MLB Playoffs: Fear of Losing and the "High" of Winning Must Drive the Yankees

Excitement over tonight’s Game 5 of the ALDS is running rampant. For the New York Yankees and their fans, it is a rare experience to be involved in a game that must be won to prevent the end of the season. However, that’s not good.

Colonel Jacob Ruppert, who owned the Yankees during the days of Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth, was once asked what he considered to be an enjoyable game. "It's when the Yankees score eight runs in the first inning and then slowly pull away," Ruppert said.

The path the Yankees take to victory this time of the year is irrelevant, but the Yankees are not lucky to be in their current position. The Detroit Tigers are the lucky ones.

The only way tonight's game will be "enjoyable" before the Tigers use up all their outs will be if it meets Col. Ruppert's criterion.

The great Yankees teams from 1998-2000 were never seriously challenged on their way to the World Championship. Sure, the Cleveland Indians led the 1998 team, two games to one in the ALCS, but the Yankees won the next three games.

They swept the San Diego Padres, did the same in 1999 to the Atlanta Braves, and beat the New York Mets in five games in 2000. Nonetheless, despite its appearances, the Mets series was closer than many realized.

Postseason series that the Yankees dominate or win easily are the best. The Yankees and many of their fans are willing to pay any price to win. What that means is that if the Yankees are faced with winning a series final game, so be it. The win, not how it was achieved, is all that matters.

Tonight, the tension for those who watch the game will be almost unbearable. Don’t rationalize if the Yankees lose by claiming that is was a great game but you can’t win them all.

As Vince Lombardi said, “Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser.”

One of the great attractions of the playoffs, especially for Yankees fans, is the thrill of the attempt to achieve a “high” that will be accomplished if the Yankees win.

But it’s not only about achieving the thrill of victory. The agony of defeat must be avoided. Many successful players have expressed that they are driven by the fear of losing.

As Mr. Steinbrenner claimed, the only successful season for the Yankees is one that ends with John Sterling declaring, “Game over, World Series over, thuuh Yankees win. Thuuh Yankees W-I-I-N.”

The best scenario for the Yankees and especially for their fans would be to win tonight and then win the next two series the way they won in 1999 when they swept our Texas friends in the first round, beat Boston in five and swept the Braves.

We’ll find out how good this team is beginning in a few hours.