Instead of having his team work out at George M. Steinbrenner Field, Yankees manager Joe Girardi decided to take the players to a local billiard hall for a team tournament on Monday as part of a group bonding exercise.
"We've added some pretty big pieces here, and you want to bring them together as quickly as possible," Girardi said. "Every year you're here as manager, you want to have more knowledge about the players. It's important that a group is united when you leave Spring Training."
One by one, the 64 players in camp walked through the concrete corridors, many of them grinning at the change in plans. CC Sabathia chuckled, while Mark Teixeira waved goodbye to reporters. Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy" blared from the loudspeakers.The team will play two separate 8-ball tournaments in teams of two with rotating partners.
Jorge Posada -- one of the players Girardi had given a heads-up to about the idea -- said that a billiards tournament could only help the Yankees, who have dealt with a tumultuous spring so far that included Alex Rodriguez's admission of steroid use.
"It's a day to forget about baseball a little bit and think about our family here," Posada said. "It's a little rest, and I think it's good for everyone."
Yesterday we learned that Joe Girardi was trying to change his approach to managing, and I said that it reminded me of what Tom Coughlin had done prior to the 2007 season. Today's team-building exercise reminds me even more of Coughlin.
During minicamp in 2007, Coughlin decided that the team needed to see how he had changed, and also that they also needed a break. So on June 14th he setup a casino night at Giants Stadium for the team. The players and coaches had a good time, and most importantly bonded as a team.
Later that summer, on August 16th, he surprised the team by canceling a film session and taking the team out bowling. And once again, everyone has a great time.
I'm starting to think Joe Girardi spent some time this offseason reading Tom Couglin's, A Team To Believe In.
UPDATE: According to George King, Girardi told him that "he hasn't spoken to Tom Coughlin about developing stronger relationships with players."
But he didn't say whether he read his book or not.
5 Comments:
I'm glad to see Joe finally reaching his players on a human level and I hope that he continues to improve on this.
Totally agree.
I think team chemistry is important, and a major part of that is the relationship between the players and the manager/coach.
I don't know about this team chemistry business. Didn't Billy Martin, one of the world's worst human beings, manage the '77 champs?
Give me solid pitching and clutch hitting ... and you could have all the team dissention you want!
Billy Martin did know how to manage a baseball team, though.
And they may have had guys who fought off the field, but once those teams took the field they were a unit.
Either way, team chemistry isn't the most important thing, but I think it helps to have a group of guys all on the same page, and that like each other.
Greg, I would amend that to say Billy Martin knew how to manage a baseball game, not team.
Look at how we buried some Yanks, like Larry Gura and Kenny Holtzman, out of nothing more than spite.
I agree that teams are more willing to hit behind runners, move guys over with a grounder, etc., if they all get along.
But it's winning that brings people together, not the other way around.
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