The Chicago White Sox won the World Series last night. Wait. Let me say that again. The Chicago White Sox won the World Series last night!
Wow.
Last year, the Red Sox. Non-winners since 1918.
This year, the White Sox. Non-winners since 1917.
OK, that's cool, but, why do I care?
Because the White Sox were the best team in baseball in 2005.
As long-time Chicago Sun-Times reporter Ron Rapoport put it: "Michael Jordan was not playing for the Chicago White Sox this year." The White Sox had no stars. Their greatest player, Frank Thomas, was injured for most of the season, and not eligible for post-season play. No, the White Sox won with players of slightly above average ability, brought together by a mercurial second year manager in Ozzie Guillen. Nobody, perhaps even themselves, thought this would happen. Because baseball is our oldest sport, it has a long linguistic heritage. The Sox embodied one of the great baseball phrases this year. They won because they "caught lightning in a bottle."
For me, the White Sox are the latest example of what can happen when people connect effectively.
Modern Americans are weaned on the star system. We worship celebrities and live with a deeply ingrained belief in the distinctive power that stars possess. "Average" is one of America's foulest sobriquets.
But, experience proves this devotion false. Great performance is more often the result of "normal" people doing extraordinary things. Yet, despite evidence to the contrary (a terrific piece by Malcolm Gladwell), we continue to believe that putting together a team of "stars" is the path to excellence. Why?
I think it's because of the American Dream.
When we speak of the American Dream, we never speak about the untold millions who came to America and rose to the heights of...the middle class. No. We extol the myths of "rags to riches" exploits. "Rags to 'We're OK, pretty comfortable and able to enjoy most of what we really want,'" is not the stuff of the American Dream.
So, stars rule.
But, once again, not in baseball this year. Last year doesn't count. The Red Sox make believe they're a "low budget" club, but they're really "Yankees-lite"; half-price wannabes. The Florida Marlins. Now, there was a no-star winner. But, even they didn't capture baseball's imagination like the White Sox.
The Sox victory is especially sweet for me. When Karen and I lived in Chicago in the early 90s, I needed a local baseball rooting interest. I looked to the North Side and saw the Cubs; I was nauseated. "Yuppie" didn't even begin to capture their effeteness. These were folks who were perfectly happy to be a part of the "scene," and leave after Harry sang in the 7th inning.
So, I looked South. There, in the last season of old Comiskey Park, I discovered the White Sox. To call their fans "blue collar" would be stretching it. This was a funky ballpark in a very funky neighborhood with no real chance. I rooted for them mildly, but with great affection.
Rooting for the Joe Torre-led Yankees for the last 11 years (mostly on the basis of that sad-looking manager's quietly determined leadership), I've occasionally looked over at the White Sox and thought, "another band of losers for the South Side."
Well, not this year. Teamwork prevails over megastars. A-Rod and Derek upstaged by Posednik and Dye. Good for them. Just like in the real world, a great group of average performers proves that it's all about teamwork.
And the White Sox did all the little things well, too ... proving that teamwork pays off.
Posted by: John Wagner | October 27, 2005 at 11:07 PM
I don't think the Red Sox claim to be a "low budget club", they just make it clear that there is a HUGE DIFFERENCE between 130 million and 210 million, that's a considerable gap between 1 & 2!
Maybe the Red Sox are the Bellagio but the Yankees are Wynn Las Vegas?
Posted by: Jeremy | October 28, 2005 at 07:40 AM
Little things are critical in teamwork, John. Great teams pay close attention to the details that matter and use subtle "insider" forms of communication to give one another tips, clues, feedback, acknowledgement. The White Sox showed that this year.
I like the Bellagio/Wynn analogy, Jeremy, but I'm going to withhold judgment until next week's visit to the Wynn so that I can make a personal assessment of their relative impact!
Posted by: Tom | October 28, 2005 at 08:28 AM
I thought you'd like that. And I have no personal knowledge of Wynn to truly throw that out there, other than Wynn's claims when he was building his new place.
Can't wait to hear first hand reports and see photos!
Posted by: Jeremy | October 28, 2005 at 01:40 PM