Before the Major League Baseball season started there were not many people who believed that the San Francisco Giants could win their division, the National League West, and no one really thought that the team could win the World Series. Well recently the Giants proved al of the experts wrong and won the 2010 World Series, their first since 1954 and their first since moving to San Francisco. The team has the ninth highest payroll in the major leagues, but this does not paint a correct picture on the reasons that they were crowned champions. Barry Zito is the highest paid player on the team, 18.5 million, and he was not on the post-season roster and Aaron Rowand the second highest paid player, 13.6 million, was a reserve. Take out those two players and the Giants fall to the nineteenth highest team salary in the Major leagues. So how did this self-proclaimed team of “misfits” and players that no one wanted become the best team in the Major Leagues? It can be summed up in one word “team”. Aubrey Huff was the teams best hitter during the regular season, but he only signed with the Giants because no other team called him in the off-season. Not only was his offensive production instrumental in winning games, but so was his happy-go-lucky attitude in the clubhouse. The Giants did not have any superstars, but they had players who wanted to win for each other. Huff and Freddy Sanchez had never made the playoffs, despite playing 9 and 7 seasons respectively. The team was made up of players who wanted to play for the team, not for individual stats. When the Giants acquired players at the trade deadline, the question was not whether they were good, but would they hurt the team camaraderie. Each member of the team truly cared about the guy next to him and they played that way the entire season and playoffs and this led to a championship. Players started growing beards, and “Fear the Beard” became one of the team’s slogans. The team was a tight-knit group with nothing on their minds but winning for each other. After the World Series, time and time again players said they wanted to win it for their teammates in interviews. There were no players that were bigger than the team, and this rubbed off on the younger players and led to an atmosphere where there was only one goal in mind. The Giants World Series win shows that it is not about who is the most talented or highest paid team that wins, it is the team that can come together and work together the most. Not many other teams wanted most of the Giants players before the season, but I bet they will get a few more calls this post-season.
Tim Sweeney, ND 2012
Social Foundations of Coaching
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