Life Meets Textbook: Lessons from the Washington Nationals World Championship

“Sports is human life in microcosm.” ~Howard Cosell

 As a baseball fan, there is something particularly special to watch and deeply care about baseball in October! For me, this year was one of those very special years. My Washington Nationals in the World Series collided with a long-planned family trip to Israel which meant a seven hour time difference and games starting at 3 AM made for both exciting and equally exhausting viewing with the help of the MLB network.

 I was so tired, but so happy for the players, coaches and for the city of Washington DC, that the Nationals had won the World Series.

Being on vacation, I had plenty of time to reflect and ponder some of the lessons I think we can all learn from this year‘s world championship Washington Nationals team. These include:

1. “Have a 1-0 mentality.” The only game that you need to worry about is the one right in front of you. There is no reason to worry about the game that you just completed or for the next game ahead of you. It is important to stay in the moment and stay focused on what’s right in front of you. 

2. Chemistry is critical for any team. You do not necessarily have to have the best players to have the best team. You need to have players that come together, enjoy each other, support each other, and build on each other’s strengths. Those are the things that make a high-performing team. It was clear that Mike Rizzo, the general manager was huge on chemistry and clubhouse stuff, not bringing in bad teammates, not bringing in bad guys. Before making any sort of serious moves, he reaches out to the players and asks them if they have heard anything about this player or that player.

 3. Experience matters. The Washington nationals had one of the oldest baseball teams this year. In professional sports today, there is a great emphasis on contracting young players. The National’s organization deserves credit for the way they put this team together. What we got was a bunch of old guys in whom they trusted. "There’s not a lot of teams that were willing to put together a roster like ours,” reliever Sean Doolittle said. He added, "There’s a bunch of guys over 30 years old and, according to the smartest people in the room, you can’t win games like that anymore. You need young, athletic, controllable talent. We’re really proud that we’re the oldest team in baseball and we just won the World Series.”

 Experience can be a powerful tool to help catapult performance as people are able to take what they have learned and apply it to improve situations

 4. Don’t give up on the resources that you have. There were a lot of people in Washington DC who were advocating for firing the head coach, Davie Martinez, early in the season.You need to give the team credit for the decision to hire, then stick by, manager Dave Martinez, especially in the face of a 19-31 record, the worst 50-game start to a season in baseball history for an eventual World Series winner.

 Sometimes, teams do not start off doing so well. Having the belief in yourself and the right talent around you, can provide continuity that can serve as a powerful vehicle for improving team performance.

5. Chaos theory can have a big outcome of the success of any team. Chaos theory is a part of mathematics. It looks at certain systems that are very sensitive. A very small change may make the system behave completely differently and in very unexpected ways. Some systems (like weather) might appear random at first look, but chaos theory suggests that even these kinds of systems have predictable patterns.

For the Nationals, part of the chaos played out in the team’s World Series pitching selections. The team decided to mix up the pitching, to have some of their starting pitchers, pitch in relief. 

Sometimes, you cannot clearly see a defined path for success with any team. Sometimes a very small change can have a huge impact. 

6. Resiliency is critical for success with any team. The Nationals had an expression that they followed and used throughout the entire season, “stay in the fight.” The team persevered and kept babbling this mantra over and over again throughout the season, sometimes despite not having great results.

Any successful team needs to build their resiliency and dealing with setbacks, that will help them ultimately achieve their overall goal.

 7. “Next man up” strategy. Throughout the playoffs, the Nationals players suffered a number of injuries. They needed to rely on the next player on the roster, to step up and perform, despite the fact that they may not be the star performer.

Within every organization, there are opportunities for average performers to achieve spectacular results, just because someone believed in them and gave them a chance.

8. Focus on the basics. The team adopted the philosophy of valuing old-fashioned starting pitching above all else. Each of Washington’s four wins in the Fall Classic came after sending to the mound Stephen Strasburg or Max Scherzer with little rest and in the case of Scherzer he returned “back from the dead,” in the words of teammate Adam Eaton from a nerve problem in his neck and pitched his team to a 6-2 victory in Game 7 in Houston on Wednesday night. 

In business, sometimes it becomes fashionable to focus on the latest craze. One of the lessons from the Washington nationals is the focus on the basics. Their focus on starting pitching, was one of the main reasons, that they won the World Series. Similarly in business, a focus on the basics helps every team perform to their maximum potential. 

 9. Stay calm under pressure. Until now, no baseball team had ever won more than three elimination games after trailing in each during a single postseason. The 2019 Nationals, built by Rizzo and powered by an everyone-chips-in ethos, did it an unbelievable five times.

It is really important for every team to stay calm under pressure. Often times, the obstacles that a team faces can cause team members to start pointing fingers at the other people. It is critical, during the tough times that the team stays together, focuses on the positive, and works their way through challenging situations. 

10. Remember to have fun! Baseball is a long season, and it sometimes is difficult to remember that the professional athletes are playing a game. Having some levity throughout the season, can help the team deal with situations that don’t go their way, or having a bad day playing the game. Just remember the Baby Shark Dance!

Similarly, it is important for us to remember, even if we’re not playing professional baseball to have fun. Every day provides an opportunity for success and failure. It is important to have fun with our colleagues, to build a sense of “camaraderie and to help deal with the challenges of everyday business.

 What lessons can you learn from this year’s Washington Nationals?

Congratulations to the Washington Nationals for a great year!