Welcome to Snyder's Soapbox! Here, I pontificate about matters related to Major League Baseball on a weekly basis. Some of the topics will be pressing matters, some might seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things, and most will be somewhere in between. The good thing about this website is that it's free, and you are allowed to click away. If you stay, you'll get smarter, though. That's a money-back guarantee. Let's get to it.
It's that time of the year again. Clubhouses are being taped over, goggles are being stocked and champagne is flowing. It's clinching season. Sometimes teams don't go all out, but most do. Between divisions, wild-card spots, the Wild Card Series, the divisional round, the two LCS and the World Series, raucous clubhouse celebrations are everywhere.
Many will proclaim that this is stupid and/or overkill.
Do they really need to celebrate just making the playoffs?
Yes!
You're damn right they do.
There is no other sport that takes so long to make the playoffs. Baseball starts with spring training in the middle of February and then plays 162 regular-season games with teams sometimes going nearly a calendar month. This isn't to suggest it's the most physically demanding game -- I'll let all the hockey guys kick and scream about that -- but it is to say that making the playoffs after playing basically every day for six months is a big enough accomplishment to celebrate.
Go nuts. Blow it out!
Do they really need to celebrate making it past the first round?
Why not? What does it hurt you?
If someone asked what I'd think about a No. 1 seed having a massive celebration after beating a No. 8 seed in the first round in basketball or hockey, I'd say go for it. A 14-3 team in the NFL goes nuts in celebration after knocking out an 8-9 team? Why not? It's hard damn work to get to 14-3 in that league. I'm sure someone would walk along with an "act like you've been there before" comment, but what if the team hadn't? And so what if they have? You're only allowed to get excited about accomplishing a feat once?
I've gone on my favorite roller coaster more than a dozen times and I still get just as excited as I did the first time. Is there a suggestion that a player who has won multiple World Series titles somehow should care less and get less excited next time he makes it?
I don't understand all this pushback to players celebrating accomplishments.
On this same matter, I wrote this two years ago:
People work hard and accomplish things together. It's only natural to celebrate said accomplishments together. What's with all the negativity. Let's embrace the celebrations and, hell, maybe even let it flow in other walks of life.
Now, I'm not suggesting any time there's a huge success in your office that a gigantic party with people spraying beer and champagne all over everything is required. I'm also not saying it shouldn't happen. Let it flow when goals are met or awards are won. C'mon people, we're only here for a limited amount of time. We've got to have some fun while we're here.
Celebrating success is healthy after hard work has led to a great accomplishment. This is something that baseball has long gotten right and the rest of the sports world needs to catch up.
Right on, 2022 Matt.
I'm picturing offices throwing bashes after making a big sale and I absolutely love it. A factory completes a work order and the employees start showering each other with champagne and slugging beers. Actually show up to your 4:30 p.m. Friday meeting? You get a trophy. Yeah, it also sounds outlandish but that's the point. We shouldn't always try to compare "real" life to sports anyway.
In general, though, I think letting loose and celebrating accomplishments is incredibly good for our mental health.
This is an area where baseball has long had it right. Sure, the tradition stems from when there were only a small handful of chances to celebrate in such fashion each season, but I love how baseball has embraced the over-the-top clubhouse festivities even for the sixth seed in each league. Again, it's healthy to provide such a release after a grueling regular season.
As for the complainers out there, I again ask a simple question: How does it hurt you?
The answer is it doesn't. If you let it bother you, you also have the ability to stop looking. I know it's a novel concept to simply ignore something you don't like instead of throwing a fit, but it's really easy. Just don't let it get to you. Life's too short to get so worked up, man.
