What Life in Minor League Baseball is Really Like...

It seems like people are always curious and confused about our strange life. It is so bizarre and not really what most people would expect. “So, where exactly do you live?” “How long?” “What’s it like?” Well, it really is one of those things that you do not fully understand until you have experienced it, but I decided to try and offer a glimpse into what life in minor league baseball actually looks like. It is probably different than what you imagine it to be.   

1. Most get paid approximately $3.50/hr... and ONLY during the season.
 

Yep, you read that correctly! The number one misconception about MiLB life is the glitz and glam. Many people seem to think you are raking in the cash, living the high life of fame and fortune. Well, it’s not true folks. Hate to break it to you, but committing to play professional baseball in the minor leagues is being willing to accept a lifestyle of uncertainty and a paycheck equivalent to less than ½ of minimum wage. Players spend close to 10 hours/day, 7 days/week at the field, so don’t even think about trying to get a second job! With that paycheck, you must buy groceries, pay for gas and rent… and don’t forget about club house dues. So not only are most players and their families barely scraping by, but there is definitely no such thing as saving a dime of that paycheck.

We have been completely and abundantly blessed that Jeffrey received a signing bonus that is able to take care of all our needs, but not every player receives that. A large majority are living paycheck to paycheck, hoping to make just enough to continue pursuing this dream. 

This season I have also had the opportunity to babysit and bring in some extra cash, but believe me, it is not easy getting hired when employers know you could pick up and move across the country at a moment’s notice. 

It is times like these when we really notice the Lord’s provision, and His promise to meet our every need.

  

      2. You do not have a home.

Never has the phrase “home is wherever I am with you” been so incredibly relatable to us, as it is now. In the minor leagues, “moving” does not usually involve moving trucks, furniture, and boxes upon boxes. It most likely means packing up your few suitcases you live out of, your two plates, two forks, two pillows, and a crockpot and driving to the next place you will call “home”.  

This is a lifestyle where you live in hotels, sleep on air mattresses on living rooms floors, and 5 players (and a wife or two) living in a 2 or 3 bedroom, unfurnished home is completely expected and normal. It is a lifestyle where an ironing board is equivalent to a kitchen table, and your shower curtain rod doubles as a closet. It’s where eating dinner on the floor is normal because you know as soon as you purchase a couple chairs, it’s going to be time to move again, and you will not have room to take them with you. 

MiLB life is definitely a life of simplicity. It teaches you to value each other’s company over material possessions. It shows you that a roof over your head, food to eat and friendship are all you really need. It reminds you to be thankful for all that you have, to laugh at how comical your life seems at times, and to hold all of the memories close.  

From multiple roommates, to exploding A/C units in sketchy motels, Jeffrey and I have learned to find humor in everything. Over the last couple of years our mindset has transformed from seeing the negatives, to hysterically laughing and thinking “How in the world did we get here?” The only way to really go about it is to fully embrace it. 

      3. There is no such thing as planning.

You don’t plan where you are going to live or when family is going to book a trip to visit you more than a few weeks in advance, because honestly… there is a 99% chance you are going to end up somewhere totally different than expected, at a completely different time than you thought. And guess how much say you have in the matter? ZERO! So don’t even bother with the planning and scheduling, because it’s not going to work out. In fact, you can’t even plan what organization you are going to be playing for, let alone what affiliate. All it takes is one phone call, and you’re on your way to your next “home” miles and miles away.

 

      4. Your family and friends make the sacrifice too. 

Baseball season is extremely long. From Spring Training through playoffs, you may end up playing over 7 months out of the year. Not to mention getting invited to an instructional league or fall league. This means your season has the potential of being 9 months long, and during those months, you play nearly every single day. There is no vacation time or paid sick leave. 

It means missing out on family vacations, graduations, weddings, birthdays and reunions. It can mean spending most of the year across the country, never getting to see your family and friends.

I am blessed to be able to be traveling with Jeffrey this season, but for many, it means saying goodbye to girlfriends, wives and children. It means fathers potentially missing the birth of their own children, or not getting to send them off on their first day of school. It’s players being willing to uproot everything they have ever known, and move to places they have never seen. 

This is what makes the off-season so precious. It makes a phone call or FaceTime so valuable! We are thankful for the sacrifices our friends and families have made for us along this journey. We love you SO MUCH.  

      5. Your entire career depends on your body.

The life of a professional athlete is unique in that your entire career is riding on your physical health and ability. It takes one illness or injury to end everything you have been working your entire career toward. No matter how good you are or how high of a draft pick you may have been, it only takes one unfortunate circumstance, and it can all be taken away. You have to learn to play for today and hope everything else falls into place. 

We are so unbelievably thankful for this journey that we are on, and all that the Yankees have done for us. We have learned to enjoy every opportunity, every day that we are given in this sport. Whether Jeffrey plays for another year or another decade, we will always look back on these years with gratitude. We wouldn’t trade the people we have met or the places we have been for anything in the world. Getting to travel, play the game that you love and be taught by the best in the world is not something to ever take for granted. 

We may not have a lot of say about where we go or when we do, but we are thankful to have a Savior whose plan is perfect! You show up, you work hard and you give it all you've got. You take the minor leagues for what it is: all of its twists, turns and weird quirks. You enjoy every single second of it... because really, that's all you can do. And we absolutely love it!