Alright, so everyone sees the guys on TV, the big names in baseball, making millions. Easy to think that’s the whole story. But I got to thinking, what about the other guys? The ones in the minors, grinding it out day after day. That’s a whole different ballgame, and I figured I’d take a closer look myself.
So, what I did, I just picked a player. Almost at random, really. Just scanning some rosters, and the name Errol Robinson came up. No big reason, he just became my guy to follow for a bit. My whole goal was to see what that journey actually looks like, beyond the hype or the sob stories you sometimes hear.
My “method” wasn’t anything fancy. I wasn’t trying to be a scout. I’d check the box scores pretty regular. If I found a local news piece online mentioning him, I’d read it. Sometimes you’d find a grainy video clip. It was about piecing together the daily reality. One day a good game, next day maybe not so much. That’s the rhythm down there.
And you start to realize, these guys are putting in serious work. Serious work. For not a lot of glory, most of the time. Long bus rides, playing in smaller parks, constantly having to prove yourself. It ain’t like the show. Not even close. You see a guy like Robinson, hustling, playing different positions sometimes, just trying to stick, trying to get that shot.
This whole thing, it actually reminded me of my first job out of school. Not baseball, obviously. It was in a warehouse. Hot in the summer, cold in the winter. You showed up, did your work, hoped the foreman noticed you were trying hard, maybe you’d get a slightly better shift. It was a grind. You did it because you had to, and you hoped it would lead to something better. That’s the vibe I got from following this player’s path from afar.
So yeah, my little experiment with following Errol Robinson‘s career for a spell, it didn’t make me an expert. But it sure hammered home that for every star you see, there are hundreds, maybe thousands, just battling. And that’s a side of baseball, or any tough profession really, that’s worth remembering. It’s not just about the highlights.
