Said John Jaso, quoted in "No More Spring Trainings/John Jaso walked away from Major League Baseball at 34, potentially leaving millions of dollars on the table. The sea was calling" (NYT).
"Boating filled the void in his life. He familiarized himself with every foot of the ship. He took a class for diesel motor mechanics and installed solar panels and a wind generator. He devoured hours of YouTube videos about the electronics and made sure he knew what every wire did. “If anything goes wrong in the open ocean,” he said, “I’m the only one out there to fix it.”...
“I want my life to be simple, and it doesn’t get simpler than being on a sailboat,” he said. “You treat the boat right, and she treats you right. That’s all there is to it.”
Nice pics of Jaso and his boat at the link. And this — from 5 years ago — is pretty cute:
Excuse me sir, may I see your ticket? pic.twitter.com/UTGD2X7YLB
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) May 25, 2018
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“If anything goes wrong in the open ocean,” he said, “I’m the only one out there to fix it.”...
He’s sure right about that.
34? pretty old for a major leaguer
My niece is dating a dude that looks like this, white guy dreads and all. Seems like a nice fellow…
I admire the man. He gets it. He also understands what it takes to be on the ocean and be self-sufficient. It isn't easy being your own captain, mechanic, and engineer. You can have a great life without spending lots of money.
It's good that he found something else to do, but he was a below average player who hit .211 in his final season. He walked away from a drastic pay cut or no job in baseball at all.
I don't want to overconsume the culture as presented by the NYT.
Sounds better than playing baseball to me!
Boating is not cheap. It's been said that there are a boater's two happiest days are (1) when he buys his boat and (2) the day he sells it. There's constant maintenance required, such as removing barnacles, waxing the deck, painting and then stripping the paint. Boats are money pits, much worse than Jeep Cherokees.
My brother-in-law is a boater. He's devoted to his boat, spends more time with his boat than with my sister. It limits where they can live, a harbor has to be within a reasonable drive of their home. In his case, that means L.A. County. Their home is about an hour drive from the L.A./Long Beach harbor.
His previous boat burned to the waterline. The insurance paid for a new boat, which he found in Rhode Island. Had that new boat trucked across the country. It is a fixer-upper, requiring upgrades to make it what he wants.
Solar panels, a wind generator, electronics, and he has to know what every wire does because if something goes wrong, he may die. Yeah, it doesn't get simpler than that.
Historically, it was not unusual for players, especially in the 19th century, to walk away from baseball because of money. However, that was because they could make more money outside of baseball. A lot, perhaps the large majority, of the players of the era had limited options off the diamond and they invariably had offseason jobs as well, but there were players who could be lawyers or doctors or businessmen. One notable one was Bill Lange, a very good player, who quit baseball in the prime of his career because he was about to get married and the woman's wealthy father forbade her from marrying one of those low-class baseball players. That marriage imploded very quickly, but Bill would become independently wealthy as a businessman afterwards and never returned as a player, even though he probably would have been the highest paid player if he came back.
As for Jaso, you have to do what is right by you. I do question how much money Jaso was leaving on the table, though. His bat had slipped quite a bit in 2017 and his defense was unimpressive. The demand for a 34-year-old replacement level platoon corner outfielder/first baseman showing obvious signs of decline, especially one who had been a catcher and probably was more worn down that the typical player at that age, is not going to be in huge demand. He made $4 million in 2017. I'm very doubtful anyone would have signed him for that much and certainly not for a multi-year contract. He may have gotten a minor league invite to spring training to compete for a bench job. Best case was probably an also-ran team with a spot open, who would toss a few million his way in the hope he would bounce back and they could trade him to a contender at the trade deadline. There may have been millions left on the table, but then again he may have been cut in spring training. For a man who has already made $16.5 million in his career and should be set for life if he was smart with that money, it may have not been worth the time and effort.
"I want my life to be simple"
Man-simple: learning about every inch of boat, diesel mechanics, electronics, sailing. Simpler than baseball?
I guess he doesn't have a wife and children at home.
To quote Chico Escuela: “Baseball been berry, berry good to me!”
