John Patterson grew up a door down from my mom and dad in Orange. He's the same age as my nephew, and they'd play together when my nephew visited his grandparents. When I was home last weekend mom was telling me how odd it is that Patterson is "retired" at 30 and my nephew hasn't even gotten to a full time job yet. The working life of a ball player is very short.
I know a guy like that. He was a good pitcher in HS and college (UT), but not one of those guys who just blew everyone away. So I was surprised and proud when he went (low) in the first round of the draft. He got a nice signing bonus for that, but as far as I could tell he did not spend any of it at the time.
Anyway, he lasted longer than Patterson and had a mostly middling career, but near the end he had a couple of really good seasons as a swing man and got a nice contract. Nothing astronomical, maybe $5.5 million over two years. But he is the kind of guy who would not have blown any of it; I am sure he socked it all away in conservative investments, thinking ahead. He had to retire soon after because of a bad shoulder, he was only in his mid-30s. But he was set. He works now, but doesn't have to.
I cannot imagine having all the struggle and worry of keeping it together financially for the family and everything behind me by the age of 35. I've never asked him about it. . . you know, how does it
feel, man??
