From dogs that retrieve bats for the players, to mid-inning circus performances, minor league baseball in Michigan has it all. But where do the teams find players? And how do those players live on a fraction of the salary of an ordinary job?
It’s difficult. After spending a full day practicing at the park and working at nights, minor league baseball players find unique ways to support themselves as they chase their Major League dreams.
I am currently a member of the Birmingham Bloomfield Beavers in the United Shore Professional Baseball League. After being injured for most of my high school career, I somehow convinced my local Division II college, Purdue University Northwest, to let me walk on. I made the most of the opportunity and was able to have a very successful college career.
The USPBL hosted a tryout immediately after my last college season, so I decided to chase my dream. The tryout consisted of around 100 newly graduated college players who wanted to play at the next level. Coaches from each team came to the tryout and then held a player draft on who would be selected from the available players. When players’ names started being called, the Beavers picked me. Most players who attended the tryout didn’t make a team, as each team only selected about 4 players.
This isn’t your average minor league. The USPBL comprises only 4 teams, all located in Utica at Jimmy John’s Field. The league only plays half of the games that most minor league teams play. With fewer games played, salaries tend to be lower. So how do players manage to make ends meet? Many have to explore out-of-the-box ways to support themselves.
On my off days, while other teams in the league are playing, I typically work as a bartender, just like many other players in the USPBL. Aside from the “Don’t I know you?” looks you get from some of the fans, bartending helps players get closer to earning livable wages.
Living at the park is something that many players grow accustomed to. Whether they are practicing, playing, or working, players do everything but sleep on the field, though some players surely have considered it.
Living situations are another difficulty that is unique for minor leaguers. Unlike major league players, minor leaguers are constantly in a revolving door, a euphemism for “expendable”. If you don’t play well, you will be replaced in short order.
Players who are able to stick with the team for a while try to live with host families provided to them by the league. These host families are usually fans of the league, and—aside from the initial awkwardness of living in someone else’s house—the families are usually very accommodating. If host families are in short supply, other players choose to either split an apartment with teammates or crash in a friend’s basement.
A lot to think about as you step up to the plate, right? To that, I like to remember the wise words of Crash Davis in “Bull Durham,” the famous minor league baseball movie: “Don’t think. It can only hurt the ball club.”
While all of the players in minor league baseball are hoping to be the one who gets their number called by an MLB team, the harsh reality is that this is unlikely. As players get older in the minor leagues, their stock only decreases. MLB organizations would much rather take their chances on a 17-year-old high school prospect than offer a contract to an aging minor leaguer, no matter his batting average. The consensus among USPBL players is that you have to enjoy the little things.
You have to enjoy all of the aspects of minor league baseball, including the antics at the field, the crowds that paid to watch you play, the smell of grilled onions, and the autograph requests from kids hoping you make it big, just like you.
Unlike the pomp of Comerica, minor league baseball in Michigan can present a challenging path for major-league hopefuls. Nevertheless, players learn to take it one day at a time and appreciate the journey.
Ray Hilbrich is a minor league baseball player in Utica, Michigan. He is an avid enjoyer of sports, America, and a good cigar.