After a certain point in wealth gathering your time always becomes more important than acquiring another dollar. He's been blessed that he can go sailing at such an early age and that baseball allowed him to do that.
So, millionaire baseball player retires to St Petersburg, to his yacht and investment properties, and NYT is squeeing because he mouths some left-wing pieties about consumer culture. Reminds me of SBF, without the theft.
Good for him. This sort of ties in with the SNP leader being "exhusted". We have two people with lots of fame, money (him), power (her), walking away from what many would consider dream jobs.
In both cases, they left before their time was up, but neither was going to stay in their position forever, and the clock was running out on both.
A nice boat, indeed. Where's the all-girl crew?
Lilly is right, Jaso was below replacement value in his final year (although he was above average before then). He would have landed a prove-it deal at $1-2mm, with hopes of reviving his earnings power if he performed.
That said, he made $16mm in his career. Why not retire and do something more enjoyable?
Jaso is trending on baseball-reference.com. So, there still are a few people who read the NY Times, or more likely, Althouse.
The last Pirate to retire to life on his boat was Derek "Operation Shutdown" Bell.
Cultural clutter, perhaps. Still, choice.
So now he's a boat bum. Good for him! It's a rare man that can see through the culture and arrive at an understanding of what's right for him. Once you step out of the race, you're no longer a rat. Bravo and Fair Winds!
Lilly beat me to it- he hit .211 in his last season in 2017, and it looks like he was injury prone for much of his active career. His overall averages are about exactly the same as any other player who stopped playing after only 8 full seasons because they couldn't get a contract. Not a bad player, but also not one who as going to play much beyond age 34 even if he wanted to. Overall, though- I like his attitude- even a mediocre major leaguer is well paid, and if he manages his money correctly, just a few seasons are more than enough to be set for life, even with a family to support.
He walked away from a drastic pay cut
I think you and I have different definitions of "drastic". The lowest paid player in major league baseball makes $500,000 a year, and the average player makes $4,000,000.
Half a mill to play 182 games of baseball sounds pretty good to me....
Nice relief from the stories of athletes blowing everything or being ripped off by money managers. Or hanging on too long.
I like when they think ahead and adapt gracefully
So?
Maybe he just wants to join other millionaire sports and entertainment retirees hawking copper infused clothing, Medicare plans, reverse mortgages and the like?
"Why do we always have to have more, more, more?"
Maybe it's just about something to do. Early retirement can be boring and unfulfilling.
Of course you can fill your time with self righteousness!
Also, i believe the Correct Quote is:
Beisbol been berry berry good to me!
I am sorry, I do not buy this. If he did not want the money, he could have negotiated a contract for next to nothing. Now THAT would have made an anti-consumer-culture statement, no? I would be happy to play in the majors for next to nothing. A lot of people would. Boating for the love of it? Fine. But why not playing ball for the love of it? Even at my ripe old age, I'd take that over boating any day, right now.
I am sorry, I do not buy this. If he did not want the money, he could have negotiated a contract for next to nothing. Now THAT would have made an anti-consumer-culture statement, no? I would be happy to play in the majors for next to nothing. A lot of people would. Boating for the love of it? Fine. But why not playing ball for the love of it? Even at my ripe old age, I'd take that over boating any day, right now.
I am sorry, I do not buy this. If he did not want the money, he could have negotiated a contract for next to nothing. Now THAT would have made an anti-consumer-culture statement, no? I would be happy to play in the majors for next to nothing. A lot of people would. Boating for the love of it? Fine. But why not playing ball for the love of it? Even at my ripe old age, I'd take that over boating any day, right now.
Good for him. He had a highly successful career, made boatloads of money (enough to buy a really cool boat), and he's now doing what he loves to do most. It's a wonderful life. More power to him. (Yes, I am also somewhat envious.)
Dianne Feinstein could not be reached for comment.
My uncle Harry had a boat. On his living room wall was a plaque: "Boat - a hole in the water surrounded by wood into which you pour money."
"Chad 'Ochocinco' Johnson (NFL Cincinnati Bengals) says he saved 83% of NFL earnings by wearing fake jewelry, flying commercial."
