Winning Takes More than Talent

Putting together a roster in major league baseball that makes the playoffs is incredibly difficult. The 162 game season is a brutal grind. There can be lots of friction during that long regular season. Even the best teams can have embarrassing performances. Players and teams have hot and cold streaks. Obviously the most important ingredient is talent but there are a couple of other factors that help make a winning franchise. One of the most important things that winning teams understand is that every teammate brings strengths and weaknesses to the team. A great team celebrates the strengths of each player and works together to offset the weaknesses. I pondered this as I was reading about the career of New York Yankee player Joe Gordon. In 1942 Gordon led the American League in strikeouts. He made more errors that year than any other second baseman. He hit into more double plays than anyone in the league. By dwelling on those stats we could
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