The 2020 World Series is tied 1-1 and to say that the teams have different resources at their disposal is an understatement. A look at the graph below shows you how much each time paid for their starting lineups. The Dodgers hold a 3-1 spending advantage when looking at these numbers.
The Rays make the World Series built on thinking differently. They’ve been called team chaos by some reporters- a team constantly willing to change their lineup or pitchers based on the situation. In their game 2 win, the Rays utilized 18 players from their 28 man roster while also taking advantage of a Dodgers team that did not have a starter rested enough to pitch. The Dodgers’ relievers struggled to put together 9 innings, and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was honest with his feedback on the struggles – “People have to adjust to certain roles. And when you’re talking about playing seven days in a row and how you can get as many outs as you can in the [NL]CS, yeah, these guys are in uncharted territory. A credit to them, they’re not making excuses … but we still need those guys to get important outs going forward for us to win this thing.” The Rays have been using pitchers in hybrid roles throughout this season, making the most of their resources and at the same time preparing perfectly for the post-season in this sprint season and playoffs.
Because of their lack of resources, they focused on building the best collection of pieces they can adjust depending on the situation. The “clean-up” hitter, batting 4th in the lineup, has been historically known as the most important batter for a team. In both Game 1 and Game 2 the Rays substituted their number 4 hitter for a pinch-hitter to take advantage of a matchup. This would be shocking if they had not done it the entire season. The players understand their roles and put the team ahead of their own needs.
The best lesson to learn from the Rays (and the Moneyball A’s before them) is to look for the advantages you can create with the resources at your disposal instead of chasing new (and more expensive) ones. For those who love Moneyball and sports business, Jonah Keri wrote a great book about the Rays approach to building a successful team based on Wall Street a few years ago https://amzn.to/3okNOKP
Dan Julien's Musings 