Joe Maddon’s Way is Now the Cubs Way
The Psychology of a Mad Scientist
Joe Maddon does things a little bit differently. He is unorthodox and quirky.
He is a hippy, a philosopher, and a baseball genius all rolled up into one. He is what some may call a renaissance man.
He likes his wine. He has a 70’s era hippy van.
He wears cool black glasses. He has themed road trips.
Harry Caray would have loved him.
He insists on players having short memories. His theory is that players should celebrate wins and not dwell on losses.
“You win hard for 30 minutes, and you lose hard for 30 minutes. After that, it’s gone.” — Maddon’s concept, according to Ben Zobrist
Combining his off-the-field psychology with his unorthodox managing style on the field, Maddon is unique and self-assured.
By the end of 2014, the team that Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer had created in Chicago was ready to compete for championships. With an assist from former GM Jim Hendry, the talent was assembled.
All the Cubs needed now was the type of leader who could navigate the rocky waters of a 107 year drought and a curse.
When Joe Maddon became available after the 2014 season due to a quirk in his contact, Theo Epstein had his man.
“Last Thursday, we learned that Joe Maddon,who may be as well suited as anyone in the industry to manage the challenges that lie ahead of us had become a free agent.”
“Once you see him not afraid to try new things, and you see how well thought out they were, and you see him fearless … and you see the feel he has to lead players, when you see how comfortable he is in his own skin and with his own methods, it makes the picture clearer.” — Theo Epstein
The Cubs had their new leader. Expectations were high. Cubby Nation had never seen anything like Joe Maddon before.
“Don’t ever let the pressure exceed the pleasure”
Maddonism
In February of 2015, the Mad Scientist and all of his quirks were ready to lead the ‘lovable losers’.
Upon his arrival in Mesa, he got started right away changing the culture of a franchise that had embraced futility for over a century.
“Don’t ever let the pressure exceed the pleasure” — Maddonism
It became clear quickly that it was not going to be business as usual for the Cubs. Maddon set the tone early.
“Why would I want to get in the way of their day with some inane rules that mean nothing? Dress has nothing to do with your success or failure, how you wear your socks, if they have long hair, if they have an earring or tattoo. Why would I ever care about something like that?” — Joe Maddon
One of the aspects of Maddon’s style is to provide short, concise catch-phrases that the team can adopt. The genius in it is that Joe knows baseball is a mindset maybe more than it is physical ability. A 162 game season is a grind.
Maddon wants his players to just play. He doesn’t want them to much work or too much thinking. He wants them to enjoy what they are doing.
“In our world, for me, every day is Friday night.” — Maddonism
Enjoying life is a core principal of Maddon’s way. It is a must for his team as well.
“Respect 90.” — Maddonism
He expects his players to hustle. It’s his view that people are watching all of the time. He wants his players to give 100% when they are between the white lines. In other words, bust it down the line on a ground ball to the shortstop. Play like you care.
It became obvious quickly that this was not going to be your ordinary manager. For the Chicago Cubs this would work out to be a great thing.
In his first full season with the Cubs he led his club all the way to the NLCS. They had won 97 regular season games and earned the second Wild Card berth.
Maddon knew all too well that the gold standard of the National League Central were the St. Louis Cardinals(that’s hard to admit) and the Cubs chief rival. They were 8–11 against them in the regular season. After beating the Pirates in the Wild Card game the Cubs were set to face their division winning rivals in the NLDS.
“They’ve had more experience than we have,” Maddon said. “You have to beat the better teams to be the best team.”
After losing game one to John Lackey and the Cards, the Cubs won three straight and advanced to the NLCS.
It was on to the 2015 NLCS and the New York Mets. Running into amazing pitching, the Cubs were swept out of the playoffs and the 2015 season.
By anyone’s standard, the Cubs had over-achieved just a bit. Theo Epstein had asked Cubs Nation to give him five years when he took over in 2011. The Cubs arrived a season early.
The Maddon Way produced positive results in its first year in Chicago. The stage was set for the epic 2016 season.
When the Cubs arrived in Mesa to begin spring training in February of 2016 it was with extraordinary expectations. This Cubs team was entering the season as the odds-on favorite to win the World Series.
As a result of this, the Maddon Way was on full display.
Joe Maddon’s managing style works best when it has many moving pieces.
