"Burn the Ships" is a reference to a motivational speech once given to the Dodgers by then-GM Ned Colletti. In Episode 704, Sam read an account in Molly Knight's book, The Best Team Money Can Buy, in which Colletti told his team about how Hernán Cortés, a 16th-century Spanish conquistador, burned his own ships to motivate his men and scare the Aztecs.
Colletti gave the team a similar speech in a later season, except this time attributing it to Alexander the Great. Team members who realized this turned it into a running joke, and had T-shirts printed up.
Since the episode, Facebook group members would post examples of the phrase being used in media and news stories, including as the title of a 2017 documentary about softball.
"Burn the Ships" was used as the title of a chapter in The Only Rule Is It Has to Work, inspired by a text given by Russell Carleton when asked for advice.
Links[]
- Hernán Cortés - Wikipedia
- Burning the Ships - TV Tropes