The MLB Postseason: Tradition won't do

America’s pastime, full of lore, needs a change. Yes I said it. Light me up. As someone who has played baseball and been a fan since I could swing a bat, I am cognizant of the tradition. But even the most storied institutions must move with the times.

Recently, Rob Manfred and Major League Baseball proposed a revamping of the postseason structure. The change will expand the playoffs to a total of 14 teams, 7 from each league. These 7 teams will be made up of 3 division winners as per usual, and 4 wild card teams. The top record in each league, respectively, will receive a first round bye and the other two division winners will be able to choose their opponent out of the wild card teams. The two other wild card teams will be matched up. For more detail, you can read up here. 

Whew, now that the specifics are out there. I will admit, I do not agree with all of the proposal. But I’m going to start with what I love, and what baseball needs. Expanding the playoff bracket from 10 total teams to 14 teams allows for more competition for meaningful games in September. Often, we see mid-level clubs with little to nothing to play for. What’s worse than watching the San Diego Padres linger around .500 baseball to have no chance at the playoffs and get a mediocre draft pick? This will put more juice into the already grueling and, admittedly, boring regular season schedule. 

Another part of the proposal (that is not mentioned above) is the changing of the garbage that is the current wild card round. In the new format, the wild card round will be a best of 3 rather than the one game, winner takes all format. This new format gets rid of a dominant pitching performance determining a wild card win, but showcases a club’s full roster, while being short enough to not be an eyesore. 

Now, the MLB should entirely bypass the “choose your opponent” nonsense. This an unneeded and utterly useless gimmick that the MLB should avoid at all costs. The playoffs, in all sports, are beautiful because of the unpredictability of it all and “fate” driven matchups that come out of it. There’s a reason why this has never been done in professional sports. Enough said. 

At the end of the day, baseball has been a sport renowned for tradition. But along with tradition comes complacency and stagnancy. If anything, away from the specific rule changes, the question is, does Major League Baseball want to evolve or sink away into tradition? I hope it’s not the latter.

Eccentric Betting Lines: Super Bowl

Tide Commercial Runs

Over Under line: 1.5 advertisements

As we all know, Tide (a subsidiary of Proctor and Gamble) took over both the 2018 and 2019 Super Bowl. Riding the wave of the Tide Pod meme, they delivered advertisements featuring everything from the Old Spice guy to David Harbour (the cop from Stranger Things). With less hype around Tide this time around, can P&G continue their dedication to virality, or do they pull back the horses? Let’s put some money on it. 

Percentage of Chiefs Touchdown drives in 7 plays or under

Over Under line: 65%

Lots of talk has been around the Chiefs’ ability to score quick. By quick, I mean very quick. During the playoffs, the chiefs have scored in seven plays or under at an astonishing 72.7% rate (8/11 touchdown drives). With their big play ability, and track team of Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, Mecole Hardman at wide receiver, 6 points can be on the board before you even blink. During the regular season, the 49ers gave up a league low 5.9 yard per pass attempt, were 5th in total sacks (with 48 total sacks), allowed the least passing yards (169.2 a game), and were second in the NFL in total yards allowed. Will this high flying, pass happy, Chiefs offense be able to replicate the same big play ability this Sunday against a seemingly kryptonian opponent?

Load Management, a topic that shouldn't exist

Load management. Alas, it has joined the buzzword ranks alongside “DeflateGate”, “Adjustments”, and “Trap games”. But this one is here to stay and I hate it. The basis of load management lies within resting players during games in order to keep players fresh and healthy for the playoffs or their long term careers. 

To assess the sports “ethics” of load management, we must define the purpose of winning in the NBA. Should basketball teams aim to:

• Win only when necessary (the playoffs, for games that determine seeds)

OR

• Win at all costs for both competitive reasons as well as for fans

If the first statement is true, then by all means, load manage your players to your heart’s content. But the fact is, the former option isn’t true. It’s plain wrong. The NBA is not purely a competition, but an economic and social institution. Fans and entire cities dole out hard earned money and sacrifice precious time to see their sports idols play. Robbing the NBA and its fans of seeing their favorite players is odious and narrow minded. While the argument that load management enables players to compete in meaningful playoff games, cuts wear and tear, and allows for players to be healthy in the playoffs, skipping games is a perversity.

