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Be All That You Can Be

© Harold Friend

"Be all that you can be." Were it only so. Oh, it has happened. The 1998 Yankees were all that they could be. The 2004 Red Sox were more than they could be. But there have been too many times when teams were not allowed to be all they could be because money was and is more important to those with the power.

The 1973 Cincinnati Reds were National League Western Division Champions, winning 99 games while losing 63. The 1973 Mets were National League Eastern Division Champions, winning 82 games while losing 79. In the best of five playoff series, which was correctly referred to as a "playoff series," the Mets, with a terrible team but four outstanding pitchers named Seaver, Matlack, Koosman, and McGraw, beat the Reds to win the pennant. Forget the regular season records or the fact that the Reds won eight of the twelve games against the Mets. Money prevented the Reds from being all that they could be because having playoffs before the World Series makes money.

Other teams have not been given the chance to be all that they can be. The 1987 Detroit Tigers won 98 games but the Minnesota Twins, winners of 85 games, beat the Tigers in the playoffs, now referred to euphemistically as the American League Championship Series, to win the pennant.

The 1997 Atlanta Braves won 101 games, but by 1997 there were three divisions, two playoff rounds, and a "wild card" champion, because with three division winners, a fourth "winner" was needed for the playoffs. The Marlins were "Wild Card Champions," winning 92 games and finishing nine games behind the Braves, but the Marlins swept the Giants in the first playoff round, called the National League Division Series, and then beat the Braves in the second round to win the pennant.

In 2005, the Cardinals won the National League Central Division title by eleven games over the Houston Astros. During a 162 game schedule called the regular season, the Cardinals were clearly the best team in the National League, but that is no more important than winning the "wild card" because the name of the game is no longer excellence. No, the name of the game is money.

The Astros have an excellent chance of beating the Cardinals and winning the 2005 National League pennant. The latter phrase, "winning the pennant," is hardly used anymore. Fans are told that if the Astros beat the Cardinals, they will "go to the World Series." Winning the pennant has become no more critical than winning the first playoff round and sadly, getting to the World Series has become more important to most owners, players, and fans than actually winning it. Be all that you can be.

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