CHEMISTRY MATTERS
When that vibe is mixed with talented players something special can happen
T“Having fun is the name of the game. There’s too much of a grind” Manny Machado • On long baseball season
he Padres have a lot of talented players. So what’s the big deal if they like each other, too? And why is it important that they strut and dance and laugh and high-five high above the ground?
Does clubhouse chemistry matter?
There might be no scientific means by which to say it does. But the observation of the evolution of the Padres over the past few years makes it difficult to conclude it doesn’t.
First, let’s make sure we understand the reason the Padres are about to embark on a season in which they are overwhelmingly favored to make a second straight trip to the postseason — after a 13-year playoff drought — is that better players are wearing their uniform.
“Great teams have great players, and we have great players on this team,” Wil Myers said. “At the end of the day, that’s what wins ballgames. … I’m not big on the swag stuff. But we definitely have a lot of guys in there that can go out and play. We have a very talented team, which is more important than swag.”
Myers is one of the most popular players among his teammates. He doesn’t go much for the dancing and handshakes and his bat flips are far more subtle than those of Fernando Tatis Jr., but Myers has expressed appreciation for the camaraderie that exists on the team.
It is unmistakable. Virtually every player who arrived via the Padres’ slew of trades last August talked about it unprompted.
Trevor Rosenthal, Mike Clevinger, Austin Nola ... they all said they were excited by the warm welcome they got and somewhat surprised by how “fun” the Padres clubhouse was.
It’s been a replay this spring. “I think the one thing I’ve realized right away … is this team has fun,” new starting pitcher Blake Snell said after a week in camp. “I think that’s been the coolest part about coming to work every day.”
Fostering that vibe is important to those that have been here a while.
And, by the way, in Padres parlance, a while means going on their third season. Just 11 players are still here who made their Padres debut in 2019 or earlier. Just seven who will likely break camp with the team have been continuously on the roster since ’19.
That’s perhaps one of the most remarkable things about the chemistry concocted within the team. These are guys who haven’t been around each other that long.
From the first time Eric Hosmer walked in the clubhouse in 2018, it was clear relationship building would be a component of his legacy, almost no matter what he did on the field.
Certainly, Manny Machado was signed to a 10-year, $300 million contract in 2019 for the fact he was one of four major leaguers to have a WAR of at least 5.9 in three of the previous four seasons and was just 26 years old. But he immediately efforted a series of team-building activities, including footing the bill for team dinners on the road and spearheading the choreography of a series of intricate handshake/ dance celebrations.
“It’s a bond,” Machado said in April 2019. “It’s a team bond. We all have to be together. That’s what we’re trying to create here. We’re all getting along. We’re grinding with everybody here. This goes more than baseball. It was already here, and I’m just enjoying the ride to be here and be a part of it. Everybody is having fun. It’s been awesome. I know it’s still early and there is still lot of baseball to be played, but if we keep this going and keep having fun, a lot of great things can happen with this team.”
That’s about the time the Tatis phenomenon launched. As fun goes, that was like adding a firecracker to a grease fire.
This spring, as he met each of the Padres' big offseason acquisitions, Machado made a point to set a tone.
“You have to go up and say, ‘What's up?' and introduce yourself,” Machado said. “Just got to let them know they're welcome here. This is a family. We're trying to create something special here. You have to let them know, ‘Hey this is your clubhouse too. Be yourself here. Try to enjoy yourself. We play free baseball around here. We go out and have fun. That's what we do.' ”
Again, why? Clubhouse chemistry has to be one of the most hackneyed phrases in baseball. Right?
The box score only cares about what happens between the lines. The standings only reflect one of two outcomes every day. Jobs are lost because of losses.
Don't tell that to the guys playing six days a week, 26 to 28 days a month for six months in 20 different cities after 34 flights and innumerable bus rides. At least not the ones wearing brown and gold.
“Having fun is the name of the game,” Machado said. “There's too much of a grind. It's 162 games in 180 days. We've been here since February and we're not going to go home until hopefully November. It's a long season. You've just got to go out there and enjoy yourself.”
He talked about “messing around” in the clubhouse, among other things, as a way to be “normal.” It's the same reason they make T-shirts out of so many little sayings and events and play loud music and dance after victories and dress up for road trips.
“As much as we can do that in the clubhouse,” Machado said, “that translates to the field.”
What players mean by the grind they often talk about is that six months of games not only tends to turn the mind to mush, it is simply too long a time to always be “on” or “up” or “in a groove.” And that is at the center of why chemistry matters.
These guys are human. There is more urgency to conform to the Padres'
offensive philosophy of “moving the line” and having unselfish at-bats when you like the guy batting behind you. And it's just really hard to stay down when Tatis is doing incredible things and bat-flipping and dancing afterward. It's virtually impossible to not smile when Jurickson Profar does. It is easier to listen when the message is coming from a trusted source you know wants only the best for you.
“It won't allow you to think about how bad you're doing,” firstbase coach Wayne Kirby, who played eight seasons in the majors, said of how having good chemistry helps a team. “Every once in a while, people need to be talked up when they're doing bad. When you play with energy, you play with fun and there's not a worry in the world.”
The Padres didn't have enough pitching or really enough anything to sustain a .500 pace in 2019. But several people in the organization recognized that the departure of Franmil Reyes via trade at the end of July and Tatis' season ending due to injury in mid-August essentially sent the Padres into a free fall. They were not only two of the Padres' most productive players, they provided an abundance of positive energy. For that matter, Ian Kinsler's season ending around the same time as Tatis' due to a neck injury was noted as creating a void. Kinsler was always one of the loudest players in the dugout.
It wasn't going to matter that season. This season, it might be the difference.
“I think it's extremely important,” said Hosmer, who speaks with affection for the vibe in the Royals clubhouse during their back-to-back World Series runs. “Over the course of 162 games, plus playoffs, you're going to need it from different guys over the course of the season. … I think that's a huge factor. I think when you mix that vibe in the clubhouse and you see the trust that everybody has in each other, I think it makes for a special group. The talent is the most important part, but if you put those pieces together with the talent I think that's when you have something special.”