Life on the Road

Ever wonder what it's like to be a minor leaguer on the road? Bus rides, hotels, meal money, and plenty of time to bond. Life on the road is at the heart of the minor league experience, and from time to time, The Blog will give you an inside look, courtesy of the players who are living the dream.

Today, third baseman Zach Lutz gives us his take on the travel:

"Basically, on the bus trips what we do is just clown around, talk baseball, watch movies, and try to catch up on some rest to be prepared for our games. My family usually comes to most of the games and after the games I usually go out for dinner with them. After games the guys on the team usually have interviews to do and then we have a kind of buffet-style dinner that is prepared for us.

There is a lot of rest that is needed because we get to the field 4 or 5 hours before game time! That's the part that's usually a surprise to fans. We go over fundamentals and take ground balls and batting practice. It's a long day, but we're playing baseball for a living, so no one is complaining.

The road trips are fun because we get to know each other better. The best thing about our team this year is everyone gets along. We are always having a good time. That is probably one of the most important things in baseball. If you have a good team chemistry (and some talent), then you will win ball games. We get to play baseball for our job so we are having fun with it, but when it comes down to it we are in it to win it.

Life on the road is enjoyable, but just like when you're at home, you have to stay focused and make sure you get your rest in order to be ready for game time."

-- Zach