Nice guys finish first
Or at least outright second...
In 1946, while preparing his Brooklyn Dodgers team for a doubleheader against the New York Giants, manager Leo Durocher supposedly coined one of the most famous lines in sport.
“Look at them all over there,” he remarked, referring to the Giants team.
“The nice guys are all over there. In seventh place.”
Ever so slightly clunky, sportswriters packed his sentiment into a punchy one-liner:
Nice guys finish last.
Embraced by sportspeople for a long time, sporting eras, teams, and individuals came to live by this idea. Think 1980’s Australian Rules, the ‘Bad Boys’ Detroit Pistons, and even Tiger Woods in his pomp, who would sooner beat a competitor to a pulp than talk to them.
After all, how could values of kindness, respect and compassion win out over brutish force, arrogance and self-assertion – conveniently marketed as a ‘will to win’?
Well, it’s been nearly eighty years Leo, times have changed, and the nice guys and girls are making it count.
The best golfer on the planet, Scottie Scheffler was the best around Augusta again this week. So nice he did it twice, Scheffler’s second Major victory saw him join an elite crew of multiple-time Masters Champions.
Such is his prowess on the course, he sits almost 300 points clear of second-placed Rory McIlroy on the Official World Golf Ranking system.
Crucially, however, Scheffler seems to have his priorities in order before he walks onto the first tee.
Consistently at pains to remind reporters that he is a human being first and a golfer second (Aussie Ash was doing this well before it was cool – heck she made it cool), his identity is not determined by his results. Sure, that seems easy to say when the wins keep piling up, but perhaps one helps to facilitate the other.
Pre-tournament, he was clear that his family would come first; were his wife Meredith to go into labour with their first child, Scottie would have left Augusta to be with her, even from the middle of the fairway and the top of the leaderboard.
“You only have your first child once,” he said. “Fortunately, I’ll be here at the Masters for many years to come.”
It is that sense of perspective that impresses Scottie’s old man the most.
“I’m just happy he’s a good person,” Scott Scheffler said. “All that other stuff, that never mattered to me. I’m just so proud that he treats people the right way. That he treats people with kindness.”
What a good guy. I bet Scottie even tips the Augusta tailor. They see enough of each other...
Someone who might soon forge a relationship with the tailor, Ludvig Åberg made a remarkable impression in his first Major start, securing an outright second-place finish.
A rookie, the twenty-four-year-old won fans the world over; perhaps first for his remarkable ball-striking – but even as that wavered at times on Sunday – for his smile, grace and humility. The hyped Sweed already has a Ryder Cup under his belt, with more success and support beckoning.
noted a scene from practice as evidence of Åberg’s character:Sunday on the practice putting green moments before the biggest round of his life, a young boy correctly pronounced his last name and said, “nice putt Aberg.” Aberg returned a smile and mouthed, “thank you.” Needless to say, he was not wearing headphones or oblivious to the privilege he enjoys as a golfer on a grand stage.
If golf tests character, then cricket reveals it. Few have it in more bountiful supply than Australian Men’s captain, Pat Cummins, who was this week named Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World (Men).
A year that saw him lead Australia to victory in the World Test Championship Final, the One Day International World Cup, as well as retention of the Ashes, Cummins’ own exploits on the field have been a marvel, too. Surpassing 250 Test wickets, he took 42 in 2023, played match-winning innings with the bat across multiple continents and managed just the second ten-wicket haul by an Australian captain.
Internationally regarded as one of cricket’s nicest men, he has created a team, and – depending on which ground you might find yourself on a Saturday – mostly a country of cricketers in his own image.
Because he says it best, I'll defer to Gideon on Pat’s nature:
Moulds are there to be broken, and Pat Cummins has left a path of scattered fragments in his wake. Before his ascension in November 2021, Australia’s captaincy had been the preserve of leathery, hard-bitten, horny-handed men...
Cummins leads as Cummins is, with a smooth veneer on a hard core. His smile is one of cricket’s most fetching; his team are as approachable and courteous as any their country has fielded...
Off the field, too, Pat has withstood loud criticism for sharing his views on anthropogenic climate change and what can be done about it. Intelligent, sensitive and aware that he can have a positive influence beyond the boundary, Cummins is every bit the leader that he is wobble seam bowler.
Go woke, go – uh, really well at everything.
Pat is more than a cricketer in the same way that Scottie is more than a golfer and Ash has always been more than a tennis player. These sportspeople, the best of them, are strong and admirable characters.
As such, they inspire when they win and when they lose.
But that losing is happening less and less for these nice guys.
As for Leo’s Brooklyn Dodgers in ‘46? They won one and lost one against the Giants.