What It's Like To...
What It's Like To...
What it's Like to Be a Professional Baseball Player--Part 2
Professional baseball playerJoe Biagini is back on The Experience Podcast to continue his revealing, honest, droll take on playing pro ball.
Part 2 of our conversation is filled with quips, anecdotes and insights about the differences between playing in the major league and the minors; what it's like to be teammates with some "big names;" how it feels to be part of the pitching team that threw an historic no-hitter (and where they went to celebrate afterward); what the days are like on the road during the busy baseball season--including when he gets up each day (hint: breakfast is no longer served) and how his days are different when his wife is in town.
Botanical gardens, anyone?
In this episode:
- differences in playing in the major league vs. minor league (01:03)
- how being told he's "just a guy who plays baseball" became motivation (03:19)
- experience of being part of a no-hitter (07:03)
- how it feels to be on the road so often (11:25)
- a day in the life on the road (12:26)
- juggling marriage and baseball (16:07)
- playing with "famous" ball players (19:31)
Want to know more about Joe?
- Link to article about his participation in the no-hitter: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2848383-aaron-sanchez-will-harris-joe-biagini-chris-devenski-throw-astros-no-hitter
Want to know more about The Experience Podcast?
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Joe 0:08
Early on in my major league career, take a second to try to take it all in. But you can't really do that because you're kind of like in the mode of just like I'm supposed to be here. I need to, you know, act like it. And so it was kind of like yeah, of course we're throwing no hitter. Like that's what we're supposed to do, you know, not give up any hits.
Elizabeth 0:27
Yeah, you heard that right. He did say throw a no hitter. Joby Jamie is back on the Experience podcast to share more stories about being a professional baseball player, from that infamous no hitter to playing with famous faces to life on the road. I'm Elizabeth Pearson, gar. And my conversation with Joe had so much good stuff that I couldn't contain it into just one episode. If you haven't yet heard part one of our interview, you'll want to catch that as well. Here's part two of Joe biagini.
Elizabeth
Does it feel different from your experience to play at the different levels, college and minor league and Major League? Is it still kind of just playing baseball with the team? Or is the experience like grandeur in the Major League,
Joe 1:19
it's hard to ignore the differences once you get to the highest level, where like things you do will just be on the news. And you'll have all these connections and the celebrity things have no money. In the end, it's just kind of like we're in this weird like boys club where we can just get away with all this sort of stuff. And it's just kind of a little bit surreal. And then you kind of get used to it after a while. And then that's kind of surreal. If you step back and think about it, guys are talking about well, I don't really like my other Ferrari. So I bought another one. And then I you know, and this Rolex is a little bit and I like the car, I bought three of them just because I couldn't decide which one I liked. You know, stuff like that. And so that's kind of a little bit strange to be in that environment. And like it becomes normalized, and you were like, this isn't the way that most people live or are even supposed to do. So there's that aspect. But then on the other hand, the funny part of is that, you know, it's just a bunch of grown children playing baseball. You know, I remember asking a guy in the dugout, he was like, in his mid 30s or 37, or something like that. I was like, does it feel weird that you're like putting on a baseball jersey for your job? You know, you're going out there grunting and throwing, you know, yeah, you know, and they're all got dirt on your pants, and you're an adult, you know, you fell over like, people, adults don't fall, you know, they're not sliding and yelling and getting in a fight and
Elizabeth 2:40
getting paid millions of dollars for that's true.