Currently, the NBA is able to fine teams $100,000 for sitting players during nationally broadcasted games (not even locally broadcasted games). Many may think, “that’s not enough”. But in reality, it’s not only insufficient, but completely erroneous. The real issue of load management lies in the NBA’s rigorous schedule, rather than the parameters and rules that surround “managing” players. Instead of disincentivizing billion dollar franchises with menial fines, the NBA must cut down total games played, back to backs, and other rigorous practices during the season. This not only limits injuries, but to incentivizes players to play the game that they love, without ruining their own lives and the experiences of fans everywhere.

Don't Travel, Explore

Is “travel” a buzzword? It sure seems like it. The word “travel” is usually tucked in between the phrases passion and hobby. While seeing the nooks and crannies of the world may be “what you love doing”, ask yourself exactly why you travel. What do you gain from it? Is it to escape from reality? What have you learned or taken away from the act of traveling?

I want to start this off by saying that in no way am I disincentivizing people to travel. By all means, go on a Mediterranean cruise, skydive in Dubai, get eaten by an orca whale in Canada, I don’t mind. The purpose of this article is to challenge your conception of traveling and introduce the idea of exploration.

When people speak about travel, glowing testimonials accompany them. Whether it be a new lease on life, inspiration to start a company, or a realization of pressing social issues, traveling (often to foreign lands) is life changing. Take a moment to think about how each vacation has changed you or contributed to your answer to the question, “Who am I?”. Has traveling really impacted your personal identity? Or does traveling act as a mindless escape?

In a world of social media and connectivity, we’re constantly exposed to the vastness of the world, almost to a fault. We get caught up in dreams, wants, and escaping. This mindset sacrifices focus on the present and the domestic portions of our lives. In the past couple of years, I’ve attempted to cut down on quote on quote “traveling” and have made a focused effort to invest more time in exploration. Let me dive into this.

Exploration, to me, looks like visiting the bodega down the street on a Sunday, speaking to the local bookstore owner, or finding a new reading nook in a new cafe nearby. The official definition is to “travel in or through…in order to learn or familiarize oneself”. Exploration should be done in places we physically reside in rather than places we long to be in. Where we call home, is arguably where we should be investing the most energy. This is where we form our closest friendships, start our families, and live our lives. Yet, many people seek to escape reality, often to far away lands instead of familiarizing themselves with what surrounds them, arguably what’s most important.

“Who and what we surround ourselves with is who and what we become.”

— Karen Moning

Take a moment to read the quote above and ask yourself: Why not explore, rather than travel? In the next couple of days, take 30 minutes to an hour to walk around your neighborhood. Be open minded, and let the seemingly familiar and mundane landscape surprise you.

The three pillars of employee experience and why startups need to take a closer look

Startups must supplement high business growth with thought to employee and workplace experience. When the two aren't aligned, employees can feel neglected and lose sight of the company’s goals.

This summer, I’ve had the pleasure of interning at a high growth startup called Barn2Door. The Company empowers Farmers to sell food directly through online channels to engage their local communities. Since joining three months ago, Barn2Door has grown from 20 employees to now 27. The Company is on pace to double by year end, which creates a lot of  energy in the office as new employees onboard. Being comfortable in an uncomfortable environment is NOT easy. But in the face of discomfort, a well thought out workplace experience can ease the discomfort, help new employees integrate, and encourage employees to stay grounded.

It takes foresight and empathy to acknowledge the discomfort that comes with growth. Employees succeed when they are aware of how and why the workplace tailors to them. Companies succeed when employees come to work motivated day in and day out. It's easy to see why it’s essential to focus on employee experience as companies evolve and scale - it encourages productivity for the company and professional growth for the employee (a win-win). 

Workplace experience boils down to three main pillars: Doing, Seeing, and Feeling. Each idea covers different aspects of how employees interact with their respective workplaces. These topics circle back to how workers feel and what companies can change to better enable employee experience.

• Doing: Is the workplace enjoyable? Does the office enable and promote people to collaborate, share information, and be productive?

• Seeing: Does the workplace contribute to a positive public image of the company? Do employees see evidence of the Company mission?

