the team with an interest in their teams success. Inside of that are the management personnel, the players, the media, the sponsors and even their critics, their home community and the businesses each franchise does business.

How success a season the team experiences has more to do with how happy and how much joy is experienced everywhere throughout the organization than any other factor. In a way that should be rather logical. If the entire family say they experienced a most fun season, they are likely to have done very well. Management is the source of joy in the company and how they manage the existence of that kind of winning environment makes the ultimate impact.

Boys and girls playing youth ball today will be watching professional ball in their later years as it’s a pretty good guess MLB will be around 100 years from now.