I grew up in San Diego and loved baseball, so of course my favorite team was the San Diego Padres! The Padres didn’t win very often, but they had Tony Gwynn, the hardest working man in baseball, my hero, and one of the best players of his time.
The San Diego Padres did make it to the World Series for the first time in 1984. However, they were severe underdogs, having only won 92 games, facing the Detroit Tigers who had the best record in baseball with 104 wins. They were underdogs and played like it, losing the series 4 games to 1. The only other time they made it to the World Series was 1998, but again they were the underdogs and lost to the Yankees. But there were some bright spots. Out of the 8 World Series games they played, they did win 1 game. Okay, maybe just one bright spot.
Fast forward 38 years and the Padres are playing in a Division Series this week, with a chance to go to the World Series. Unfortunately, they were the underdogs again with only 89 wins, facing the powerful Los Angeles Dodgers, with 111 wins. The Padres weren’t given much of a chance, especially since one of their best players, shortstop Fernando Tatis, was unable to play. So they were definitely the underdogs, and often referred to in the press as the “little brother” of the iconic LA Dodgers.
First question - What is an underdog? Webster defines it as, “A competitor thought to have little chance of winning” but also as, “A person who has little status in society”. That fits, the Padres were figured to be losers and not given much status in baseball circles, so they should have lost. Instead they beat the mighty Dodgers 3 games to 1 and are now headed to the National League Championship Series, one step away from the World Series. And even though I like some of the Dodgers, I think that’s really cool!
Second question - Why is it so cool when an underdog succeeds? Easy, because deep inside most of us feel like an underdog. Life is tough from the time we are born, and then it just gets tougher when we reach adulthood and face work responsibilities, family struggles, health issues, bills, taxes, etc. So when an underdog, or even someone who is a little underdog…ish succeeds, we can relate and feel like maybe it could happen to us as well.
Best question – Who is the ultimate underdog who succeeded? I can think of quite a few famous and successful people who started out with humble beginnings. Elon Musk was a lowly janitor at a lumber mill, Madonna was a minimum wage cashier at Dunkin’ Donuts, and Tom Brady started out as a construction worker. But when I really stop to ponder that question, I think the ultimate example would be a lowly carpenter, born behind a barn, who went on to save the world. When I consider that example, I feel like maybe being a little underdog…ish isn’t such a bad thing at all!
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