Owing to his flamboyant career, I was a doubter. Maybe not.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/chad-ochocinco-johnson-says-he-saved-83-percent-nfl-earnings-wearing-fake-jewelry-flying-commercial
"Half a mill to play 182 games of baseball"
162. If you play them all. These days nobody does.
I looked him up on the internet. Apparently his grandfather left major league baseball (although he may have been in the minors) to go to medical school. He (the grandfather) and his wife spent his career in a medical practice in an area so poor they were lucky to get paid in chickens or produce. The grandfather's story reminded me of the doctor in Field of Dreams. In this case, his grandfather passed shortly after he made the major leagues. m
I assume he has at least several million dollars saved, which is just about the perfect amount of money to have when criticizing consumerism.
@Baghdad Bob: Jaso was above the average for all players until his final season, but among first basemen he was a below-average hitter for his final three seasons, and a below-average fielder for his final four seasons.
Easy to replace at lower cost, so this looks like a case of quitting before being fired.
Good on him (who I have never heard of before).
Make your bundle and go do what you love--it's the American Dream, if you ask me.
I'd be happy with $1.6 mill, but then I'm a simple man.
of course... This is THE DIFFERENCE between baseball and football.
You CAN walk away from baseball.. Instead of limping/staggering away from football.
Black athletes usually get sucked into the urban black culture or *symbols of luxury* like $4,000 sneakers and $800 t-shirts equating wealth. Instead of actual wealth that builds and maintains itself. Like real estate or stocks.
IDK if this guy is black or not but good for him for escaping that trap.
Black athletes usually get sucked into the urban black culture or *symbols of luxury* like $4,000 sneakers and $800 t-shirts equating wealth.
I had two kids in my third period history class today talking about the $600 shoes each was wearing.
IDK if this guy is black or not but good for him for escaping that trap.
He's White, but he does have dreadlocks.
rcocean at 9:38 "where' the all girl crew?"
He must not have seen the article, which includes a picture of an attractive babe in skimpy bikini on his boat.
Money - check. Boat - check. Hot girl - check.
Thanks NYTimes for showing us this inspiring story of professional athlete who walked away.
Reminds me of Matthew McConaughey back in the day.
My opinion of him went up when he was arrested for playing bongos in the nude.
Half a mill to play 182 games of baseball sounds pretty good to me....
is < $ 3,000 per game [add in prep time] and deduct tax w/h for city state and federal
!!could be more than plumbers electricians!!
You guys haven’t seen what the vintage sneaker market has been like the last few years, have you?
I think this is the first time I've seen an article mentioned at both Althouse and Baseball Think Factory: https://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/newsstand/discussion/john_jaso_walked_away_from_major_league_baseball_at_34_potentially_leaving_
I love boats, own several (little ones) and have even built a few. When I retire sometime in the next few years (in my mid-60's) I want to buy a bigger boat and spend a lot of time on it.
That would, of course, involve me being a consumer of lots of corporate products, including the boat and motor.
I'd like to say I'm torn, but if John Jaso isn't, neither am I. To be honest, I'm glad I live in a country that has a consumer culture that can produce such wonderful things, even though nobody ever paid me millions of dollars to play a game (in front of consumers).
You guys say he wouldn't have made millions. But maybe everybody around him, agents and whatnot, maybe they were all telling him he'd bounce back, he could make millions more. But he escaped those voices. Learned to sail instead of fail.
"Blogger rehajm said...
You guys haven’t seen what the vintage sneaker market has been like the last few years, have you?"
I've recently stumbled upon the edges of this market by accident. I started shopping on eBay for Nike Vaporflys (aka marathon supershoes) hoping to pick up some good racing shoes at a bargain price. I have found some great deals, but I've also discovered how weird shoe collectors are. I'm even finding unexpected stuff like Asics Japanese running shoes that I happen to have bringing silly money online. I may have thrown away a fortune in running shoes over the years!
Well, maybe Jaso can go on to a successful career hiring himself out as Captain Ron.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103924/
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