Joe 2:43
Yeah, that but you know, just like, you got a stain on your knee. And it's like, you're supposed to, you know, and it's like, is we're what are we doing? Like we were, you know, you have kids, and you're like, they're playing baseball, you're playing bass, you know. So it's still like that, too. So it's funny to have the dichotomy, you know, just the two things going on at the same time. And I think the varying levels are have are all similar in that way, the major league level just kind of jumps a couple of rooms. But for me, it was always the same, because I grew up not being very good. I was always just trying to figure out my mechanics, like I never would have made it just by natural ability, or just like by the foundational physical mechanics that I produced naturally, like a lot of guys do. And I'm not saying that they didn't work as hard as me or they didn't deserve it or anything like that. But just that I had kind of a different experience where a lot of those guys were always the best players. And they were throwing really hard when they were young, or hitting the ball really far and all that stuff. And I wasn't. And so I kind of, you know, had a later development because I had to like figure out my mechanics, my dad was a big part of that huge part of it. So for me, I was always just kind of a mechanic or instead of a pitcher or a baseball player. I remember a guy in my college told me and this wasn't meant as a compliment. I kind of took it as a compliment, though. He said, Joe, you know, we're all baseball players. You're just a guy who plays baseball, you know, and I kind of agreed with them. Because I was like, Yeah, I'm doing this because I'm pursuing something that I can try to be really good at. And if I want to play a sport that I love, I'll play golf, you know, and I hope it's not depressing anybody here, but it's just the truth. It's just like, I like it. But I what I love is the pursuit of something. And if I would have had that in some other thing, I would have done that.
Elizabeth 4:40
But this was so interesting to me. So in college, this guy's kindly
Joe 4:43
I said something interesting as
Elizabeth 4:46
a guy who plays baseball, and then a year or two later, you have a major league contract. I mean, well, what was he thinking like? You're not a baseball player. And then I'm sure I don't know how many other guys As from your college team got contracts. But
Joe 5:03
yeah, not too many on that team. I was probably supposed to be one of them. That didn't. But yeah, I wonder, you know, I'm sure he knew. And a lot of people were probably like that and probably thought similar as me. And I probably deserved it for a lot of it, because I was all in my head and just kind of, you know, not very good. And so I would be interested to know, what he thought when he saw like, me, like on the news or something like that. And part of that is part of the motivation. For me the pursuit of it, the wanting to be good wanting to, to be the one that made it the wanting to be the one that figured it out. So it's kind of motivating. I remember my dad tells a story of like a kid in Little League, who was like the star in our little league. And they would always talk about how their son's doing, and they would talk about this, the other guys on the team and where they're gonna go to high school and where they're going to this and that. And then he said, they would always turn in at the end and say, How was Joey doing? Eight, like, I was some kid that, you know, it wasn't, you know, and so that motivated him and me to like, we're gonna figure it out. And as frustrating as it is to still be struggling with it, like, I'm always going to have that kind of Major League experience, too. And maybe future here. But I will always have that to kind of say, like, I was successful, and I did it and reach that highest level. And that's something that I can be fake, modest about for the rest of my life. So
Elizabeth 6:42
it's incredible. So I'll be not fake, modest for you. All right. So you are part of a no hitter that I believe is in the Hall of Fame now, or your glove is in the hall of fame or something.
Joe 6:54
I think some items are in the Hall of Fame. I'm not sure which ones they are. But yeah,
Elizabeth 6:59
can you talk about that game and how that felt? I can't that's contractually
Joe 7:03
gag order. i Yeah, that was the memory I have of that is pretty convoluted. Because at the time, I got traded to the Houston Astros. And that was right at the same time, where I started to kind of have a lot of issues with pitching with my mechanics and stuff like that, because I changed a bunch of stuff when I got there right away, they were known as like this team that was, and they were able to like, take pictures and make them really good and figure out the analytics and use that to like improve people and change their game and all that. And so I really bought into it. And I dove headfirst into it and kind of didn't leave myself like a trail of breadcrumbs of where I was coming from. And so I kind of got lost and you know, those are all excuses or whatever, but it wasn't their fault. I don't blame them for trying it on whoever. And then if it works with somebody then great. But for me, it kind of went too far. And so I kind of like had a bunch of issues coming out of that experience. So, you know, I wish I could kind of look back on it and enjoy it more purely and more fondly. But it was definitely like a frustrating time shortly after that. But that time was really funny. It was just kind of like it was the first game that I pitched for the new team. The guy that I got traded with started that game, he pitched six innings of no hitter. And then I pitched one of the innings later, I have to say my portion was probably the most difficult six innings but my one inning was like really, everybody was really Oh my god. And then it was such a whirlwind. We got there the first game I pitched and then, you know, like crazy, all these good things happening so quickly that you're, you know, not able to like appreciate them when they come along because it was like right away. And the other irony of being in that kind of position is that you can't really allow yourself to dwell in or kind of like sit in the moment of like, what's going on and how crazy is this because you're focused and you're like you can't just be out there you know, once in a while I would take a second to do that. In certain situations if I had gotten called back up or if I early on in my major league career different things like that where I was kind of thinking about that more I would take a second to try to take it all in but you can't really do that because you're kind of like in the mode of just like I'm supposed to be here. I need to you know act like it and so it was kind of like yeah, of course we're throwing no hitter like that's what we're supposed to do, you know, not give up any hits. And so I remember they gave us a shadow box where they put the scorecard they put us ball from the game they put a picture of us and everything which was kind of cool. gave us some champagne, which it was so late. We We're gonna go out to dinner after and we went to Denny's and brought the champagne and and put it down in there like y'all can have that in here. So it was kind of like really fancy cars. Yeah. Yeah, Denny's is my celebratory spot. And then, yeah, it was just like a weird thing. It was really cool to be a part of. And I hope like for the rest of my life, I can like look back on it and enjoy it. But yeah, at the time, it was just like, it's crazy. Okay, game tomorrow. So
Elizabeth 10:31
I guess that's it. It's such a busy schedule, right with baseball. You're not? Yeah, it's not like football, you've got a whole week to soak in.
