Tigers Minor League Baseball Blog

In order to be a baseball player there are two things one must come to terms with in order to stay sane and keep performing at a high level. One is, that there will be a lot of games played and you will travel a lot. The pressure never really goes away and you must keep having fun. The other thing that is absolutely essential to survive in the realm of pro-ball is that you must be able to embrace really, really bad tan lines. For me I like to embrace this as sort of a badge of honor, and wear it proudly. For others the thought having to walk around two toned is about a shameful as a “bad night out.” Thus, the introduction of the tanning bed comes into play. I’ve never been one for this phenomenon but whatever helps a player deal with his scars is up to them. Now let me explain just what exactly it is that I have to deal with on a daily basis; On my head, I have a darker face, and a bright white forehead. I also have a tan line on my arms three quarters of the way down my arm because of the undershirt I wear and then the best of all when I take off any white undershirt, it still looks like I am wearing it. Now my situation is not as bad as some of the hitters however. Some of our guys have to deal with wrist tape lines and my personal favorite, the eye black circles. If you have no problem with really bad tan lines, and are lucky enough to do something which reinforces them everyday, my hat is off to you and just maybe there is a little bit of ballplayer in you too.