The Kids Can Play

In many professions the assumption is that one can't count on individuals fresh to the profession to make key contributions to the organizations success. The idea is those new to the business need to learn how the business works, how the cogs connect in the wheel in order to make things run. In baseball, the rule of thumb is that you can't count on young teams to build success. Eventually youth will be over run by the wear of the year and the grind of the day to day journey.

In 1997, the Chicago White Sox were 3 1/2 games out of first place. They devastated their fanbase, committing the "White Flag Trade," sending 2 starting pitchers and an all-star reliever to the San Francisco Giants for a bunch of people no one had ever heard of. While San Francisco ran to a division title and the playoffs, the White Sox fell out of contention, ending the year 80-81. They floundered and carried low expectations for a couple of years to the point in which entering the 2000 season, the marketing department recognized that no one had heard of most of the club. Expectations were low as the White Sox had been bad in recent memory. The public relations folks put out the slogan "The Kids Can Play," and what do you know, they could. The team went an American League best 95-67 before losing in the playoffs.

While many people have not seemed to understand the Chicago Cubs plan, the organization has been quite clear, it was time to do something different. After battling in and out of the playoffs with high-priced free agent talent in the 2000's, the Cubs chose to bottom out in 2010. For the past 5 seasons, the Chicago Cubs have been cellar dwellers, rebuilding their organization on both the business and talent side. Reconstructing their minor leagues, international presence, and scouting operations. Not much was expected from the 2015 season aside from the Back to the Future II prediction of a world championship.

As of August 15th, the Cubs have starters in 3 key positions that didn't begin the year with them. In total, they have 4 rookies and 5 key contributors under the age of 25. By definition, they are a group discovering what they can do as they win games. Currently they are 18 games above .500, with a 66-48 record and tracking towards the playoffs. If they believed that young veterans and rookies couldn't do it, they would be tracking for the next several years of mediocrity. 

The reality is in all professions, the "Kids Can Play." Those entering the profession have joined the profession because they believe they have the ideas, capacities, and fortitude to be successful. Veterans stay in the profession not because of habit but because they believe they have value to add. Together, these groups can make a difference. While each group will go up the mountains and down in the valleys of successes and failures, they both eventually find success together. 

Necessary Roughness