Life in the off season
Depending upon your financial situation, the off season can be a time for relaxation or a time for work. Many players must work in the off season because their salaries during the season do not allow them financial security. Trying to find a job for just a few months can be difficult if you are not willing to expand your horizons. The off season job for a minor league baseball player is often times very unconventional.
Just as anyone else the player wants to make to most amount of money possible with the least amount of time. Since the time frame to actually work is so small the player must take the best paying job as possible regardless of what the work consist of. Many players work at restaurants being waiters where they can sometimes make large amounts of money in tips. This also allows for them to work at night time and enables them to workout in the mornings. Other players work in construction because they can make money quickly as well as being able to be hired quickly. There are some players who work for their parents because it is convenient and it allows them to spend some time with their parents. Another job that is popular for the minor leaguer is valet parker. Many players seem to do this job because the hours once again allow for them to workout in the morning then go to work in the afternoon or evening. Also many players do work that correlates with their college studies. This can range from personal training to real estate to politics. But these jobs are far less common because finding a job that is willing to let you make only a three to five month time commitment is often difficult.
In conclusion, the off season job is essential for many minor league players. But finding the right thing to do is often times very difficult because of the circumstances that they are faced with. Thus they tend to do jobs that you would not expect them to be doing because of the circumstances listed above.
Your baseball pro, Steve Holm
P.S. One of our players worked as a mover in New York City, carrying furniture to multi-story walkup apartments — meaning no elevators! Host mom, Jean
Filed By: Jean Bedord | July 21, 2006 |
