No more Spring Trainings

John Jaso walked away from Major League Baseball at 34, potentially leaving millions of dollars on the table. The sea was calling. Story by David Gardner for the New York Times:

John Jaso knew he wanted to retire, so he started shopping for sailboats. It was the 2017 season, and Jaso, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ first baseman, would spend his downtime at home browsing on boat websites. And when the Pirates visited a team near a body of water, he would wander the marinas and imagine himself on the open water.

One June morning in Baltimore, before a 7:10 p.m. first pitch against the Orioles, Jaso rented a car and drove to Annapolis, Md. There, he found the boat he’d been looking for: a 2014 Jeanneau 44 DS. He had it surveyed, bought it and had it shipped to his off-season home in St. Petersburg, Fla. He made it back to the stadium in time to go 2 for 4 with an R.B.I.

Four months later, when the Pirates’ season ended without a playoff berth, a handful of reporters wandered over to Jaso’s locker and asked him what his plans were. He had reached the end of his two-year, $8 million deal with the team and was set to become a free agent. He told them that his next destination would be somewhere in the Caribbean. He was retiring.

“I have a sailboat,” he said, “so I just want to sail away.” – Full report