Brought up in this thread http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=91794 , a few dopers commented on the value of post season experience of the various teams in the MLB playoffs.
I think it makes a little difference, but honestly, not a lot. I do think the lack of it can hurt a team in a big spot, as a player can get nervous, not being used to being in the spotlight.
It never seems to help the Braves very much.
There may be a comfort factor. Where rookie teams might be nervous to be in the post-season but any good manager who knows how to get his team to the playoffs should be able to counter that. I’d say it’s very rare that it makes a difference.
Remember the 91 World Series where both the Twins and the Braves had no post season experience at all, in fact they had finished dead last the year before.
Perhaps one time that you could see it was when the Braves played the Cards. They were down 3 games to 1 and came back to win.
But who really knows what happened. In my opinion it’s mostly just to give commentators something to talk about.
Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t. The 1969 Mets had much less experience than the Orioles, but that didn’t hurt them. The 1963 Dodgers had considerably less experience than the Yankees, but swept.