This week: How I made it to the Major Leagues and you can too!

One afternoon I cam e home and decided to relax by the pool. Having a million things on my mind, I just wanted to relax. I was in the middle of winding down when my wife walked by and I asked her, “Did anyone call for me today?” She replied, “No, were you expecting someone?”

Now I don’t know about your house, but in mine the phone rings about 43 times a day and for it not to have rung at all this day was hard for me to understand. Being curious I reached for the phone and seeing a very unexpected number I asked Sharon, my wife, “Who called from this number?”

She then said, “Oh yeah, the Braves called — they want to offer you a job. They want you to scout for them.”

What? The dream job of a lifetime and my wife forgets to tell me about it!!!

She says this did not happen but I can assure all the men out there that it did.

Then she says, “I guess this is a big deal.” I said, “You better know this is a big deal; I’ve been trying to make it to the Major Leagues for 34 years,” and I get “the call” and my wife forgets to tell me about it.

Hopefully your trip to the Big Leagues won’t take 34 years and you miss out on your dream job.

I will be explaining in upcoming articles how to get a scout to notice you. There are several ways to do this. Anytime you can showcase your talent (not show off) is a good thing without getting burned out. Don’t be late for practice, dress like a ballplayer, never disobey your coach, never be a “hotdog,” don’t act tired or bored, remember that scouts notice everything, and they know everything about every prospect in their area.

In upcoming articles I will go into great detail about the above mentioned, plus, what you can do to impress the scouts, what not to do, tryout camps, being drafted or not, what’s the big deal, and the tools of the trade.

I have also contacted some professional ballplayer buddies of mine and asked them for an interview and of course they said, “Yes, for a fee.” I had to remind them that if it wasn’t for me or another scout, they would not be making millions of dollars and the fame that goes with it. At this point they offered me a fee to interview them. So I will be getting their stories of how they got me or another scout to notice them and their thoughts on being a pro baseball player.

This week’s question comes from Tyler in Tazewell and Cody in Middlesboro: “How much money does a Major League player make?”

Tyler and Cody, this varies for many reasons. the Major League minimum is $390,000 per year. This is the least they make. The highest paid player this year is A-Rod from the Yankees. He makes in and around $28,000,000 per season. That’s about $170,000 per game.

Johnny Smith is a native of Claiborne County, Tenn., and is a 1977 graduate of Powell Valley High School. He is under contract with the Atlanta Braves. He currently resides in Knoxville with his wife and twin daughters. Any questions, comments or speaking invitations may be directed to Smith at johnnysmithscout @claiborneprogress.net.