What the Mariners and King Leonidas Have in Common

Team chemistry is an often overlooked piece to a team’s success. The New York Yankees would be the classic example of that: George/Hank Steinbrenner shells out boatloads of cash to buy any All-Star he can get his hands on, and then expects them all to coexist in the same locker room. Those hotshots are not used to sharing attention, and their performance often takes a hit. But then look at the Red Sox. This generation of BoSox has been the most fun-loving team in all of sports, I’d say. From Kevin Millar’s “Cowboy Up” to Nomar fastening Pedro to a bullpen pole, to Manny Being Manny, team chemistry has not been a problem at Fenway. Let’s take a peek at how their chemistry has carried over to on-field performance: Red Sox, two World Series; Yankees, zero World Series. Where the importance of team chemistry manifests itself most is undoubtedly in the midst of a playoff run. When teammates can rally around each other, amazing skillsets and superstar talent take a back seat role. Since 2004, Boston has won 28 postseason games, and the Yanks have won 11.

But a novel kind of team chemistry attracted my attention a little while ago when the Sox played against the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners bullpen’s chemistry is something else. Talk about things to rally around! The Red Sox had reversing the curse, and the Mariners bullpen has the movie “300”. Three year veteran reliever Mark Lowe started the tradition of hoisting gladiator-esque warrior helmets above the bullpen before each game. As Lowe explains it, “We all stick together and we’re all there for each other…it kind of symbolizes our mindset. When Lowe and the rest of the ‘pen watched the movie, they fell in love with it, and thought the message of camaraderie was fitting for their bullpen. Since then, they have found a replica of King Leonidas’s warrior mask, and started carrying it out the bullpen with them before each game. Now, they have a number of helmets, including Russell Crowe’s spiked helmet from the movie “Gladiator”. “Being the idiots that we are,” Lowe said, “we’ve taken it to extremes”. A self-proclaimed group of idiots, eh? Well, that worked for the 2004 Red Sox, whom Johnny Damon called “a bunch of idiots”. Having fun and team chemistry is an oft-forgotten-about criterion for a winning team. So far, it’s been working for the Mariners, who have the AL’s third-best bullpen ERA, lead the MLB in saves, and have one of the best closers in the game in former Red-Sock David Aardsma. I wouldn’t be surprised if the lighthearted atmosphere of the Seattle bullpen spills over to the rest of clubhouse, and the Mariners start to make a push in the competitive AL West, where they trail the Angels by 6.5 games.