Joe 10:38
I imagine they might be a little busy as well. But the games? Yes, there's a lot of games, and there's not a lot of off days, and you're traveling back and forth. And you're packing and unpacking and unpacking again. So when you come out of a season, you kind of like wake up from something. And you're just like, who was that? So? Yeah, you know, that's the irony of it is just like, I can't enjoy it or take it all in the moment as much as I would like.
Elizabeth 11:05
Does this season feel kind of like a blur? Because you are packing and unpacking? And traveling so much?
Joe 11:11
Yes. Is that your one word? Answer? Okay, most of my answers are not.
Elizabeth 11:18
Do you enjoy the traveling is that a positive part of the job? Is that a not so positive part of the job?
Joe 11:25
It depends. The traveling is tiring and annoying in certain ways. But I kind of like it still, I mean, being young, ish. Still, or not, like not having kids. And, you know, I kind of feel like I can, I'm still like mobile, I'm still I'm not really attached as much to anything. And I can just kind of be wherever might as well be here, you know. So sometimes you wake up in the middle of night, and you don't know like, what city you're in, and where you know, or whatever. But maybe that's just my problem is probably the drugs, but I like it just because I like seeing different places and kind of being in a certain place and being like I'm in Philadelphia today. You know, looking around, let's walk down the street and go see what the sidewalks in Philadelphia look like? I don't know.
Elizabeth 12:19
Yeah. So do you have what is kind of a game day like and what's an off day like for you?
Joe 12:26
This might be embarrassing, but most of them start with waking up, like in the afternoon. And then
Elizabeth 12:34
you sound like 18 year old.
Joe 12:37
I think I am a 13 year old. But I I have kind of this weird that I wish I was like more of a morning person, I actually like myself better or feel better. In general, like in spring training that month and a half every year we're getting up at like six or seven or eight, you know, whatever. It feels good. You're feel like a normal person. This is what normal people do. But in the baseball season, they have day games once or twice a week, maybe. But most of the games are at night, you know and your your peak, especially being in the bullpen is like 9pm, something like that. So I don't know, I don't like getting up at 9am or 8am. And then being like, yawning and tired and like cheering for bed. By the time I'm like supposed to perform or whatever, it just feels kind of strange to me. And I've been able to sleep in some people, like they just can't like sleep past a certain time, you know, whatever. And I kind of wish that I was like that. But I think it kind of works. I don't know, for baseball, we'll see about the rest of my life. But the inconsistency of the schedule is kind of hard. And like if I had a job or something, I might like that schedule. But this is the way it is now. And so I like wake up and then my breakfast is like it in the afternoon, mid afternoon, or lunch or whatever. And then I go to the field, especially in the major leagues, even the minor leagues have meals at the stadium for us. So I don't have to really go you know, some guys like to go to coffee shops in the morning and go out to eat and stuff like that. And I will once in a while but most of the time I'll just go to the field and eat and then we'll do all of our prep work and do all this stuff before the game like there's a game every day so we don't really practice the practices or like before the game and then
Elizabeth 14:26
so that's kind of like warm ups and
Joe 14:29
all the drills all the you know throwing around throwing it around, you know, being
Elizabeth 14:34
tossed at kids that's all you do. I know you just throw it around
Joe 14:37
yeah. And then then we have the game and then after the game we'll have more food and I usually go home and end up like watching Shark Tank. Or you know I like you know this probably isn't healthy but just like watching videos on YouTube and stuff like whether it's just trash stuff, you know goofy stuff. Before it's like, I don't know, I like listening to podcasts and just learning about different things. And I, you know, I have a couple other interests I like educational videos on Well, golf. And so not really educational but
Elizabeth 15:15
I think fully different just kind of chill out from but yeah, it's
Joe 15:18
my excuse, I will say is that the baseball is kind of intense and you're kind of on edge and you're you're focused and all that. So you just want to kind of get out of there and relax. And so on and off Dale, usually now I try to play golf, just I really like golf, as you can probably tell, but I'm married now. So I got married last year. And if my wife's in town, she'll make me go to a museum or a botanical garden or go out to brunch or something like that, which I actually do enjoy if I can wake up before 3pm. So those things are kind of fun, especially in different cities just checking it out.
