The minor league player experience, with all it's stark, working-class reality-checks mixed with a realization of a childhood dream and playing a game for a living, is difficult to fully capture. Perhaps living it is the only way to truly understand the heady highs and murky lows, the physical and emotional toll, not to mention the financial one. Really, only those guys on that team know exactly what it took for them to get to the end of the season, whether it was a success or not.
San Francisco Giants minor league player came up with a creative idea to present the MiLB player world with an equal dose of humor and realism. His blog, now accompanied by a vlog, 'Homeless Minor Leaguer' is everything you want in observing the minor league experience: he shows the hard-grind reality with acidy humor, letting readers/viewers into the day-to-day struggles, while also finding the fun in it all.
Paré played 14 games with the High-A San Jose Giants in 2015, spending the bulk of his time (45 games) with Class-A Augusta . The catcher, drafted out of Boston College in 2009 by the Houston Astros, hit .217/3.22/.337 combined for the season.
Here's our conversation:
HOTF: I'm always interested in minor league players who really work to up their profile. The blog is a mix of heart & humor. Did you start out knowing what you wanted to say and how?
MP: Thanks for the kind words! I started off having a few topics I wanted to write about, but the site has obviously evolved since then.
HOTF: Ok, so the videos. You've come up with some great ideas. Satirical, smart, really creative. What sparked the idea?
MP: I had a friend who's on YouTube- she's actually in the next video, which is why I {was just] in L.A. - and she encouraged me to start vlogging as a way to start out. Then I realized I could take written content that I thought was somewhat preachy, and dry, like 'Life Hacks for the Minor Leaguer', and make them more engaging in video form.
HOTF: So, the blog is what put you on my radar. What was the motivation? Once you began, did writing come easy?
MP: Motivation, I felt like I had some quality stories and information to share with others. And I feel like other players do too. That's why I'm having more guest posts this season. [As for the writing it] comes pretty easy, but I've found that the video creation process feels a lot less like work and is more enjoyable.
HOTF: Tell me a little about the one you just posted. And, if you can, a little about the one you're working on.
MP: Well, 'Out of Left Field' is where I interview a player about very surface level stuff. Nothing too deep and I try to keep it very casual. The new one is an eHarmony parody called 'Minor League Love.'
HOTF: (NOTE: The question took a minute to make sense, and our wires got crossed, but here's the gist about both staying committed to his goals despite MiLB life struggles, what helps him, and where the title of the blog originated]
MP: I love playing baseball and I have great people around me that support what I'm trying to accomplish. For example, I live at my cousin's apartment in San Diego for free. That gives me time to train during the off-season, write posts, and make videos. He and I always made the joke that I was a homeless minor leaguer when he'd let me crash on the couch in his office.
HOTF: Oh awesome. That's sort of what I was getting at. You guys figure out how to be able to do this with your life.
'Homeless Minor Leaguer Links':
You can follow Matt Paré on Twitter @HipHip_Pare.
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