Not all it's cracked up to be

I read an article by Jeff Pearlman about Mike Lamb, a journeyman corner infielder who is now 32. The basic point of the article is that the MLB lifestyle isn't what it's cracked up to be. It seems like it's all fun and games, but it's experienced in different ways by different people.

Here are three examples:

You've got a guy like Derek Jeter, who is a single star, enjoys the spotlight, uses his MLB stature to live the high life, so to speak. This whole lifestyle suits him well, it seems.

You've got a guy like A-Rod, who is a star, and who tried to do the family thing at the same time he did the celebrity thing, only now it's all getting thrown in his face. He's now getting divorced from his wife, and will get to spend even less time with his two young daughters (sidenote: their middle names are both Alexander, not Alexa, or Alexandra, but Alexander; way to go there A-Rod).

Then you've got a guy like Lamb - not a star, hasn't made a ton of money (at least not for a pro baseball player - $6.7 million in 5 years is nothing to sneeze at for the rest of us), obviously cares about his family, but the fact of the MLB lifestyle is such that he can't spend time with his wife and young children.

As a kid, I grew up wanting to play pro baseball. Once I got to high school, I realized that I wasn't going to make it, but I still love playing, and remain somewhat envious of those who get to do it for a living. So as that person, I find it hard to be sympathetic toward any complaints involving a life where you get paid millions of dollars to play a fun game. But, being a father, this one strikes a chord with me.

I worked some long hours as an auditor, but I was never gone for more than a couple days at a time, and even that was few and far between. I can't imagine what it would be like for me or my wife and children if I was away from them for weeks at a time. I would have missed the little things - like when my two-year-old son started singing "Sweet Child of Mine" while he was playing in his room, because that's the song I sing to him sometimes before bed. You could not pay me any amount of money to take that moment away from me. And Lamb is missing all of those things. He may be missing his anniversary every year because it just happens to fall on an away date or during spring training. He can't ever go on vacation with his family during the summer because he can't take a day off from March to September.

It just makes me think. Any time I hear pro baseball players (or pro anything players) complain, it disgusts me. "How dare they gripe about anything! They get paid a ton of money to live out of hotels and play a game! Anything less than praising God on the streets is inadequate for the type of life they've been blessed with!" Those sentiments contain truth - some of those complaints really are petulant and immature.

But this one is legitimate and it makes me sad. I don't know what Lamb's priorities are (although family certainly seems like it's up there), and I don't know what his options are for a career after baseball, but I hope he gets to experience the joys of husband/fatherhood like I have. It's way better than baseball.