Elizabeth 16:03
So does she just come occasionally? Or how do you work that out being married? Yeah,
Joe 16:07
she doesn't like me that much. So she doesn't come visit all the time. But uh, you know, they say it gets better with time. But now I, she's a teacher, so she has summers off. So she usually spends most of her time at home, you know, during the kind of beginning and ends of the season. And then the summertime, she'll come out a little more often. But she does really like life at home, which I don't blame her. I mean, a lot of guys wives, you know, if they don't work or something, and they just kind of blog and I don't know, do their hair and makeup and stuff. I'm not like saying that that's a bad thing, or that's, you know, dumb or anything like that. It's just like, they kind of have that ability to just be like, I'm just supporting you, I'm just hanging around. And that's a great thing. And Becca, she does that as well as she can. But she it's kind of hard for her to like be like, I'm just gonna leave my life and come hang out in his hotel room and not have anything to do. And I actually like that about her because I'm like, That's the temperament that I want for the rest of our lives. It's just like right now is like hard. It because I would feel the exact same way I'd be like, What am I doing, I'm just wasting my time here kind of thing. And like, she does a really good job of supporting me and appreciates that. But for both of us, the lifestyle is difficult just being a part. And not knowing if we're kind of fully committing to like her life and joining me like she's willing to do that, and which is really great. But we're kind of like, should we really like, quit your job come hang out with me in the econo Lodge, you know, off the freeway in Buffalo, New York, like for a month, as much as I want to be around her all the time. I don't know if that's like the best thing. So it's just it's one of the aspects of this, that is really difficult that, you know, maybe not a lot of people think about when they're trying to decide if they're gonna be a professional athlete,
Elizabeth 18:15
dreaming of their pro sports career, right? Well, fortunately, there's technology and airplanes and things. You know, it's probably not as hard as it was 50 years ago to keep a relationship alive. It's
Joe 18:27
true. I've I've heard of airplanes actually saw one today. But uh, yeah, the FaceTime is really nice, you know, zoom, whatever is, that's a big thing. I can't imagine the people that like, who went to war and they hadn't didn't see their spouse for four years and wrote letters and send pictures to each other. So they remember what they look like and stuff like that, like this kind of crazy to think about and we complain about FaceTime and internet connections bad. Yeah. But it's just definitely like one of those things where like, it's not ideal to be picky. I mean, we just got married right before Christmas, and, and then we had like, a couple months, and then it was like, Alright, we're gonna be single again for a while, sort of, but she's making the sacrifice for me, and I really appreciate that. And then I'm gonna have to pay her back later, I think, but it's only fair. That's the ballplayers life. That's right. So, one thing I've
Elizabeth 19:27
wondered about, did you ever get like, starstruck by anybody? Were you playing with
Joe 19:31
Yeah, I mean, I don't know I kind of for better or worse, sometimes worse. For sure. I'm kind of a an unaffected person. Not that that means that I'm so whatever that I that it doesn't nothing's a big deal to me because I'm, you know, this net, but it's just more like, I think the kind of recognizing how strange surreal like Finding yourself talking to certain people and being in these environments is definitely something I like, try to appreciate. But I don't know, as you can tell, I'm just kind of this, and I just try to treat people like a person and just try to, like, meet them where they are and where I'm coming from. And just like, if, you know, I'll try not to say anything rude or make you feel bad or something, but I'm just gonna like, kind of be myself. And I also think like a lot of those people who you would be starstruck by would appreciate it, if someone kind of treated them like a normal person, I got a small taste of a very small taste of that, when I would be walking down the street in Toronto or something, and somebody came up to me and just was like, Hey, man, you know, you're doing a good job in the game, whatever, like, Do you know how to get to, you know, whatever street? You know, it'd be like, okay, you know, instead of like, wanting your pictures or something like that. So, again, not a ton of that treatment, but a little bit enough to where I would, I could extrapolate it to how it must feel for somebody who's actually just slightly larger star than I already am. But,
Elizabeth 21:19
yeah, to kind of being seen as like an object of fascination rather than a person would be.
