Just re-read most of this thread and it is always interesting to get the different perspectives, even tho I have read them before.

During a conversation with our son the other day from Spring Training, he talked about how many of the other players in his draft year were no longer around, whether moved up, traded, or released. I know that every time one of his 'draft mates' or teammates is released, he feels a sadness for them because he knows how hard everybody works out there. He has real compassion for them, especially knowing that it could be him, but for the grace of God. And I think sometimes the reality of releases hangs over their heads more than the financial struggles or the travel (he is looking at 12-16 hour trips this coming season if he ends up in Alabama).

Still, I am sure he wouldn't change anything for the world and fortunately he is supported emotionally by a wonderful wife who also endures some sacrifices for him so that he can follow his dreams. I admire all these young men who are working so hard, just as I admire any young adult who is trying to make something of their lives whether in college or at a 'regular' job or the military. And I am thankful that we live in a country where our young people are free to make those decisions for themselves.

Life is good, isn't it?

quote:

"I am glad you have sons who play minor leage ball - I would LOVE to do what they are doing but I am not good enough. But that doesn't mean I have it easy because I don't play minor league baseball. Get off your high horse and realize everyone has to work hard to achieve something."

Before I pressed "post now" last night, I deleted several thoughts and figured I would sleep on Coach's posts and statements.
When I logged on this morning, I wanted to make sure I was on the HSBBW where we talk about baseball. Then I checked to make sure I started this thread in the "Going Pro" section.
Finally, I reread my first post that started this thread. All I tried to express were some feelings about the business side of the minor leagues captured as I watched a friend and former teammate(traded to that night's opposition as he walked into the stadium) of my son drive off with his new wife in their 19.. something pickup at 11pm at night.
Not sure where I created the perception that I was on any "high horse." Not sure how I created the "perception" that those not playing minor league baseball have it "easy." Certainly not sure where I created any perception that school teachers/coaches or any other job doesn't involve hard work, if you want to accomplish something.
In fact, I already posted that baseball is a game and this thread was never intended to compare/contrast with those risking everything in the line of military service.
Bottom line, Coach, I don't think I posted anything to create your response. I will continue to post about life in the minor leagues and will do so knowing that is all I am describing. If you want to take it and compare it with the daily journey all of us take through life and work, so be it. I cannot control perceptions that my posts are not intended to address.

quote:

Bottom line, Coach, I don't think I posted anything to create your response. I will continue to post about life in the minor leagues and will do so knowing that is all I am describing. If you want to take it and compare it with the daily journey all of us take through life and work, so be it. I cannot control perceptions that my posts are not intended to address.

I re-read some of the repsonses in this thread and believe some of the members have taken some of the discussion out of context and/or read too much into the point of the original topic. NOWHERE did infielddad say because of these issues, he was advising HIS son to retire from the game. He is merely raising the issues for discussion. I see it as a public service. Knowledge is power and can only help our sons deal with difficult circumstances SHOULD they be presented with those issues. Lets not shoot the messenger but keep these discussions on BASEBALL as they should be.

quote:

Then I checked to make sure I started this thread in the "Going Pro" section.

Well I found this in the golden thread forum. If I knew it was in the Going Pro forum I probably would have reacted differently. I will apologize for that one.

When I quoted your post for my first response I didn't mean it as a criticism to you. In fact when I went back to the posts I "went off on" you didn't post them. It was njbb and 20dad - and maybe I mistook what they put. I sincerely apologize to you infielddad because I was not directing anything at you.

Here is what upset and offended me.

njbb

quote:

I have a daughter and son in law who are teachers that also coach and a son in the minors ... the 2 jobs are nothing alike.
I don't know if any one has mentioned that players don't get paid during spring training, instructional league or winter work outs.. that takes up about 3 1/2 mos. so their only paid for 5 1/2 mos.
Players have the choice and they are doing what theywant to do.. But its not a glamorous life style.
The posters who have sons in the minors are only trying to give the other members a realistic idea what life is like in the minors.

20dad

quote:

Not sure if 20dad is going to show up but its a picture of hands clapping and a sign that says agree 100%.

I agree that playing in the minors is tough (although I have no first hand experience) and it's a business. I was just trying to make a small comment that it's hard work to be successful. I was intending to basically back up what you said infielddad. The high horse was for njbb and 20dad.

I apologize for the mixup between you and I infielddad.

