OK…
Here is my annual foray into the world of baseball coaching, which I really know very little about.
But I do know a little about TEAM.
And I do know a little about leadership.
And I do know a little about coaching in general.
2015 World Series… Game 5 Sunday night… Royals vs Mets.
Matt Harvey is pitching a gem… a masterpiece… trying to win the Mets back into the series.
Eight great innings, from an athlete coming back from serious arm surgery… from an athlete that had an “inning count” during the season.
Mets manager Terry Collins and pitching coach, Dan Warthan, make the decision to send in a reliever for the top of the 9th inning. A decision they get paid to make.
The TV cameras captured the exchange when word was given to Harvey by Warthan that he would not be finishing the game.
“No Way!” …
you can see an agitated Harvey yell.
He then takes his argument to manager Collins.
“NO WAY! I want this game. I want it bad. You’ve got to leave me in. I want this game in the worst way.”
Collins relents and Harvey takes the mound in the 9th.
At that point it became ALL about an individual, Harvey, and not about the team, the New York Mets. It was selfish.
Three “I’s” in Harvey’s argument… one “me”… no “We”, “Us” or “Team”
That was the difference in game 5.
That was the difference in the series.
Team > I
Go Royals!
My post after the 2014 series about lessons that we all can learn from the Kansas City Royals can be found here… those are still applicable (or more so) this year as well:
Related Posts:
You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you… Don’t Believe It!
Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com