Are Wil Myers’ Leadership Abilities Valid?

I recently wrote a piece about the San Diego Padres and their current lack of leadership.

Almost immediately, critics of Wil Myers came out and demanded clarity in my opinion that Myers provides leadership qualities for the San Diego Padres. Well, here it goes.

If you are looking for someone to get in a player’s face and shun them for a performance detrimental to the success of the team, then Myers isn’t your guy. If you want a player to be vocal and respond to the team and demand their respect, then he isn’t your guy in that matter either. He is a quiet player who prefers to be left alone to work on his craft. That in itself has value though.

His stoic demeanor can throw some people for a loop. Some fans believe he doesn’t care, because he does not display intensity while he plays. I can see where they are coming from, but having been around this game as long as I have, I can tell you that intensity and fire does not equate a player is trying harder than the next guy. Sure, it is nice to play with someone who wears their emotion on their sleeve but, in the long run, that emotion can beat down a team. Especially when the times are rough.

In a 162 game Major League season, there will definitely be tough times. There will be times when nothing is going right on the team. There will be instances where it feels as though the “baseball gods” are against you. In those moments you want a calm personality. You cannot get too high or too low in the game of baseball. The right-handed hitter is most definitely calm.

Wil Myers is still only 27 years old. He could, in time, develop a more vocal leadership skill set. But the reality is, he is still trying to find himself as a player. Myers has much work to do in order to transform into the player he is ultimately capable of becoming. That lack of production is what frustrates him currently. If he can figure it all out and let his natural skills and reflexes take over, then the young Myers could absolutely turn into a definite leader for the San Diego Padres in the future.

He has already displayed such leadership skills for the team. In 2015, when the Padres went crazy trading for outfielders, he was the one who took on the challenge of playing center field, a position he never played before. The experiment was ultimately a failure, as he did not have the natural ability to play the position (especially at the major league level), but not one word was spilled from Myers about the experiment.

The next season, he was moved to first base, another position that he had virtually no game-time at. Did Myers complain? Did he throw a fit? Did he even whisper one complaint to the local media who was waiting for comments of that nature? No. Nothing. He went out there and played at a Gold Glove level in his first season – something that many people in the industry respected and took note of.

As the 2018 season approaches and the Eric Hosmer rumors swirl, Myers came out this winter and reported he would gladly move to yet his third different position in four years with the team if Hosmer was signed. More displays of his unheralded leadership abilities. Playing different positions each year while trying to figure out major league pitching is daunting. Wil Myers will not tell you about his leadership skills. And why should he? He prefers to just go out there and put it on the line each and every day.

James Clark

James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.