• Feeling: Do the workplace and activities within it make employees want to recruit their friends and colleagues to join the Company? Is the workplace something that employees are proud of?

At Barn2Door, Doing looks like open office space that enable employees to finish individual work and collaborate with others in communal areas. Seeing looks as simple as weekly Farmer spotlights showcasing real Farmers we help. Feeling at Barn2Door is management’s willingness to engage and listen to everyone’s thoughts, in regular meetings (daily, weekly, monthly) and through informal company-wide social events (e.g. “Thirsty Thursdays”). 

I urge you to think of your own organizations with these ideas in mind. How do you feel about your organization? Does it enable you to be your best self and contribute to the organization? And, how can these realizations push workplace experience forward in tandem with growth? If you happen to be in management, take a moment to not only ask yourself these questions, but pose these questions to your employees. Find out how you can further enable your employees, that’s growth too.

To escape or to reminisce

As I visit more and more spaces— whether it be restaurants, bars, cafes, cafeterias, or parks, I can't help but wonder and let my mind race. What does this space make me feel? How does it make me feel this way? What types of people are here? Why are they here? What do they have in common?

Queries upon queries fill my consciousness. Most of the time, they're aimless, often, subconscious thoughts. I've been trying to do a better job of materializing these thoughts, journaling, and writing vignettes. It's been more of an effort to organize the mosh posh of ideas and observations that flow through my head. 

I find it funny (and a little frustrating) that the urge to document my musings surges when I travel. Yes, that's a good thing. It gets me writing. Traveling to different cities and foreign lands gives a much broader and inspiring sample to ponder upon. But, aren't the spaces, people, food, and experiences in our near vicinity the ones that we should be analyzing the most? 

The reason that I'm speaking about this is because, yet again, I've come back from a weekend spent in seemingly familiar yet unfamiliar places. Last weekend, I traveled to San Francisco to run a 5 mile trail race with a couple of cousins. In the wake of the race, I hopped from one corner of the city to the other, exploring the nooks and crannies of the city. In just a couple of days, I had visited 6 bars, 12 restaurants, 4 parks, one lake, and a surf shop. 

A motif that kept on filling my mind all weekend was the question: To escape or to reminisce? This thought caught fire when my cousins and I had an animated conversation about our favorite Pixar films. Mine being Ratatouille. What that film reminds me of is the power of nostalgia. I find that some of the most powerful emotions stem from the feeling of comfort and familiarity. Whether it be a dish that grandma used to make, or the smell of surfboard wax. Deep inside, everyone craves this familiarity. I found myself in a surf shop/cafe nestled into the Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Francisco obsessing over the music of my childhood, the smell of wax, the laid back attitude of the barista, and the gloss of the ocean breeze. Why don't all spaces aim to reinvigorate the feeling of nostalgia in the people that travel through them?

On the other hand, I found myself at a tiki bar, nestled on a quiet, commercial street around the Civic Center neighborhood. The bouncer was lounged outside of what could've been a neighborhood HR Block office. The Doors opened, a black velvet curtain was unraveled and suddenly I was transported into a land of shaded lamps of all colors, and western styled wannabe Polynesian decor. The only place that could rival the seemingly tacky, but incredibly tasteful aura was Disneyland. Only a space like Disneyland (and apparently this bar) could transport me with a push of a door and an unveiling of a curtain. There is something to be said about the experience of being transported. It's why we crave to disappear from the sunny streets of San Francisco into a place where we lose track of sunlight and where we actually are.

Often, my musings always boomerang back to me thinking of spaces I want to create and what spaces I want to explore. I could easily get caught up in searching for something familiar and comforting, which is what I tell myself is what I prefer. But, being able to experience and soak in spaces that are foreign and unexpected always strikes a chord. It makes we wonder if what we really crave is exploration of the unknown and escape from reality. I've always been one for the comfort of my mother's cooking, or my most frequented surf break. In fact, I've convinced myself that the familiarity is what people crave over the unknown or escapism. Small experiences that I find in traveling to unknown cities, new neighborhoods, or restaurants keep me guessing. What do I really crave? Is it exploration to see the world differently, or is it exploration to chase nostalgia and normality?