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Beane Ball

© Harold Friend

This article is not really about the Yankees. It is about the Yankees’ philosophy, which is quite simple. Get to the World Series and win it. Now, many people do not like that, especially in the politically correct 21st century. Well, too bad. That’s the way it is and as long as George Steinbrenner is around, that is the way it is going to remain.

There was an article in the Boston Globe this Sunday, September 28, 2003, about Billy Beane, the Oakland General Manager who has the reputation of being a baseball genius but who has won nothing. The article states that Beane continues to infuriate his critics because “…Beane keeps winning.”

Since Beane’s teams have never won a playoff series, a logical question is, “Winning what?" Don’t tell me that he has won Divisional Crowns. That is meaningless. The fact remains that none of Beane’s teams has ever won a playoff series, much less a World Series. With the absence of the pursuit of excellence that exists in today’s culture, winning anything is viewed as a wonderful accomplishment. And Beane’s teams have won some things.

Based on the money generating three division winners and wild card format, Oakland almost always qualifies for elimination in the playoffs. Oakland gets into the playoffs and always manages to lose. Since baseball began, only one team wins the pennant. The path to that prize has changed, but the goal always remains. The barriers created along the way are simply obstacles that must be overcome.

Before divisional play, before 1969, a team had to have the best league record in order to win the pennant. During that time period, the Yankees won 29 pennants and 20 World Championships. When divisional play started, there were two division winners and a best of 5 playoff series for the pennant. The format was changed in 1985 to a best of 7 series and with the introduction of three divisions to create more apparent “winners,” a second round of playoffs was to be introduced in 1994, but due to owners’ intransigence and players’ mettle, the baseball season ended on August 12. The new format waited until the following year to be introduced. Since divisional play began, the Yankees have won 9 pennants and 6 World Championships.

Winning a divisional title is nice but unless a team wins the playoffs, it is really not winning anything other than the chance to be eliminated from pennant contention a little later in the season. About two thirds of the teams are eliminated in the quest for the divisional title or wild card, two more from each league are eliminated in the first round of playoffs, and one more from each league is eliminated in the final playoff round. A lot of losers are produced and each time a Billy Beane team has gotten to the playoffs, sooner or later it joined the group of losers.

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