If a nuclear physicist wants confirmation of the concept of critical mass from baseball, he need go no further than Joe Maddon, manager of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Heres a team that lost 90 games for each of its first 10 seasons, but, in the eleventh, is in the World Series. The Rays got there via the toughest division in baseball, the American League East home of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. Put another way: home of some of the highest paid teams in baseball. The Rays are the lowest paid team in baseball, or close to it. Which means: Joe Maddon was doing an awfully lot right before it became visible.
He patiently nurtured his team like a critical mass. An untold number of atomic particles, fired at a nucleus, has no visible effect. Then, suddenly, the umpteenth particle fired at the very same nucleus ignites the bomb.
Joe Maddon and his team have shown that invisible, steady, non-glamorous hard work on the basics including, notably, the farm system can outdistance more glamorous teams money and stars. On the surface, the Rays were losing 90 games. Deep down, they were paying attention to the fundamentals and what a beautiful explosion its been.
