By Josh:
I have been lucky in my life to compete against and with a lot of amazing athletes. Some were standouts in high school, some went on to play baseball in college and a few have even played professionally. I’ve even had the amazing privilege of interacting with and even building friendships with guys who have played professional baseball at a wide variety of levels.
For the athletes that play a sport professionally they possess skills, a work ethic and a personal drive to be the best, which not every individual or even every athlete has. It is amazing to see the hours they put in and the dedication that professional athletes have.
I consider myself an athlete. I was blessed to have played six different sports in high school and then to play two of those sports in college. But never would I ever label myself as a professional athlete because I think that would be disrespectful to those who have truly earned that honor. However, many people will tag themselves as a professional athlete because they once stepped on the field during warm ups with a professional team or once played for a team that labeled itself as a ‘professional’ team.
I have to admit this bothers me. I know people, guys specifically, want to brag about the things they have done and possibly even exaggerate a little about their accomplishments. That is who guys are, but to say that you are a profession athlete when you have never played in a real professional league is something that I cannot tolerate.
As fans we often times will look at things that happen on the field and say ‘even I could have caught that’ or ‘that play was so easy and he blew it.’ We raise ourselves to the level of the professional athlete because we are fans and we want to see our teams win, but that can often lead us to a misunderstanding of just how talented true professional athletes are and how much time and energy they put into being the best that they can be.
Now I’ve made fun of teams like the Astros, Marlins and even my beloved Mariners but the truth is each and every person who wears those uniforms, and the uniforms of their minor league affiliates is a true professional athlete and that is something that each player has earned the right to call themselves.
I have no problem with people comparing professional athletes, evaluating their potential talent level and even judging their actions but it is my goal to never disrespect a professional athlete by giving myself a title that I did not earn.