I was not saying my daughter,son inlaw or you for that matter are not hard workers... I said the 2 jobs are nothing alike. Where my daughter and son inlaw put in their hours of work then return each night to live and eat in the comfort of their home. My son who also puts in his hours of work, lives with a stanger (roommate)in a motel room 9 months out of the year. eat only in diners, fast food.. (hey it sounds like college student) After games traveling 6 to 7 hours through the night on a bus to arrive about 5am to sleep in the lobby till they let you check in or go lift. this is done week after week. One day you could be released or be moved thousands of miles to another team (which in his case involved being dropped off at a Chicago bus station in the middle of the night to catch a bus) if he did have family they are not the responsiblity of the team and its up to them to stay or find their own way to the next team . These are some of the reasons (in my MHO) you can not compare the 2 jobs,
Yes its great to play baseball ..... But you have to consider the life style..

coach, thanks for the post and clarification. Everything is fine on my end.
BTW, njbb is one of my favorites because her posts are so straight forward and do reflect the real world concerns of a loving mother with a very, very talented son, who signed out of high school. She has never posted from a "high horse."
While njbb does not need me to stick up for her, I think her last post tells you so much about her feelings for her son and the life he leads off the field, from the perspective that only a mother can experience.

I am not sure where this thread took a turn, but I have something to say.
Infielddad, Fungo, FBM, njbb, OPP I have learned alot from you regarding life and the business of minor league ball.
Please continue to post your thoughts regarding the above. It is very important for parents and players who are making decisions to understand both sides to this aspect of the game. While it is every boys dream to wake up everyday and play baseball for a living, it is also very trying and difficult at times. It becomes your JOB.
My understanding is that, unless you have been through it, or have a son who is or has, you really don't understand.

JMO

The posters who have sons in the minors are only trying to give the other members a realistic idea what life is like in the minors.
----------------------------------------------------
coach 2709
my reply was to njbb 's post, as i feel it is why we are all here.it wasn't meant as a slam to anyone. your a teacher and i applaud you for your work. but your doing something you love,for small money.someday you'll make more. same thing with minor league ball players exept they have no pension and are really the lowest paid as they only are paid when they work. but the do it because they love it and maybe someday they will make more. you have to understand that? my favorite closing remark from another poster:

( if you can read this thank a teacher,if your reading this in english,thank a soldier)

quote:

Infielddad, Fungo, FBM, njbb, OPP I have learned alot from you regarding life and the business of minor league ball.
Please continue to post your thoughts regarding the above. It is very important for parents and players who are making decisions to understand both sides to this aspect of the game. While it is every boys dream to wake up everyday and play baseball for a living, it is also very trying and difficult at times. It becomes your JOB.
My understanding is that, unless you have been through it, or have a son who is or has, you really don't understand

Forgive me, TPM, but I was about to say that..............

I'm still watching, even if I didn't post..................

Thanks Infielddad, Fungo, FBM, njbb, and OPP.

I've observed a lot by watching ya'll.

I still can't find my previous post in this thread.

Waaaaay back when I first found hsbaseballweb, "Going Pro" was not a topic that received much thread time, the main info that I was fortunate enough to gain through this site, was the college-as-next-level sort...pro ball seemed like a distant possiblity.

Actually seeing my son by-pass college to play pro ball was the LAST thing I was expecting. After being drafted #595, my son shocked his family by choosing to by-pass his full-ride at a JC. That was the day that I had to tell myself that my son(at 18 years of age) would be making his own decisions from that point on.

It was his decision to succeed or fail, his decision to adjust to his ever-changing environments and his decision to do what it took to make himself a valuable asset within his organization... of course all of this process took way more than just "deciding" to make it happen.

Every step of the way he has worked harder than before, every step of the way he has had more distractions to avoid, every step of the way he has had to grow into a more mature young man than many of his contemporaries may have chosen.

I guess my son was fortunate... he came from a very working class family with a raised-on-the farm work ethic. He was also fortunate to experience "winning" through hard work at a very young age while others around him experienced winning because of who's son they were or what their family name was....

Lots of folks have given great advice in this thread, but there is no reason for any person to feel that any of the advice is universal or "ultimate".... different strokes for different folks!

Play ball and those that combine their talents best with a work ethic to maximize those talents will experience the level of success they deserve, and ultimately each individual player will judge themself... that is what matters-.... and after playing baseball ends, they will get on with the rest of their life....Just like a real human being!

Hope I am still around in years to come to read threads about baseball-playing sons that are posts written by the folks that we have been writing posts about!

OPP, your awesome my man.
And you raised a strong young man.

No matter what road a player take's, I think they all want to take it to that next level.
And there are many next level's??

Work Hard and Believe!!
And there's NO Limit to what you can achieve.

EH

Well I apologize to everyone because clearly I am in the wrong and over reacted. I did not see this thread in the going pro forum but in the golden thread. Maybe this would have changed my outlook.

My original post was not about comparing the two but obviously I did a terrible job of getting that across. I just wanted to state (in a humorous way) that it's hard work to make it in baseball regardless of what you do. No I cannot compare riding the bus and staying in hotels and all that to teaching and I wasn't trying to. I just wanted to state that it's hard work regardless.

