The Minors
If you read my blog way back you may remember my loathing for the game of baseball. (mmmm... Can't find the post. Maybe I just thought it.) Today I shot a minor league game in Viera, Florida for the Mid Atlantic Sports Network (whoever they are!). There is a new pitcher on the Washington Nationals team fresh out of college. His name is Ross Detwiler. I interviewed him and shook his hand. At some point in the future, when he is more famous, you may think that is really cool. I don't think Ross is a minor anymore as he's got to be 21, but now that he's not, he's a minor. Anyway, he was their third draft pick, if I remember correctly, and received a signing bonus of $1.5 million. He was the story today. It was his first start in a professional game. There were precisely 0 fans in attendance. The minor leagues are more minor than I anticipated. I was told that this was the “Gulf Coast League,” which apparently is the most minorest of the minors. I don't know how much of that $1.5 million will be amortized per throw during those two innings today, but I'll bet it's safe to say that each pitch earned him more than I made spending the day making pictures of him.
In contrast, most of the rest of the guys on minor league teams make something like $25,000 per year and they pretty much live on buses for the duration of the season. It's dues-paying big time. Many languish there. I was told that if you don't get called up within the first two years, you're pretty much through. This fellow today will likely be called up to the big league in short order.
I made a few observations today. One, in addition to the other things I dislike about baseball that I wrote about some time ago, is that it is played in direct sun in the heat of the day. In Florida in July this means it's HOT!!! I imagine that this game will be the great pastime of Hell! And they do it wearing long pants! Possibly they are fire retardant.
I noticed that few, if any, of these new young players chew tobacco. Perhaps they are more intelligent than the big league players, however, they do spit. They all do. Constantly. So if you want to be a baseball player, better work on your spitting technique. One must do it with a certain style. Speaking of style, you will also have to work on the baseball player look of disdain. The game is similar to poker in that you must never let anyone see what you are really feeling. The players can all do this look like they don't care about you or anything else. The sport is sportin' a 'tude. Well that's about half the time. If somebody makes a home run then they are all smiles and yells and high fives and it's like somebody just won a million dollars. Oh yeah... But then, that look of disdain may be them all thinking about that $1.5 million vs. the puny check they are getting every month. And the fact that I and the other three photographers there today were only interested in Mr. Golden Boy and they were just getting in the way of the good angles. Reference my post about the value of attention.
My last and probably most important tip if you want to be a baseball player is this: LEARN SPANISH! I don't care what color you are, if you want to have any idea what is going on on the field, in the clubhouse, overhearing coaches, operating the Gatorade jug, whatever, you will be completely lost if you don't know Spanish! I mean, I knew there were a lot of great Hispanic players, but I didn't know that the language had taken over the Great American Pastime completely even as it has started to take Orlando after totally consuming Miami. I guess it was dangerous to send spring training down here.
Hasta manyana, adios!
In contrast, most of the rest of the guys on minor league teams make something like $25,000 per year and they pretty much live on buses for the duration of the season. It's dues-paying big time. Many languish there. I was told that if you don't get called up within the first two years, you're pretty much through. This fellow today will likely be called up to the big league in short order.
I made a few observations today. One, in addition to the other things I dislike about baseball that I wrote about some time ago, is that it is played in direct sun in the heat of the day. In Florida in July this means it's HOT!!! I imagine that this game will be the great pastime of Hell! And they do it wearing long pants! Possibly they are fire retardant.
I noticed that few, if any, of these new young players chew tobacco. Perhaps they are more intelligent than the big league players, however, they do spit. They all do. Constantly. So if you want to be a baseball player, better work on your spitting technique. One must do it with a certain style. Speaking of style, you will also have to work on the baseball player look of disdain. The game is similar to poker in that you must never let anyone see what you are really feeling. The players can all do this look like they don't care about you or anything else. The sport is sportin' a 'tude. Well that's about half the time. If somebody makes a home run then they are all smiles and yells and high fives and it's like somebody just won a million dollars. Oh yeah... But then, that look of disdain may be them all thinking about that $1.5 million vs. the puny check they are getting every month. And the fact that I and the other three photographers there today were only interested in Mr. Golden Boy and they were just getting in the way of the good angles. Reference my post about the value of attention.
My last and probably most important tip if you want to be a baseball player is this: LEARN SPANISH! I don't care what color you are, if you want to have any idea what is going on on the field, in the clubhouse, overhearing coaches, operating the Gatorade jug, whatever, you will be completely lost if you don't know Spanish! I mean, I knew there were a lot of great Hispanic players, but I didn't know that the language had taken over the Great American Pastime completely even as it has started to take Orlando after totally consuming Miami. I guess it was dangerous to send spring training down here.
Hasta manyana, adios!
posted by wingman at 9:24 PM
1 Comments:
Interesting Observations, I like people watching, peanuts and beer. And a good corn dog. Some of the middle minors provide all those and more. You can throw in the game, and it is a great way to get off your ass at home.
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