Theo Epstein went out after the 2015 season and spent a large amount of money to strengthen an already stacked roster.
Adding John Lackey, Ben Zobrist, and Jason Heyward, it gave Maddon a full arsenal to work with.
Two new Maddonisms for the 2016 season were revealed to start setting the tone for what had the potential and the expectation of being an historic season.
“Try Not To Suck”
“Embrace the Target”
Maddonisms
The roster for the season was a great mixture of young talent and veteran experience. Young superstars Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo were the young faces of the franchise. With veterans like Jon Lester, John Lackey, David Ross, and Ben Zobrist balancing out the youth with world series experience, it was no wonder this team was being highly touted.
Maddon knew the task at hand was monumental, and he made all of his decisions in spring training and moving forward based on going to the World Series.
As the 103 win season progressed, the versatility of his players and his forward facing management of the team, made the reality of finally ending the curse of the billy goat very real.
When Theo Epstein made the epic trade to bring Aroldis Chapman to Wrigley Field, along with his 105 m.p.h. fastball, the buzz would crescendo to a roar.
“Fly the W” became a mantra for fans as Maddon and his boys steamrolled towards the post season.
It became routine to hear the refrain of, “Hey Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are going to win today!” rolling over Wrigley after wins.
All the while, Maddon stayed his course, and continued to manage every game his way. He never wavered. And his club was not sucking.
They won the division by a ridiculous 17.5 games.
In the postseason there were multiple times the Cubs had their backs against the wall. It appeared that the 71 year old curse and the 108 year old drought were not going to be ended easily.
The Maddon Way was questioned several times during the postseason. But it stood up to the criticism and it prevailed.
Many said that Maddon misused Aroldis Chapman in the World Series. They said that he pulled Kyle Hendricks too soon in game 7.
But in spite of the doubts, the players embraced the target, they respected 90, and they did not suck.
Down three games to one, the Cubs won game five 3–2 behind Jon Lester.
Game six was a blowout, 9–3 behind Jake Arrieta.
The stage was set for an epic game seven.
After squandering a 6–3 lead, and with the Cubs reeling, it rained.
Anthony Rizzo called the rain delay “the most important thing to happen to the Chicago Cubs in the past 100 years. I don’t think there’s any way we win the game without it.”
When Ben Zobrist snuck a ball down the left field line in the top of the 10th, the depression turned into elation and disbelief. Everything that Joe Maddon had taught his boys up to that epic moment finally broke through.
Maddon has revealed his new slogans for the 2017 year. Picking up where he left off in 2016, Maddon has set the philosophical direction for the newest version of the Cubs.
That’s Cub
“That would be Cub, that’s Cub to move it forward, to win a World Series and then come back the next season and you’re happy and you’re impressed and you love what you’ve done, but you have to continue to move it forward” — Joe Maddon
Uncomfortable
“It’s really important to be uncomfortable. If you become a comfortable person, I think that subtracts growth from the equation. I think if you remain somewhat uncomfortable, you’ll continue to grow. You don’t become stagnant. You don’t become complacent, set in your ways. On every level, I want us to remain uncomfortable. I think that’s a really positive word.” — Joe Maddon
Don’t Forget the Heartbeat
“Why? Last year, Game 7, Cleveland, things went badly for a bit. We came back and regrouped because our guys got together in a room, void of any kind of statistical, video, analytical information — they went in there as human beings and came out unified. Everybody just wants to talk about all this other stuff. Everybody’s forgetting the heartbeat. I don’t want us to forget the heartbeat, ever.” — Joe Maddon
With the weight of more than a century of world championship drought and a curse off of their backs, Joe Maddon will have the versatile 2017 version of the Chicago Cubs looking forward and not back.
“We still want to try not to suck — you can’t wear that out,” Maddon says. “It’s got to be the same, but it’s got to be different, if that makes any sense whatsoever. That’s where my mind is. I really feel confident. If you look at our core group and the youth and the inexperience turning into experience, and the authenticity of our players, I want to believe the humility of our players, all those things as they are, are what I’m relying on to permit us to be good for a period of time.” — Joe Maddon
Maddon’s way is now the Cub’s way.
Doug Preszler is the type of person who can be a Cubs fan and an Iowa fan while living in South Dakota. He is a man who cares not for regional loyalty. He can be found on Twitter here, telling tales of the Dakotan Cubs fan’s existence.