Joe 21:25
Yeah. I mean, that's, you can imagine how celebrities, you know, why they're always like, dress weird with sunglasses. And you know, and I don't think there's a lot of self inflicted stuff like that. But a lot of times, it's like, Why are these people so strange? It's because you're making them strange, you know, because I remember one of my teammates would talk about the, the elevator conversation where it's basically like, you have 30 seconds, where whatever you do in this interaction is what they're going to remember and talk about for the rest of their life. meeting you. And you might, you know, your wife might be in the hospital, and you're like, I don't have time, but you know, what a jerk that guy was. And it's like, so too good problem to have if you're in that position. But still, it's like, an aspect of it that is definitely different than normal person's experience. Anonymity is becomes the like big celebrity or like a couple of my teammates that I've had, or like a way bigger celebrity. Like that's kind of their like, most precious asset if they can have it.
Elizabeth 22:34
Yeah. For that privacy. You don't realize how special it is until it's gone. Yeah. All right. Well, Joe, thank you. Thanks for all your time. And thank you, you good humor and sharing your experiences with me. It's really been a pleasure for me. Well,
Joe 22:50
I haven't spoken to another person in a few days. So it's nice to get this chance.
Elizabeth 22:58
So basically, I could have put my dog up here and that a person that I could apply kids up, anyone
Joe 23:05
barked at each other. But yeah, just a crazy, crazy life. And you just kind of try to stay sane while you're in it, and appreciate it. And yeah, try not to have too many regrets when you're done.
Elizabeth 23:20
That sounds like you're making the most of it. Well, it's an interesting journey.
Joe 23:24
That's true. Yeah. Well, thank you. Thank you.
Elizabeth 23:31
As you can probably tell, Joe kept me laughing. But he also got me thinking a lot. I appreciate Joe's down to earth perspective. We're just a bunch of grownups playing a game running around playing ball with stains on our knees, and also his willingness to open up about his emotions and his struggles along the way. Even though very few of us will ever be professional athletes. I think we can all learn a lot from Joe's journey. Here are some of my takeaways. Number one, don't let other people's opinions form your own opinions of your abilities or your worth. Think about it. The one guy on the college team who was deemed just a guy who plays baseball is the only one who made it to the majors to try to appreciate what you're in while you're in it, and enjoy the moments. Three, keep things in perspective. If people around you are trading in fancy watches or expensive cars for upgrades just because it might be time for a reality check. Remember what's really important for turn negative comments or energy into motivation. Five, treat each person like a person, no matter the level of notoriety. And finally, number six, take advantage of your circumstances focus on the positives rather than the negatives. For example, traveling a lot for work maybe too hiring, but at least you can explore new cities or Botanical Gardens. A huge thanks to Joe biagini for sharing his experiences with me. If you haven't yet listened to the first part of our interview, you can go to our website, the experience podcast.net and find it and all of our past episodes on the homepage. You can also find out how to follow us on social media and sign up for our newsletter there. If you're enjoying this podcast, please tell some friends about it. I'm Elizabeth Pearson. Gar thanks for joining the experience.