The opening of the baseball season has fans excited about seeing our national pastime again. For some teams, though, the truncated 60-game season will be a challenge. Everyone knows about bitter inter-team rivalries, such as that between the Red Sox and the Yankees, or the Cardinals and the Cubs. But a more important dynamic is the cohesion within teams. Teams need to gel to win — and resolving discord takes time.
Perhaps the most famous rival-laden team was the late 1970s New York Yankees. Yankees reliever Sparky Lyle called his memoir about the team “The Bronx Zoo.” They had talent galore, but also outsized personalities and prickly egos, and lots of conflict. Reggie Jackson, who signed a high-priced (for the time) contract of $3 million over 5 years, alienated teammates, especially Yankee captain Thurman Munson. Jackson’s comment that he was “the straw that stirs the drink” particularly rankled him.
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