by Pete Partin

Created on: April 23, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Absolutely not. Case in point... the New York Yankees. The Yankees have spent more money assembling an "elite" team than any other franchise in history and yes, naysayers, they have won several championships, but consider the past few years. They have made it to the playoffs, but they haven't won the World Series or even the ALCS. Last year, the Colorado Rockies made it all the way to the World Series, but they spent nowhere near what the NYY did on their team. Why is that? The answer is simple. Money can buy truly great players, but no amount of money can buy a great team. Teamwork isn't bought, though it is earned. It isn't earned with money, however. It is earned with the respect that the players have for each other and their desire to take the field as a team and win. I would argue that the more money a player makes, the less they care about whether their team wins or loses. What do they care? They have their money regardless of the outcome. It is the players that love the game (and yes, there are some of the higher paid players that fall into this category) that honestly don't care about how much money they are making that make for great teammates and under most circumstances a great team. To illustrate my point, I will draw an example from another sport, but the analogy still applies here. Consider the 1954 Indiana High School basketball state championship (the one the movie Hoosiers was based on). Milan High school is a very small school compared with all of the other schools that made it to the semi-state and state finals. They didn't have a lot of money like the other teams, but they still won the championship. Why? Because they had HEART and they had a stronger desire and will to win. No amount of money can buy that, not in HS basketball and not in Major League Baseball. If you still have doubts, why don't you ask one of the Steinbrenners or Joe Torre? I'm sure they would be more than willing to brag about how much money they spent to bring in the most outstanding talent - but even with all that money, they still couldn't get it done when it came time for the playoffs. It goes back to the old adage - there is no "I" in "TEAM".

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