Importance of ‘different types of leadership' inside Phillies clubhouse originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
There are many obstacles the Phillies and Rob Thomson have had to navigate this season, from injuries and suspension to health scares and unsettled lineups. Some come expected, as injuries occur every season no matter the sport and slumps and hot streaks are normalized. But unique to baseball is the 162 games of it all. “Those things happen during a 162-game season.”
And inevitably, a time of tribulation in a season usually presents the question of leadership. But what really is leadership and how important is it?
I once asked a player what kind of leader he saw himself being, because his head coach had just labeled him one because he was one of the older players on a very youthful team. “I’m not a leader,” said the journeyman veteran. “I’m just trying to keep my (butt) in the league.”
Another time I asked a player about the presumed leader on the team. His response, not in a controversial way, was “if he’s the leader, does that make me a follower? Because I’m not a follower.”
Both made good points. One was anointed to be a leader but didn’t perceive himself to be. The other believed that where he was in his professional life, playing at the highest level of the sport that there is, he didn’t need to follow a leader.
It’s an interesting conversation when discussing the importance of it in sports. And while Thomson’s Phillies may still be dealing with a platooning outfield, a shuffled starting rotation and the normal ebbs and flows of a season, they do seem to have an abundance of leadership to help them through.
And they know that this is a time of need for it as their ace pitcher, Zack Wheeler, deals with a blood clot near his right shoulder that puts the game of baseball and its importance into perspective.
But the game has to go on. Wheeler’s spot in the rotation needs to be replaced. There is a division lead that needs to be held, playoff series expectations to be met. All with a team that has largely remained the same over the past couple of seasons.
“We have a lot of leadership because we have a veteran group,” said Thomson. “So, they’ve been through the ringer, they know what it’s like to play 162 games year after year after year. They know that, especially our guys, what I talk about all the time is the ebbs and flows of the season and how to maintain that. Their leadership is about not only reminding each other of that, but by teaching the young players what that’s like. Coming in with energy every day and having a short memory.”
Maybe that doesn’t seem as important as Kyle Schwarber banging home runs at the pace he’s doing this year, or Trea Turner being the ultimate leadoff man, or Bryce Harper being Bryce Harper, and so on and so forth. But with so many trying times this season – none more than the recent news of Wheeler – it is a great resolve to fall back on.
“I think quality leadership is important,” said veteran outfielder Nick Castellanos. “Not just in sports, just like in anything period. I think that we have a lot of players that have been around. We also have a lot of players around that the only thing they really have left to do in their career is win. So, when you have that, a lot of the shenanigans kind of fall by the wayside. And then because you have people with large resumes doing things correctly, that kind of sets the tone for everybody else.
“There’s a lot of different types of leadership. Character of a team is important. A lot of times when people say ‘leader,’ people are assuming there’s one guy that is rallying up the troops. I don’t really think that’s the case here. I think you have a good group of men that go about their business the right way. The game has rewarded them with contracts and this and that, and now they’re in a space where all they want is to win.”
Yes, the slumps that have plagued the team in the playoffs the past couple of years cannot happen again if they are to reach the ultimate goal of World Series champions. And the bullpen certainly needs to be less rocky come October. Perhaps the lack of change in key personnel will be questioned whenever this season comes to an end.
Or maybe president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, a future Hall of Famer, and Thomson see more in this team than just the need to add another outfielder (Harrison Bader) and a lights-out closer (Jhoan Duran) last month at the trading deadline.
Maybe it’s about leadership.
“There’s a lot of service time on this team, a lot of experience and I think there’s a lot of guys to learn from,” said Weston Wilson. “I think it’s incredibly important. It’s what kind of controls the clubhouse, brings everybody together. But a lot of that can be unsaid because of just the presence of people in the clubhouse and how they go about their business and setting examples for younger guys. Just leading by example and verbally I think is very important.
“There’s a lot of people that stand up in different ways. A lot of it has to do with personality, whether you’re a verbal guy, non-verbal guy. I think you’ve got some guys in the bullpen; you’ve got some guys in the starting pitching. You have hitters, defensive guys, all that stuff. Everybody is putting in their portion.”
No barrier this season – from reliever José Alvarado getting suspended for 80 games to Aaron Nola being shelved by injury for more than three months – may deter the Phillies more than the recent news of Wheeler. If recent results from starters like Ranger Suárez, Cristopher Sánchez and Jesús Luzardo become the norm, Wheeler’s absence may be somewhat replaced on the field. Off it though, learning how to deal with news such as that, requires more.
“Rob addressed the team and he kind of told us all officially,” Castellanos said. “We kind of all started hearing whispers of it the day before. And then first thing first, life comes first. So, we all know that we need him to be okay. How’s Dominique doing (his wife), just make sure his household is good. And then after that, the starting pitchers, again, we don’t have a bunch of kids in our rotation, we have grown men in our rotation. They all know what they have to do. They know that Zack’s going to need some time so each individual person kind of needs to tighten it up a little bit, step up a little bit, collectively. But again, a lot of that goes unsaid. It’s not like we need a teacher to tell us what to do.
“Baseball doesn’t lie. There’s a lot of things you have to do correctly for baseball to reward you. Winning just doesn’t happen by accident.”
No. And leaders make sure it doesn’t. We will see in the next few months if that’s enough for these Phillies.
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