Living the Dream?

One would think the major league baseball life would be the most joyous time of one’s life – not so fast.

Playing major league baseball was incredible, a dream come true, but “the baseball life” has as many down moments as up ones, especially for the average ball player like me. Please understand I am writing of my time when the major league minimum was around the $50,000 range. It was not a time when financial security or a good head start in that quest came with making it. I wouldn’t trade it for anything, though, I just wish I had handled the pressure better.

 

Explaining the MLB Life

 

A friend, former teammate, and major league manager at the time summed up my feelings about big league baseball life. I asked him if it was fun being a manager. “It’s not fun, but I’m really enjoying what I’m doing.” I thought he came up with a great Yogi Berra line like “It’s not over til it’s over.”

The funny thing is, I knew what he was saying. That is the sentiment I feel when I reflect on my major league days. Was it fun? I guess so, but it was a weird kind of fun. Knowing one reached a childhood dream that no one could ever take away was and still is the most exciting aspect. The most fun begins after the career when one looks back on those days and recalls memories to relay to friends and family.

 

 

Similarly, when I get the query: “What’s it like playing in the major leagues?” it is not a simple answer like, “It’s awesome” or “unbelievable.” It was a job, not the glamour life people believe, especially when one has a growing family. I may blow their mind when I tell them that minor league life was more fun than big league life, at least for me.

 

My answer to the big-league question usually goes like this, “It is the easiest job in the world and the hardest job all at the same time.” It is the easiest job because players have one real responsibility - show up on time. It is the hardest job because you must produce, produce often, and quickly upon arrival. One is only as good as their last game.

 

MLB Expectations

 

In the big leagues, playing up to the standards you and the team expect takes a toll year after year and day to day. It was a life of “produce or get lost,” knowing you likely get one shot to show what you have, or the lifelong dream is over in a heartbeat. I never had the success that my minor league career suggested. I struggled with confidence and never quite grasping I belonged with the best players in the world. That constant personal tension made long-term success challenging to sustain.  

 

 

The pressure to do well personally, combined with the pressure to win as a team, never disappears for the average player. Winning is everything, and when your team is not doing that, the season gets long quickly. Even though it is “just a game,” as they say, it feels more than that to players and their families. Additionally, the constant analysis by so many – sports talk shows, reporters, TV coverage, and rabid fans – wears on players as the season progresses. One can try to tune it all out, but that isn’t easy out on the field.

 

Then, the unseen human side of the game takes a toll on players’ emotions. Friends often come and go because teams are searching for the right combination of players, without regard for personal feelings. And professional athletes have the same life issues that all have. When an athlete may pass on signing an autograph, little do they know that the player is in a hurry to get home because a family member has become ill.

Another Negative of the Life 

A few years back, Nick Saban, the ultra-successful college football coach, did not even realize there was an imminent presidential election. Surprising, maybe, but to those inside the big-time sport’s life, they know. The games require concentration and focus that is very consuming, leaving little time for outside distractions. It is a life of eating, sleeping, and focusing on the games – what you need to work on before the game, complete concentration during it, and never-ending analysis afterward.

There is little escape, especially over the 162-game schedule, with other players constantly chomping at the bit to take your job and get their opportunity. “As mentioned, the season is a mental and physical, all-consuming challenge, with games virtually every day for seven and a half months, including spring training. Add winter ball to the equation, and it is a year-round, twenty-four-hour grind. Often, it turns into a life of living at the ballpark, with little time to take in the sights and action of the cities. You had better love it if you are going to survive in the business.

I don’t want to give the impression that it is more challenging than any other job because all jobs require production. However, it is different, being among a select group and the best in the world and out in the open for all to analyze their work. Another factor is the limited timeframe of the sports career. Father time is undefeated and always knocking, as evidenced by many professional athletes’ short careers. One injury can also derail one’s future. As implied, the window opens and shuts quickly for most pro athletes.

Here's the MLB Fun

 Of course, like most jobs, the best part of professional baseball life was the great friends and cool on and off-the-field experiences. Following is one of those memories of how things went down one night when I was in the dugout in Dodger stadium.

Unlike many people’s jobs, one cannot just disappear at work, as in other professions. Wait a minute; I take that back; maybe you can? Right out of an Indiana Jones movie scene.

“Tell Johnstone he’s leading off” were the words from manager Tommy Lasorda, as Jay was to be the pinch hitter. A few minutes later, Lasorda yelled, “What do you mean you can’t find him? He was just here; did he disappear?”

Coaches, players, and clubhouse attendants were looking everywhere, but Jay Johnstone was nowhere to be found. Major league baseball players cannot just pick up and go home; his street clothes are still in his locker. After several choice words from Lasorda, someone on the bench suddenly pointed to the sky and yelled, “There he is!” Up on the Dodger Stadium Jumbotron, they had captured Jay Johnstone and a couple of Dodger pitchers (Jerry Reuss and Dave Goltz) dragging the infield with the grounds crew in complete grounds crew gear. The words got even choicer from Lasorda, but even he had to chuckle at the events, even though he had to find a new pinch hitter. So funny, and Jay proved that major league baseball players can take some personal time when needed.

Good times, and as mentioned, much more enjoyable when looking back on those days. Happy Trails!