by Stacy Baker

Created on: October 26, 2008   Last Updated: November 23, 2009

In order for baseball managers to plan for the world series there must be a set of guide lines that they should go by in order to achieve the status of a great team. They must first find the joy they once had as a kid (when they played in the backyard) of whatever friends turn it was that week. Second they must stay loyal to the people they play with. The third thing is they must not make money the overall purpose of why they play.

Finding joy is very hard thing to find in todays game. I can remember hearing a story of a little 8 year old kid who had gone to a game to watch his local hero play first base. He was a dedicated young man (hardly ever missed a home game!) He would yell in support for his team and feel sad when they lost. He would read all the stats and mispronounce the players names, but his joy was only in when they played. He didn't care if they'd lose he'd only say, " We'll do better next game" the kid had heart and a joy that was one of a kind. I sat next to that kid one afternoon when he'd waited for the right opportunity to go and get his favorite player sign his favorite card and would you know the player told him "I can't sign that type of card, sorry kid" That ballplayer had lost it. Whatever he once had he didn't have it anymore his joy was completely gone. The kid stayed loyal and understood he just walked away with a frown.

Staying loyal to the people you play with is undoubtedly the hardest thing to do. The other teams seem to have the right owner or their fans support them better by the way they cheer. In todays baseball the managers are ridiculed for the slightest mistake. The critics say things about them that would turn a loyal fan into a ridiculing rival by the simple words they print. The comedians make jokes on late-night television and everyone laughs at the punch lines never realizing the player may be watching the same program with his wife who undoubtedly feels his pain. The loyalty is often misplaced by ratings.

The last thing is money. Baseball managers are often moved by money as everyone else is in the game. They are loved for their wins and hated for their losses and they are paid more if they are a winning manager. I can remember hearing stories of managers celebrating this event or that event on a privately owned yacht or in some privatelyowned club that the local fans can't even attend because they call the thing a fund raiser and charge $500 for attendance. Its always about money. You turn on the sports channel and you see this player being offered this large amount of money and then you turn the channel and see that same player on lifestyles of the rich and famous because he excepted that amount of money. It is amazing to see these things unfold over a lifetime.

In conclusion baseball managers should plan for the world series by stripping themselves from titles and clubhouses and just go back to the basics of baseball. The joy of the backyard bar b ques. The love of the game they once had as children. They should instill the same principles they had from the beginning. Manage because they love baseball. Games should never be about money or who the best player is. It should be about that 8 year old kid who is a vivid fan and who practices everyday as if he was in the world series every game. It should be about the loyal mother who stands on the sidelines cheering on their favorite player (their son) or about the wife who puts ice on the shoulder of her husband and simply replies, "You played great today"

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