Monday, March 23, 2009

Would you Rather?

I was thinking the other day of what would be cooler, to be the starting center fielder of the New York Yankees, or a journeyman reliever who ends up winning a dozen championships with different teams including the Yankees, and performs well in the post season. For anyone who grew up watching the Yankees, then centerfield is a magical position. Some great players have roamed that part of the outfield and playing there for an entire career would be a dream come true. However, when I started thinking about it, I started getting attracted to the journeyman reliever idea.

If I were a journeyman reliever, I could play for different teams seamlessly transitioning between leagues, divisions, rivalries, teams, and teammates, meeting a bunch of baseball players, and the experiences playing in all the different cities would be amazing. I thought that it would be cool if one year I could be playing with Albert Pujols in St. Louis, then be hanging out with Vlad Guerrero in Anaheim the next season, then over to Chicago to kick it with Soriano after that, and then over to the Yankees to play with Jeter the year after. It would be a tougher life for sure. Every season having to pack up everything and find a new team, worrying whether you may not get a big league contract that year, or maybe not get a contract at all. Of course, the added bonus of winning a dozen championships with several different teams, and pitching well in the post season would help keep you employed, but being a free agent every one to two years could get annoying. Plus, because you're a journeyman reliever, if you do not get signed, you wouldn't hesitate to pack up and fly to Japan to play there for a season, maybe even winning a championship over there. Although none of this really sells me on picking the journeyman reliever over the centerfielder, one final point makes me lean in that direction. Its true that the centerfielder would probably make way more money than the journeyman reliever. Not to mention that endorsement deals, and other money making opportunities come much easier for starting centerfielders of the New York Yankees than journeyman relievers. However, the trade off is that you become one of the more recognizable faces in the city. Everywhere you go people will be hounding you, and you won't be able to go out in peace. A journeyman reliever however can probably sit down and have a nice steak dinner without anyone noticing who they are. This is a good selling point, but it would still be a hard pick. So would you rather be the starting centerfielder, or a journeyman reliever given the arguments provided? Is the money and fame worth more than your privacy and comfort?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes! The money and fame is worth my privacy and comfort. LOL. But seriously, playing CF for the Yankees is the most magical job on earth. Can't imagine anything better.

Fernando Alejandro said...

I know, that's why I'm so torn. It's pure magic! But I do value privacy and comfort. Push comes to shove I think I'd have to go for the centerfield.

Roberto E. Alejandro said...

I'd be the journeyman reliever, and I would be like Jason Grimmes, climbing through building vents to get player's steroids out of their lockers before MLB officials could get their hands on them.

Anonymous said...

Oh, hell.
Go ahead and let Schilling into the Hall.

Joe