I was too sensitive to what the other two people posted and went to far.

Basically this comes down to me not being clear and overreacting.

I apologize to everyone. My bad.

Coach2709,
Im sorry if I offended you, it was not my intent.
Sounds like your players are lucky to have such a hard working coach

If anyone wanted to read a book about life in the pros theres a book call "Inside Pitch".

Coach2057,

I actually think you brought up some good points. We often concentrate on the bad rather than the good side of being a professional baseball player.

There are some very different things between playing professional baseball and teaching/coaching at a high school.

While playing in the minor leagues can be hard, with long hours and not much money… It is still something that most young players want to do.

They still call it “playing” rather than “I work in the minor leagues”! I’ve never heard a young player say… He “works” for a major league club.

Probably the most notable difference is what happens if you become one of the best in your field.

As one of the best high school coaches or teachers what is your peak earning potential? How long does it take to reach that level?

As a professional baseball player what is your peak earning potential?
How long does it take to reach that level?

I do believe “most” minor league players are underpaid. But the majority of anything that could be called “work” is for individual reasons. The minor league player does not “work” for anyone other than himself. You could say he is somewhat self employed, despite having a contract with one organization.

Playing minor league ball is not easy. The travel and pay are tough for some players, but they don’t have to take care of the field or deal with parents.

If we think the players have it tough, we should feel even more sorry for many of the professional scouts out there. They are paid in the same range as teachers and if you think players travel a lot, think about the scouts this time of the year. Crosscheckers and scouting directors can have a problem knowing where they are from one day to the next. There are area scouts who cover 5-6 states and they do their own driving (no bus driver).

Guess what I’m getting at… I don’t ever feel sorry for any young man who is playing minor league baseball. In fact, I’m very happy for them! After all, they’re doing what millions of young players would do for nothing… They’re “playing” baseball at the professional level. What “job” could be better for a baseball player? How many jobs have the potential earning power of a professional baseball player?

There is always two ways to look at things.

I really hope the parents of professional ball players will continue to post about what life is like for their sons.

I have probably learned more from reading posts here about the “REAL” life of a player in the minor leagues than by any other means.

I have to admit I took some of the things I learned here and passed them on to my son.

It hasn’t stopped his “Dream” but at least when or if the time comes to make that jump, he will at least be doing so with his eyes wide open.

For all the information that you parents have passed on I must say, “thank you.”

njbb I am not offended but frustrated I did not do a good enough job getting it across.

PGStaff you pretty much summed up the point I was trying to get across.

It was posted on here about the work that is involved in hs coaching and got me thinking about the minor league coaches and managers, they too are living the same type of life as the players,traveling ,living away from home in motels,fast food. Only after the game they have to make reports, talk to the higher ups. Plus baby sit the players....

PG, as usual, brings a very good focus. Those comments, along with the always terrific insight from CD, lead me to this post.
My son would probably be horrified that I started this thread. He is living a dream!! Never complains about the 13 hour bus rides, pay, living situation, off season conditioning, etc. He cherishes nearly every single minute.
In 2005, his manager was almost apologetic when he didn't get a day off in almost 40 games. My son responded that there was no need to worry, he would play every day, every game if they would let him. Jason often jokes how some of these situations are an upgrade from baseball at the DIII level.
His off season conditioning program and rehab over this winter are a reflection of pure passion. If you can imagine walking on a treadmill on a 4% incline at 3.5 mph, doing 15 reps for 30 seconds...walking on your hands, you have an example of his efforts to be ready by 3/5/07. You do not extend yourself physically to the point of tears unless you are singularly motivated and love what you are doing.
I can assure everyone that my son does not want anyone to feel sorry for him. He, much better than I, understood that when his ex-teammate and wife drove off at 11pm, they did so in pursuit of a dream, also.
This post/thread is solely some reflections from the view of a parent about the off field and the business side. I should have made that distinction from the beginning.

njbb ...

quote:

Plus baby sit the players

And in some cases, as I am sure your son has reported about some of his teammates, this may be one of the toughest parts of the coach's job. When one or two players start acting like prima donnas ... well, I guess it isn't any different than high school ball or college ball in that respect.

I really admire the minor league coaches, and it is educational to sit on the side lines at spring training and listen up on what the coaches have to say to each other about what is happening with the players. Two years ago, the low A coaches for the Dbacks were talking about the work ethic and the hustle (or lack thereof) that some of the players were manifesting. It was interesting I think for the very reasons mentioned above ... here these coaches are living the same nomad life, living away from family, etc, and they are watching players with a ton of potential practicing in a lackadasical manner. It must be annoying, to say the least.