By: Holly Horning
The recent cheating scandal has pushed an issue to the forefront. An issue that is just as important as assembling a roster.
And it’s a characteristic that is partially responsible for how often – or infrequently – a team sits at the top of the standings every October.
It has almost nothing to do with the manager. Sometimes little to do with the GM.
In most cases, this quality percolates from the very top and trickles on down.
It is the corporate culture and behavior that is set by the owner(s). The expectations of how to behave. The expectations of how to treat others.
And it really came to the forefront yesterday when Clayton Kershaw spoke out about the Houston Astros. He is a man of quiet dignity and high standards. One of baseball’s true role models both on and off the field. He walks the walk. He allows his actions to speak instead of speaking out.
So it was newsworthy when he publicly criticized the Astros. For their lack of understanding, lack of remorse and lack of apology. He said nothing about how his team, the Dodgers, were cheated. His comments were all focused on personal accountability.
Which brings us to Houston as our first example. A team that has yet to apologize for their cheating since the ruling over 3 weeks ago.
Is anyone surprised?
Remember when their Assistant GM, Brandon Tauman, made those disparaging comments to the female reporters? The Astros refused to acknowledge the problem. In fact, they tried counterattacking. Even to the point of publicly going after one reporter’s credibility.
They continued to ignore the public outcry and issued statements supporting Taubman. It was only after MLB commenced an investigation that they changed course.
The Astros were accused of being stubborn and arrogant.
In what we can call “déjà-vu all over again”, we’re still waiting for those athletes to apologize in any way, shape or form after the MLB investigation shows the cheating was “player-driven”.
Shocker.
Did you expect anything different?
During AstrosFest, both Jose Altuve and Alex Bregmen, shrugged off the conviction and refused to address the questions thrown their way. They were labeled by reporters and fans alike as “arrogant.”
Are you surprised?
But never fear, the owner, Jim Crane, says the team will “probably” issue a joint statement sometime during spring training. No rush. Not like it’s important. The team has better things to do right now than be concerned about those they hurt.
Obviously, this is not at the top of Crane’s priority list.
Even Justin Verlander doesn’t get it. Watch the shocking video of him accepting his Cy Young Award. When he talks about the Astros advanced technology and the room literally erupts in negativity. JV stood there, according to a dear friend of ours, “like the house by the side of the road.” He had no clue that anything was wrong by the look on his face. He was shocked at the crowd’s response.
For the record, if he were my client, I would have “round filed” his speech, dressed him head-to-toe in body armor and given him a shot of something 100% proof, a blindfold and a cigarette before facing the crowd. Especially since C.C. Sabathia’s seat was 5 feet away from JV’s. Sabathia has had a few things to say publicly…..
The Astros are simply following their owner. They have taken a page from Crane on how to behave. And if you have to treat humans horribly in order to win, then so be it.
The Astros have universally been called “arrogant.” It is defined as: “proud in an unpleasant way and behaving as if you are better or more important than other people.”
Other teams behave differently. Some good, some bad.
The Angels owner, Arte Moreno, is an interesting guy. A man who kept Mike Scioscia as his manager for almost 2 decades despite the need and evidence to move on. Part of the reason was that their wives were best friends. Which also explains why Arte always sided with Mike over the opinions of their GM, Jerry DiPoto, who was forced to leave the organization. Usually, it’s the GM who forces the manager out.
Moreno was always unpredictable. Years of keeping one manager and then becoming tired of Brad Ausmus, in his first year, by the All-Star Game.
A team that has spent so much money over the years and also signs Mike Trout to an extension. But then they leave gaping holes in the roster and some serious opiate issues with both players and staff that went unaddressed for years. They seem to change direction often. You never know where this team is going to end up year after year.
Then there are the Red Sox. Appropriately, they are once again creating problems with their actions and statements by ownership.
This is the same group of owners, back in 2011, that forced Theo Epstein and most of the Front Office to flee. It also saw Terry Francona beg the owners not to pick up his option year so he could also leave.
Ownership upset the apple cart by rewriting the rules on who got to play. They allowed their marketing department to help select which players got regular playing time. All because studies showed that the team didn’t have enough “sexy” players which would drive up their tv ratings.
Can’t make this stuff up.
The owners took power away from their Front Office and their manager. No wonder that some players took notice and did their own thing that resulted in baseball’s biggest tanking.
Which now makes us question who was in charge back in 2018? Who saw what was happening? Who, if anyone, tried to stop the cheating?
The Sox were fined for cheating back in 2017. Did any of the owners take notice to ensure it didn’t happen again? Given their previous history, was there really a clear chain of command? How could the cheating have happened 2 years in a row even with a fine and warning? Who exactly was at the wheel?
But if the current investigation isn’t enough, this off-season, majority owner John Henry, stole the show with his comments and actions several times. First, firing Dave Dombrowski 9 months after his team won the World Series. Then denying his previous statements to the media – all on record – about “cutting payroll” in angry press conferences and calling reporters names.
And now, the announcement that Alex Cora was leaving but that the decision had nothing to do with the Sox and everything to do with the Astros. Putting the blame on everyone else.
No wonder this team is in turmoil.
Then there are the Yankees. The team everyone loves to hate, but dang, they’ve got their stuff together most of the time.
George Steinbrenner’s 4 children, led by Hal, are all in this together. They are known by many in baseball as the “steadiest owners in MLB.”
There are rarely surprises with this team. Everyone from Brian Cashman down to the dugout manager knows there are high expectations set upon all of them. They all understand that if they don’t meet their goals, they’re out.
And it’s a team that doesn’t offer excuses. In fact, the players apologized publicly to the fans when they lost in the playoffs. And it all came across as authentic and heartfelt. It’s a team that doesn’t ignore the bad stuff when it happens. They face it head-on.
And this is one of the reasons why they win consistently. And potentially, their records for the past couple of years should have asterisks attached, showing that the deck was stacked against them by Houston and Boston.
Take into account that not a single current Yankee has complained about how they were cheated not once, but twice.
And I’m sure that if you looked at the Cardinals ownership, you’d find something similar.
The Washington, DC team has a name for it. They call it “Natitude.”
But what about the Tigers?
We saw what the team was like under Mr. I, but what about his son?
Very much of an enigma.
Rarely seen and missing from press conferences. Rehearsed statements, no interviews and cookie cutter press releases. Even the announcement about Lou Whitaker’s number retirement was done from afar.
Even the players never reference him. When his father owned the team, we heard about his frequent presence. We heard about players who referred to him as a “father figure.”
What does this all mean?
If Chris is never around the team, or attending games, how does the organization get their guidelines for how to represent the organization or operate within it?
Is there anyone who has that responsibility? Or is everyone left to their own devices?
Are the Tigers a team that comes together or are all of its employees simply off doing their own thing?
If there’s no vision set from the top, no example to follow, this could be a rudderless organization.
And not having someone to steer the ship doesn’t bode well for a rebuild now – or in the future. No captain means no steering, no rudder and no destination.
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By: Holly Horning & Kurt Snyder
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KURT
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