For a baseball player, nothing beats the adrenaline rush of hitting a fastball
out of the park, jumping over the fence to catch a hit that looked like a
home run, or striking out a batter in the bottom of the ninth.
But as exciting as baseball is, it's also hard work. Baseball players deal
with weekend and evening work, lots of travel and a great deal of physical
stress. If you're playing pro ball, you also have to deal with fame. And there
is always training -- players have to be in top physical condition.
Justine Siegal is the founder and executive director of a Massachusetts-based
organization that offers baseball instruction for men and women. She says
the duties of a baseball player go far beyond just throwing or hitting the
ball.
"A professional baseball player's job is to perform," she explains. "The
player must succeed on the field. After performance, the player's job is to
be an ambassador for their team. This includes appearing at community events,
signing autographs and speaking responsibly to the media."
Siegal says that although it's not always the case, having a personality
that makes your teammates like and respect you goes a long way when playing
ball. But what it comes down to is how well you play.
"It helps when a pro baseball player is also a good teammate, someone
the other players respect," she says. "The difference between an amateur baseball
player and a pro player is that it's the pro player's job to perform on the
field. If she does not perform, they are likely out of a job. There is always
someone trying to replace you."
The truth of the matter is that it's hard to become a professional baseball
player in the first place. Countless kids would like to be a professional
ball player, but only a few of those succeed.
"All kids dream of pursuing a career in professional sports and, as we
know, there are not many that make it," says Robin Tolhurst. Tolhurst is operations
manager of a baseball camp.
Professional baseball players play in either the major or minor leagues.
The major leagues tend to most of the attention. But the minor leagues feature
many talented players.
It is common for major league players to start their careers in the minor
leagues. The minor leagues are separated into single-A, double-A, and triple-A
baseball.
A baseball team has nine active players -- players who are participating
in the game. There are up to 15 more players waiting on the bench to get in
the game. On the team there are numerous positions including outfielders,
infielders, a pitcher, and a catcher.
There are careers in baseball that don't involve signing a contract for
the big leagues. You can be a coach or an umpire at a minor league level.
You can work for a baseball magazine. You can sell refreshments at baseball
games, work as a baseball statistician or announce games for the local baseball
team. There are lots of possibilities.
There are no female players in the major leagues. However, there are baseball
leagues just for women.
One thing that often confuses people is the difference between softball
and baseball. There is a misconception that softball is a sport for females
only. But men and women play softball -- and baseball.
"In actuality, baseball and softball are completely different sports with
different rules, field dimensions, regulations, etc." says Ashley Bratcher.
Bratcher is the director of a national women's baseball team.
"Unfortunately, until awareness efforts are made, the 12-year-old female
baseball player is not necessarily going to be aware that she has the option
to continue with baseball rather than switch to softball."