11/21/24
July 14, 2009
The journey of Delino DeShields: "This is how it happens. You play 10, 12, 13 years in the big leagues, cash in a couple of big contracts at the end. "Retire" by the simple act of not answering your phone for an entire offseason, your career numbers a statement for all eternity as to who you were. You lay low, help raise those kids, get the oldest ready to fly the nest. Get divorced -- ouch -- and watch the economy go down the toilet -- double ouch. Start thinking that, well, if you were ever going to get back in the game, this might not be a bad time."
One thing I didn't gather from the article was how much money he had left from his playing days. It implied that he needed the paycheck, but never came right out and said it.
posted by trox at 01:19 PM on July 14, 2009
DeShields had a job offer in hand to run Grissom's nonprofit baseball association.
posted by rcade at 01:52 PM on July 14, 2009
I always liked DeShields as a player, but I don't get the logic of him going all the way out to Montana to be a hitting coach in rookie ball. He's got five kids aged 16 or less in Atlanta from two marriages. If he intends to hit the minor league circuit and work his way up as a coach, he's going to be absent from their lives a lot unless he's flying home frequently. That's pretty expensive on a minor league hitting coach's salary.