Two years ago, I drafted Gross in a supplemental round of my Scoresheet draft, and when all my outfielders went down, I ended up starting him in CF for most of the season. He'd been putting up an OBP of like .380 when I put him in the lineup; he promptly proceeded to put up an OPS+ in the neighborhood of like 40 for the rest of the year. That, combined with defense that was far below average for the position, made him easily the worst player in my league that year, and my team finished out of the playoffs by just a couple of games -- all Gross' fault, in the end.

I failed to notice what was happening until it was over, and besides was would have been helpless to do anything about it.

In short: Why couldn't you have retired two years ago, damn it?

Two weeks ago I called my agent and told them to call off the search so to speak

When the agent got off the phone, he went back to his Sudoku puzzle.

So attention must be paid.

we've had this conversation a jillion times on BTF but ... if someone is interested, he should give it one more shot. he'll never get it back once its over. they'd have to drag me off the field.

of course, i say that not knowing what a ballplayer has to go through just to hang on.

On the plus side, he'll now have more time to park on the side of the road and weep while listening to contemporary christian on the radio.

if someone is interested, he should give it one more shot. he'll never get it back once its over. they'd have to drag me off the field.

of course, i say that not knowing what a ballplayer has to go through just to hang on.

To quote (or at least paraphrase) W. C. Fields, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then give up. There's no sense being a damn fool about it."

EDIT: The guy had enough of a career to hit 40 HRs. I'd take it.

Why wouldn't he want a free ride in New Orleans?

I mean, really. If I'm a salty veteran and the Marlins are like, "Natch," because my salty veteran name is 'Natch', "we're bringing you in. Outfield depth. Got some kids in the Show this year; who knows what can happen. I need you to be in New Orleans playing baseball in between all the French food and that swarthy jazz sound."

And then I'd be like, "But coach, is it alright to say 'swarthy?'"

And then coach would look at me and be like, "Fairy."

Then I'd hop a plane and go eat some crawfish.

I was very surprised that Greg Gross was still playing. Then I re-read it and was mildly surprised that Gabe Gross was still playing.

of course, i say that not knowing what a ballplayer has to go through just to hang on.

Well, yeah. Being a professional ballplayer is a hard damn job. The hours are crazy, the travel is chronic, and it's extremely demanding, physically and mentally.

Well, yeah. Being a professional ballplayer is a hard damn job. The hours are crazy, the travel is chronic, and it's extremely demanding, physically and mentally.

Yes, but of course...[NORM MacDONALD VOICE] they're baseball players!

Well, yeah. Being a professional ballplayer is a hard damn job. The hours are crazy, the travel is chronic, and it's extremely demanding, physically and mentally.

Very true.
Is it just casual fans that lack a sophisticated understanding of the typical professional baseball player or is this true of even hard core fans? These guys that give their entire 20's to the minors and barely sip a cup of coffee really do make huge sacrifices. Obviously Gross is not included in this, but even a guy like him is shuttled around every few weeks.

I wonder how many uniforms a guy like Gabe Gross has worn in his professional career. (I know, I can look it up) ....it's got to be over a dozen, easy.

Why couldn't you have retired two years ago, damn it?

After watching him try to hit with the A's last year, I'm pretty sure he did.

Is it just casual fans that lack a sophisticated understanding of the typical professional baseball player or is this true of even hard core fans?

I suspect we're all guilty of it to some degree.

Take injuries, for example. Now, it's true that injuries are "part of the game," a routine, unsurprising element of the sport. But on a site such as this, when we discuss injuries (as we frequently do), it's virtually always within the context of either (a) what issues this or that injury, or injury risk, presents to a given team, or (b) how the injury-proneness of this or that player inhibits his value/clouds his future.

But what we virtually never address is the fact that injuries, even "minor" injuries, you know, HURT. There is pain involved, big time. Ever pull a hamstring, or sprain an ankle? It hurts like a sonuvabitch, doesn't it. And even in a relatively easygoing sport such as baseball, just about every player can expect to sustain some manner of injury in every season, and once in a while the injuries aren't minor, they're significant, requiring hospitalization, surgery and long-term rehabilitation.

Injuries suck very hard for baseball players. It's just one of the aspects of being a professional ballplayer that makes it a much, much more stressful job than most of us office-toilers ever have to deal with.

Oh, I dunno. I've been working sixteen hour days the past two weeks. I wish a had a big green field to run in as part of that.

EDIT: Now all cuteness aside, I do agree that there's a level of stress in relying solely on your body for your livelihood. These guys are way more likely to have a career-threatening injury than I am.

But still, being said, they play baseball. Which is awesome, but its not heroic.

But still, being said, they play baseball. Which is awesome, but its not heroic.

Yeah, but the issue isn't that it's heroic. It's that it's hard work. We say that they "play" baseball, that it's a "game," but for the pro ballplayer that's nonsense. They "work" baseball, because it's a job.

Still. Go to New Orleans. Hit AAA pitchers. Drink bourbon.

I know from experience that a solid 1/3 of minor league ball players are evangelical Christians...if not more. I have to think the relative isolation, daily stress and testing of your faith that you can make it to the top is a big part of this.....that and of course half of minor league baseball or more is in the south.

Still. Go to New Orleans. Hit AAA pitchers. Drink bourbon.

And be separated for the next several months from your wife, and your two children, the oldest of whom is two.

17

What is your experience that gives this knowledge? Not doubting, just curious.

Still. Go to New Orleans. Hit AAA pitchers. Drink bourbon.

And be separated for the next several months from your wife, and your two children, the oldest of whom is two.

Yeah man, that too! You and I are a good one-two team, Steve.

Yeah, but the issue isn't that it's heroic. It's that it's hard work. We say that they "play" baseball, that it's a "game," but for the pro ballplayer that's nonsense. They "work" baseball, because it's a job.

There's the opportunity cost too-- Gross probably needs to size up what his next step in life is, and hanging on with the Marlins just kicks that can down the road a bit without moving it forward.

Yeah man, that too!

Rim shot.

But the whole thing is that for us, it's an easy joke, and a wistful dream of spending the summer on an endless road trip with a bunch of buddies, partying every night, no family responsibilities to have to deal with.

For him, that's the BS fantasy. In real life, he's a husband and a father, dealing with emotions, probabilities and consequences.

Over the course of about three weeks in late March and early April, I did about the amount of travel that an MLB ballplayer would often do in an equivalent amount of time -- NYC to Minneapolis and back, then up to Connecticut via train and back, and then to Los Angeles and back -- and I have to tell you, it was exhausting, and I wasn't doing anything more strenuous on non-travel days than running a few miles. By the end of it, my immune system had broken down and I contracted strep throat for the first time since childhood. I can't imagine doing that half the year for several years in a row, especially for a guy like Gross who bounces between the majors and the minors and isn't exactly getting filthy rich off the proposition. I mean, there's no need to weep for these guys, but I can't imagine it's a lark, either, especially for the guys who have kids.

just the stuff i do with my trainer is enough to convince me its a killer. like i said, if i was good enough i'd hang on as long as i could, but still the strain's gotta be tough.

Yeah, I really hate the "OMG they're getting paid to play a game!" nonsense. It's like saying that doctors are being overpaid because you played Operation as a kid and were awesome at removing the Charley Horse and you did it for free out of love.

"Firemen are paid? How hard is it to run around with a Super Soaker?"
"Cops should work for free. I was awesome at tag when I was 8."