It’s baseball playoff time and so I’m spending nearly every night watching at least a little baseball. I’ve been a baseball fan since I was probably old enough to pick up and hold a plastic ball. I played little league up until I was about 13 when I moved to tennis. I was simply better. Or at least, I wasn’t bad. I wasn’t good at baseball and it wasn’t fun anymore because of that.

Now with the playoffs here, I am able to learn about other teams I don’t usually follow. I learn about their players. I learn how the team was built, either through the draft or free agency.

So in the first round, the Minnesota Twins again faced off against the high-powered New York Yankees. I first must say that I am an avid Twins fan. I grew up watching them and have been to countless games, including postseason madness. But these two teams are very, very different.

First, the Yankees have a bigger budget – by far. It doesn’t even compare. The market itself is different. And how the franchises have gone about building their team is different too.

When you look at the Twins, the have been built predominately through the draft and their minor league system. In rare occasions they have gone out and landed free agents, but that is rare and usually only one a year.

The Yankees on the other hand build predominantly through free agency. CC Sabathia, Mark Teixiera are their two major recent free agent signings. It’s just what they do. The Twins have to do it one way and the Yankees can do it either way and they’ve chosen (and been quite successful I might add) to build championships through free agency.

My point is simple: figure out what you do best and commit to it. Own it. Live it. And be the best you can be with the plan and the resources you have.

(flickr photo via Parl)