Six-Figure Paychecks Don't Make Professional Athletes Superhuman

After you see a half-naked athlete, your perspective of them changes a bit.

Having been in the Padres clubhouse after a few games and seen the players out of their uniforms, I can safely say that athletes are in fact human and not much different then you or me.

Sure they are taking in six-figure paychecks, sure they are getting paid to do what everybody did from the age of 5 to 12.

But really, they are no different than us: They all have their quirks, they all have their own unique personalities. They are not just robots that are really good at playing baseball.

It might have been when Heath Bell—Padres closer—told me my tie was crooked, then proceed to straighten it out before talking to the press.

Or it could have been when I interviewed Trevor Hoffman—you know, the all-time saves leader, only the second-greatest Padre ever—when he was a member of the Milwaukee Brewers and had lost the closer job and was struggling quite a bit. Yet he still spoke candidly about his struggles to a zit-faced intern.

Or it could have been when I talked to David Eckstein, the former second baseman for the Padres. If you put Eckstein and me side by side, most would have thought I was the player and he was a member of the media.

In today’s world of parents having multiple jobs and not being able to spend a lot of time with their kids, they rely on athletes to be role models. Not that there is any reason not to look up to athletes, because they are immensely talented and some of the hardest workers, but their job isn’t to be a role model—it’s to play baseball.  

While some players actually care about their image and reputation, there are others who are all about the money.

In my eyes they are no longer superhuman, they are mere mortals, no different than myself, except for the fact they can hit a round ball with a round bat and get paid quite a bit of money.

Observations from the week that was April 30-May 6:

Reports are coming out that the Dodgers cannot afford to pay salaries for the month of May. Yeesh, not looking good up there in Chavez Ravine. Not that Padre fans are complaining…

Revenge is best served cold. Or when your boss is out of the office…

The NFL Draft is over and I can still hear the echoes of Chris Berman’s voice analyzing the 237th pick in the draft: Wait—nope, ESPN was on the television in the other room. Can the lockout please end? Mostly so ESPN has something else to talk about that’s football related…

Sports fans can feel vindicated after the royal wedding. An estimated 2 billion people watched the royal nuptials, which was on around 2 in the morning San Diego time. Now all the people who call sports fans crazy need to take a look in the mirror…

Fantasy corner:

Fransisco Liriano threw a no-hitter on Tuesday, this after starting the season on a shaky note. Hopefully this is the return to his 2006 form where he went 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA and 144 strikeouts.

Sports tweet of the week:

Sometimes there are things athletes truly believe, but probably shouldn’t say. Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendehall (@R_Mendenhall) found out the hard way with his bin Laden tweets: “What kind of person celebrates death? It’s amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We’ve only heard one side...”

This tweet after agreeing with Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson that the NFL is like slavery.

As a result of Mendenhall’s tweets, Champion has dropped him as a spokesperson.

For the record:

No games will be lost this season due to the NFL lockout.