#280 - Daily MG - The Only Rule Is It Has To Work by Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller - 2 of 6

"We have a friend, Russell Carleton, a clinical psychologist by day and a sabermetric writer on the side. He consulted for the Cleveland Indians for a while, and has since written about clubhouse chemistry for us at Baseball Prospectus. Ben writes to him in mid-May: “Our players report to spring training this weekend, and then we have about 10 days before Opening Day. Do you have any recommendations or suggestions? Surveys or personality tests we should administer? Spring training group activities? You name it, we’re probably willing to try it.” Russell immediately writes back with some suggestions. “As hokey as they seem, there’s evidence that those corporate icebreaker things actually work,” he says. “My personal favorite is ‘two truths and a lie.’ You write two truths and one lie about yourself on an index card and walk around to meet everyone else and vote for which one you think is the lie. Then everyone reveals which things are which. In a group of 25–30 guys, it will get kinda bawdy, but whatever. Everyone gets a turn. Everyone reveals a little bit about themselves, but has control over how much. It’s a good, safe, get-to-know-you game. “I’d recommend water balloons one day. It will be summer. Cheap and so much fun. Guys love them because you can throw them at each other, but it’s not an actual thing that will hurt you. If there’s a theme to any of this, it’s ‘12-year-old birthday party.’ The baseball stuff kinda takes care of itself. “Start a star sticker chart. 10 stars and you get a burrito. Use food to your advantage. Stars can be given for anything you want to reinforce. Yes, I’m treating them like 4-year-olds. The first rule of child psychology is that it applies throughout all of life. They will scoff at it and three days later be checking out how many stars they have. “Have an absolute non-sequitur item that is given out to someone each day, by team vote. Funny hats always work. Smith gets the funny hat because he went 3-for-4. A ritual will develop around the presentation of this hat. Go with it. When I worked day care, we had ‘The Golden Dustpan’ for the cleanest room. The kids went crazy over the Golden Dustpan. You might also try a crazy toilet plunger (spray paint works wonders…). The guy who gets it gets to keep it in his locker as a sign that he had the best day, but with the caveat that if the toilet gets clogged up, he’s gotta go in there and plunge it out. A little scatological humor. You are both being honored and humiliated. “Eat together as a team as much as possible. For the first few days, have a ‘don’t sit with the same person twice’ rule. Watch to make sure that everyone has a buddy. Actively approach guys who are friendly, team-leader types and ask them to keep an eye out for loners. Some guys do like to just be by themselves and that’s okay, but loneliness might be the most dangerous thing a baseball team has to guard against." - Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller