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A bit of advice from a guy that played until age 35 here in the states
in men's amatuer leagues. Then coached afterwards in a high school program.

The coaching can just as much fun. Sure you have to take the game
to the mental level......were you are thinking it, rather than playing it.
But you are already doing that when you are on the bench and question the bunt sign that the manager has just flashed on.:-)

Don't kid me.....I know you do that when you want your buddy at the plate to swing away.:-)

Had I not stayed with it, I would not gotten one day to play in an 'old
timers' professional game here in Florida. Got to sit the bench with guys from the American League at the Astro Complex. Was fun to do, even though I was nailed by the former Yankee Skipper for a eating burger on the bench before the game.

My suggestion is to talk the manager of your team there. See if they have any coach openings coming up. If not them, maybe one of the other teams in your league. And back here......go to www.ncaa.org, they run a employment service for college coaches. Usually a manager job for baseball is being posted every day there or so. With your experience, I could see a college coaching job possiblity for you.

Only you know when the game stops being fun to play. It is tough on the body.....specially the arm and legs. My feeling was it was better going out playing good ball rather than hang around and make mistakes that hurt the team. When I saw the arm and legs going....time to end. But that is just me. Each is different.

Also your skills will age differently. I love to hit. Even though the arm and legs were going, stepping into the box to take a cut was still fun.
Getting to first was a trick.......but as a old timer you know the tricks to get you there. But even though the legs were hurting, the swing was still there I could still hit. So there are specially roles that you might still can play.

But if you have been playing most of the innings, sitting the bench gets to be tough to do as well. So maybe a player/coaching position would work?

Good luck with it. Great game.....is hard to give up.

Ditto!!



We're all behind you, hun! Whatever you want to do, you have my support!

bump for the baseball player

Yeah, I've been wondering about your baseball career, and was actually meaning to write you offlist about it Stressfree. I must say I've been curious how a California boy ended up in Sweden...

Thanks for the update, brother.

All I can say is, take your time and do what feels right.

Thanks Tom for the heads up, I appreciate it.

I know for sure that I do not want to coach in Sweden....too many lolygaggers.
If I did coach back home in the States, I would like to coach hs. I am still well connected, so there have been opportunities. I was the hitting instructor for a hs team back when I was 26, the year before I moved to Sweden....so I do have a little experience with the teens.
The thing is that my kids are 7 and 12. So there is no way I can just move over to the States without my kids. They live with their mom, and I get them every other week. So maybe when they are older...plus if I still feel like being around baseball.

I can surely play another 5 years at a high level. I don't sit the bench, but I have moved to left field over from center....less running. I don't have the fresh legs like I did a few years ago, so it is a lot of maintenance.
I am still in good shape and I should be okay within two weeks provided that I do my sprint training and stretching. I do work out during the winters.The thing is, the game just feels not the same. But hitting is always fun.
I still have a spot on the National team, and the next big tourney is the World Championships next year. I don't know if I will play, cause I need that fire inside if I am going to invest a lot of time with baseball. I have been playing my whole life, and I just feel like there is nothing left for me to prove to myself. It is just about winning and helping the team win in any capacity.

Time will tell. Like I said, I am just going to play out this season, do my best, and go from there.

Thanks for the support everybody. Baseball has been part of my identity for so long, and it is something kinda of difficult to just walk away from.

The year I got released from the Rockies, I met a Swedish aupair. Too make a really long story short, she became pregnant that year while she was in the States and our son was born in 96. We moved to Sweden in 99 for a change and so she can be close to her family.
We had another kid in 2000. That same year, I discovered that there was a pro league there...yes I was very surprised. So I started playing in the league and it took off from there. Eventually I received double citizenship so I can play with the Swedish National team in tournaments like the European and World Championships as well as friendly tournaments here in Europe and some exhibition games in the States. The cool thing is that I have done a lot of traveling for free by playing baseball.

I grew up following my uncle's softball team. We always had baseball on... in the car, on the TV, still love to watch. Then I dated a softball player. The wives used to ask me, "Don't you get sick of him always playing??" I said, "I'd rather he be here playing softball where I can come watch than sitting in a bar somewhere!"

Good luck in Stockholm! I'm sure you'll do great! Nice pics, BTW.

Stressfree,

I am going to sound like a sport's pyschologist in the post a little.
I am not one. But have been around athletes and sports most
of my adult life in one role or another.

Stop and think of Kevin Costner in Bull Durham for a moment.
Older player brought in to work with the rookies, to give them
confidence that they can play over their heads and make it into
the bigs.

Costner had lost his 'fire' as well, remember. Now he is solid and
consistant. He still loves the game. But he knows he not going to the bigs for any period of time. He becomes the team's leader. And the biggest thing.....he makes it fun for the young players. Kept them
....to use your net name....."stressfree". Loose and relaxed is the way to go for a good ball team.

Managers and coaches look for their older players to be the leadership
on thier teams. Shucks they don't want teams self destructing on them. That is what happens without the leadership of older players.
Smart managers look for players that will both keep the younger ones from stressing out and keep it fun out there. Think along those lines.
Maybe now itstead of burning fire, you got a steady stoked fire that is under control.

Also this.

I used a early season stress sprint training program with a college team (different sport). We used a drag man with the sprinter giving resistance to him during the sprint. The sprint is not as fast, but the legs have to work much harder to make the distance. Also you get to practice perfect running form. Four years I ran the program, never major injury only a few twisted ankles. Reason....our legs were strong from the stress training early in the season. And we were fast on the field. Lightening fast.

Nike has a para device that does the same thing. Acts like a drag chute and gives stress to the sprinter. For a guy that is trying to get his legs into shape.....I recommend it. If you can do your normal sprint training with a draq chute or a drag man.......I would nearly guarantee that your legs will be ready for the season.

Ya know, the sooner you retire, the sooner you can come back to CA?

if you build it it will come....

Thanks Tom for the heads up again. I will look into this drag shute resistence program. I did this training in college.
When I go hardcore for sprint training, I run hills. The hill I do my sprints on is about 80 yards up and the slope is about 10-15 degrees.
I do high knees or butt kicks on the way down at a controlled rate, and about 15 yards from the flat ground, I go full speed....good overload training. Sprinting up the hill is a bitch, but hurts so good.
I also mix in plyometrics to work my quick twitch muscles.

I have been hills to. Problem here. Easy to trip and fall. Also hard on the ankles. I like flat surfaces to do this on.

For me when it became time.....or better when time caught up with me.... the twitch muscles were slowing. LOL........guess they gave up the twitch for the rocker.

Healthy, I am very impressed....switch hitter huh! That is not easy...did your dad teach you that? I tried it, but it could never work.

That sounds like you had some great memories at the ballpark. I bet that meant a lot for your dad having you there all the time cheering and having fun at the ballpark. I bet you are a great athlete Healthy, did you play a lot of sports growing up? Did you run track since you could run like a deer?
So if I come to your truck in my dirty baseball uniform, would you at least invite me in for a cup of coffee and talk about baseball only

I got clobbered in the side of the head by a line drive when I was 9 and sadly that ended my baseball career!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh gosh Were you knocked out? That will end a lot of careers in a hurry. I really do hate to see accidents on the diamond. Takes the fun out of the game.

No just stunned....I'm sure my career wouldn't have went much beyond Little League anyway!!!!!!!!!!

I miss the Montreal Expos.

Well maybe you should'a went to more games....you guys had such horrible attendance at the games...

I miss sitting in the bleachers at THE OLYMPIC stadium in front of a whopping 3,100 fans,from a stadium that holds roughly 60,000.....and hoping to catch a homerun ball.