Nightengale Article: Clubhouse Chemistry

[JB_Iowa]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2015/08/24/field-front-office-many-believe-chemistry-still-matters-baseball/32271291/

 

I'm a believer in clubhouse chemistry.  It isn't everything but it is something.  Yes, there are teams that fight internally and still win -- but actually that is chemistry of a different sort (witness brothers who whomp on each other but stand against all outsiders).

 

This is the big difference that I think Torii Hunter brought to the team this year.  The team really has had very little personality over the last few years -- they were capable of dulling us to death.

 

Are some of the younger guys ready to take over?  

[stringer bell]

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2015/08/24/field-front-office-many-believe-chemistry-still-matters-baseball/32271291/

 

I'm a believer in clubhouse chemistry.  It isn't everything but it is something.  Yes, there are teams that fight internally and still win -- but actually that is chemistry of a different sort (witness brothers who whomp on each other but stand against all outsiders).

 

This is the big difference that I think Torii Hunter brought to the team this year.  The team really has had very little personality over the last few years -- they were capable of dulling us to death.

 

Are some of the younger guys ready to take over?  

Dozier and Sano for sure. I don't know about the pitchers.

[Twins7]

Hah! Just made a post about this in the announcer thread.

 

I'm also a firm believer in clubhouse chemistry, and I think TR is as well. The young core have all been playing together through the minors - Sano, Rosario, Buxton, Vargas, Kepler, Duffey - and winning! I think that they want to win together, to drag the franchise out of the depths together.

 

Baseball seems like just the sum total of a bunch of individual battles, and that's how the top statisticians model it, but players can have a big impact on each other's performance, just through creating a welcoming atmosphere, fostering a positive group attitude, and working towards the ultimate goal of winning it all as a group. Tough to quantify, tough to build, but you won't find a coach or manager that doesn't do his best to create it.

[JB_Iowa]

I thought it was interesting when we talk about cutting here or sending guys down.

 

There may often be things to consider beyond the numbers.

[drjim]

I thought it was interesting when we talk about cutting here or sending guys down.

 

There may often be things to consider beyond the numbers.

I think it really manifests itself most with trades. One of the reasons Ryan doesn't chase arbitrage opportunities as aggressively as other teams might.

[South Dakota Tom]

There's no (or very little) technical reason a team hits worse, and loses far more, on the road....the home-field advantage is slight in terms of players being selected for the type of field you play on, or last bats.  The rest of it is mental, and no different from the difference you feel when you're on a hot streak versus a cold one, in golf or bowling or sporting clays.  That difference to me is enhanced ten-fold by the teammates around you.  I think it is every sports fan parent's hope that their child gets to experience that at least once in his or her life, and you can see it in the team this year versus prior years (even in April, when this team's record was no better than prior year's).

[drjim]

You don't think travel and lack of familiarity with the park have anything to do with playing worse?

[Mike Sixel]

I believe in culture and chemistry, but I'm curious....which players do you think would play worse if Hunter wasn't here?

 

And, if a guy can help, let's say, 4 players be 10% better, wouldn't that player be worth tens of millions of dollars a year?

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

 

I believe in culture and chemistry, but I'm curious....which players do you think would play worse if Hunter wasn't here?

 

And, if a guy can help, let's say, 4 players be 10% better, wouldn't that player be worth tens of millions of dollars a year?

I think a lot of people would point to Hicks, maybe Rosario, maybe even Sugar Shane...

 

It's pretty hard to know if there are guys that would be better off without Hunter around, but maybe Arcia would have had a better season if he was the main man in Right all spring? Again, hard to say, and I think both Hicks and Arcia deserve the majority of the kudos/blame for their performance.

 

The mental aspect is not quantifiable in the same way as the stat sheet, right now there isn't a good way to show correlation between team chemistry or even something like individual mental health and performance.  

 

There does seem to be a link between winning and good chemistry, and a link between losing and bad chemistry. But the chicken and egg here might be along for the ride and neither one is driving...

 

[Otto von Ballpark]

Hunter was a free agent before 2013 too.  I wonder what people would have said if he signed with us for 2013-2014 instead of Detroit.  Hicks skipped AAA and looked mostly hopeless those years anyway, so perhaps no blame for Hunter?  Arcia had encouraging seasons, Plouffe and Dozier had breakouts.  Would Hunter have gotten credit for those?  Maybe some credit for Escobar, Santana, and Vargas in 2014 too?

 

Don't get me wrong, Hunter solidly filled a spot on this year's team, helped us score a couple wins in May which was the foundational month of our season success, but I am really not sure you can give him any credit for other player's performances.