Business Lessons from the Dodgers, World Series Champions 2024
Business Lessons from the 2024 Los Angeles Dodgers
In the United States we recently experienced the rollercoaster story of the 2024 World Series of baseball. This year the two teams with the best records; a historic matchup between The Los Angeles Dodgers and The New York Yankees took place. As I witnessed the series, I couldn’t help but see some great take aways for business. This year’s storyline included great leadership, player management, perseverance, culture and teamwork.
The Context
The world series is a best of seven games, meaning you must win 4 games to secure the championship, victory goes to the team that can execute at the higher level. The series saw the dodgers jump out to a 3-1 lead. In that process, there were already some stand out performances and great lessons to be learned but Game 5 turned out to be the decider and one for the ages.
Lessons from Game 5
At the beginning of the fifth inning New York was up 5-0 and it seemed they were on their way to victory. In baseball as in most things, one must give attention to details. The seemingly “little” things matter, especially in crunch times and it showed up on the highest stage at the most crucial moment. Doing the basics well was the determining factor in the fifth and changed the whole perspective of the game. In business the culture you create is how you solidify the fundamentals. Accountability, repetition and commitment to excellence must be a part of your culture. How do you rehearse and reiterate your culture? How do you eliminate costly mistakes from your organization?
In what has been called “the worst inning in MLB world series history” The Yankees made some basic errors: Aaron Judge drops a routine fly ball, (his first and only error of the whole 2024 season.) Volpe bounces the ball of the ground in throw to 3rd base, Cole and Rizzo are unable to decide who should cover 1st and fail to communicate on an easy grounder. You can watch them here:
The Dodgers scouting report of the Yankees said “The Yankees are talent over fundamentals. If you run the bases with purpose and aggression the yankees will inflict self-harm. Put the ball in play and let the Yankees inflict self harm.”
This report recognized the gap in the culture that was subsequently exposed by the Dodgers. What would the scouting report of your company look like?
It could have been easy for Los Angeles to check out mentally and wait for game 6 but their tenacity and perseverance paid off. They continued to do the basics well and it paid off. At the end of the 20 minute inning the game had been tied.
8th Inning Leadership
After coming back from 5-0 down The Dodgers had got the score to 7-6. The Pitcher on the mound was Blake Treinen, but he was in a slump and things didn’t look good, New York look set to recover the lead with two on base and only 1 out. At this moment I witnessed some great leadership by the manager Dave Roberts as he came out and talked to his player in a high stake’s moment.
Dave Roberts knows that data informs the game, but people play it. He understood that in key moments his job is to trust the people he has put in place. This was a high-pressure moment, and he led it well. He came out and spoke to Treinen, in his own words he said, “I wanted to slow the moment down, put hands on him (see picture below) and instill confidence.” Dave Roberts reaffirmed his trust in his team in a crucial moment. He spoke to their ability and connected them to their belief.
Final Thoughts
Dave Roberts objective from the beginning of the year was to create a team that has chemistry and culture. More can be done as a team working together than as an individual with exceptional talent. As a team they overcame a string of injuries, persevered in difficult times and dedicated themselves to the fundamentals. As a leader and as a team they had to be flexible to adjust and be brave in their decisions, this allowed them to seize the opportunities presented to them. Baseball is a game played with a ball, but it is determined by preparation, adaptability, perseverance and teamwork. The score is representative of so much more than hits and catches.