Joe Girardi wept in the post-game press conference after Alex Rodriguez’s final game as a New York Yankee.
After the awkward morning announcement last Sunday that A-Rod’s last game for New York would be Friday, Girardi didn’t have the easiest workweek.
Girardi’s tears came after he kept Rodriguez on the bench for most of the week, and yet the manager wanted (what is potentially) A-Rod’s last game to be special. After serving as the designated hitter, Rodriguez took the field at third base for the ninth inning.
When the announcement came that Rodriguez's days as a Yankee would last less than a week, Girardi said A-Rod, one of the games most prolific and puzzling stars of the steroids era, would dictate his own playing time. A-Rod wanted to play, but Girardi kept him on the bench. A couple days later, when Rodriguez wasn’t seeing any action, Girardi apologized for his initial comments, saying his emotions had gotten the best of him when he said A-Rod would control his game appearances.
"My job description does not entail farewell tours. My job description is to try to win every game and to try to put everyone in the best possible position to do that. And that’s what I’m trying to do," Girardi told reporters.
This was hard to swallow given the recent farewell tours for Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. Plus, Girardi kept Mark Teixeira in the Yankees' lineup even though he was batting below .200 before this weekend.
Girardi's handling of this situation wasn’t perfect, but there is plenty to learn from it.
Discomfort Of Standing Your Ground
Somebody has to be unwilling to compromise – no matter what the circumstances are. While Girardi didn’t exactly stick to this throughout the A-Rod good-bye week, often times organizations win because the person leading the operation stands their ground. This is easy to do when everything is going well. It’s a little different when you hit some bumps. It would’ve been easy to trot A-Rod out there and make the games about him. It takes a little more to go against the grain. What Girardi did is uncomfortable. He had to eat his own words from last Sunday and put aside his relationship with Rodriguez. Leaders have to be willing to put themselves in those spots or risk falling behind as a team.
"No one individual is ever bigger than this game. No one, no one, no one, no one. And I’m not going to forget that. As much as I care about him, and as much as we’ve been through together, it’s hard, believe me it’s really hard, but I have to remember that," Girardi said when he addressed not playing A-Rod.
After playing out the week the way Girardi did, the Yankees have won 4 in a row and sit 3.5 games out of a wild card spot in the American League.
Loneliness In Leading
As a leader, you have to be willing to go it alone. That’s part of the discomfort mentioned above. It’s also knowing that you will be the one who will have to answer the tough questions. You will be the one held accountable. You will be the one whose words will be examined. Girardi’s statement about not doing farewell tours flopped because of the treatment Jeter received. The future Hall of Fame shortstop was far from an All-Star in his final year, but Jeter kept his spot in the lineup. As Girardi faced criticism for how he handled A-Rod's final week, there wasn't a parade of people seconding the manager's approach. Know that there are times when nobody will back you up and your job still remains to lead and find a way to produce winning results.
Navigate Bad Spots
Girardi was in an unenviable position. When that happens you have to figure out how to respond to it. Clearly, Yankees management was ready to let go of Rodriguez. His final playing days in pinstripes rested in the hands of Girardi. A-Rod, who sits four home runs away from 700, wanted to play. This left Girardi in the middle. Quite simply, when you’re elevated to leadership status, you’re going to be put in difficult spots. The key here is to have the resolve to navigate them, even as they continue to twist and turn because of multiple dynamics. Girardi had to deal with Yankees ownership, the media, his own words, Rodriguez, and the past treatment of Jeter and Rivera. He adjusted as he went through the week. Be prepared to do the same.
Sports Leadership Notebook
Tebow, Baseball And The Only Takeaway That Will Make A Difference
Tim Tebow is going to try to make it as a baseball player. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Tebow will be holding a workout for Major League Baseball teams later this month. Maybe you’ve had too much of the Tebowing hype machine. Maybe you can’t get enough of it. That’s not the point here.
Those lobbing critiques at Tebow for doing this for attention seem ridiculous. The guy won the Heisman Trophy and two national titles in college. As an under-skilled NFL quarterback, he still won a playoff game. He’s got a TV job on ESPN. He’s not leaving the sports scene anytime soon.
Tebow played baseball in high school. In his final season he batted .494 on a team that made it to the final four of Florida’s state playoffs. Today, he turns 29 years old. If he wants to pursue this, there’s no reason he should give up on this dream. That should be your take away here. Don’t give up on the dream, as ridiculous as others may think it is. The critics are going to say whatever they want about Tebow. He’ll either make it as a baseball player, or he won’t. He’ll either be able to hit a big league breaking ball or he won’t. But no matter the result, he won’t have any regret about not trying.
Hope Solo Graceless In Defeat, Then Roasted By Her Former Coach
Kids, here’s this week's leadership lesson in what not to do.
In an upset, Sweden eliminated the U.S. women’s soccer team on penalty kicks in the Olympic quarterfinals. Sweden executed a conservative game plan, which led U.S. goalie and team problem child Hope Solo to respond with name calling. After the loss, Solo said she was proud of her team. "But I also think we played a bunch of cowards."
There is some backstory to the drama here. It is the contentious relationship between Solo and Pia Sundhage, the former USWNT coach and current coach of the victorious Swedish team.
Not only did Sundhage grab the victory, she had the final word and roasted Solo with, "It’s OK to be a coward if you win." And added, "I'm going to Rio, she's going home."
Full Hope Solo quote on Sweden after US was eliminated from the Olympics today. pic.twitter.com/UZVCAeur6m
— Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl) August 12, 2016
