Building a Strong Baseball Team On and Off the Field

Daniel Green
Jul 27, 2017 · 4 min read

What makes up a championship baseball team? A flight attendant? Or an English teacher?

This mish-mash of occupations make up Club de Beisbol Astros and have helped build the team up from its humble beginnings.

The road to the team’s current success took many years, but the Astros are now one of the most formidable teams in the Spanish league. This was not always the case. In the the team’s first year in the upper division it went 0–32, and 1–31 in its second year. The team’s hard work was rewarded last year when they won the División de Honor, Spain’s highest baseball division, for the first time.

Despite the Astros’ recent success and championship, players still need to pay the bills. Once the lights go off many of the Astros return to their everyday jobs.

According to club president and coach Juan Garcia, the responsibilities of everyday life and the demands of playing for a winning team can be a challenging. Players have to find a way to fit in family, work, practice and games.

Coach Juan Garcia meeting with the team after practice. Photo by Daniel Green

Unlike players in Major League Baseball, where the minimum rookie salary is $507,500, the Astros players are not paid to play. Instead players can make extra money by coaching in the team’s youth program.

“We have the reputation of having the best coaching staff in the country,” Garcia said, “and that’s due a great deal to the people who come over.”

Garcia says that offering coaching from older players helps the team by attracting better talent to the youth program. It also attracts players who are interested in playing for the Astros.

“It works both ways because it helps us competitively. We have better players that way and it’s also a way of attracting more young players to our club,” he said.

Other members of the team find work outside of the club and try to work around the schedules of those jobs, which can be easier for some.

Garcia, who works as an English teacher at Jordi de Sant Jordi secondary school, said that one of the best things about his work schedule is it’s flexible enough to allow him to work with the club.

“Being a teacher I have more time in the summer than in the winter. And this is a summer game so I have the right job to continue my baseball activities,” he said.

Unfortunately, not every player’s job is as convenient as Garcia’s, who travels to school via a seven-minute bike ride. Catcher Adrian Porres travels three hours to Barcelona for his job as a flight attendant.

Adrian Porres has played with the Astros since he was 16. Now he tries to find balance his time between the team and his job as a flight attendant. Photo by: Daniel Green

Porres started playing for the club when he was 16 years-old. He has has stuck with the team through the highs and lows, including the 0–32 season. Devoting time to the teams since he became a flight attendant seven years. He currently works for Vueling Airlines flying across Europe and to Africa.

His job has made playing with the team difficult, but Porres tries his best by working around his schedule. Porres takes advantage of his guaranteed nine days off and mandatory gaps between flights to get back to the Astros as much as he can.

“It is very tough because after working five days I have two days off which I dedicate to playing baseball. At the same time when I’m playing I’m thinking of going back to Barcelona to go back to start the new week working,” Porres said.

Despite the hectic schedule, Porres believes that the commute is worth the chance to play and is grateful for the opportunities baseball has given him. Since he was 16 he has been able to travel and participate in European championships and world cups. These experiences helped him learn English which has helped Porres in his career.

Every week Porres makes the three-hour commute to Barcelona where he works five days. He dedicates the other two to the Astros. “ I don’t really believe in religion, but if I believed I would say that baseball is my religion.” Photo by: Daniel Green

Despite the challenges of balancing work and baseball Porres says that it has all been worth it. At times his career has taken him away from the game, but his love for game and the Astros always brings him home.

“Thanks to baseball, thanks to English I have the job I have today,” he said. “So, if I transfer my experience to baseball it has given me a lot of things in my personal life.”

This is Valencia

Stories of people and places in Valencia, Spain by students enrolled in ieiMedia's study abroad program for journalism.

Daniel Green

Written by

This is Valencia

Stories of people and places in Valencia, Spain by students enrolled in ieiMedia's study abroad program for journalism.

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