Phase II

Whenever people ask me what I'm up to this time of the year, the response usually is "changing gears." Baseball season has ended for me and, now, I have to get ready for the next chapter of my year.

When you're a baseball broadcaster, you measure time through the lens of baseball season. Trying to recall the last time something happened usually involves me trying to remember who my team was playing, helping me better pinpoint the date ("The last time we went to Applebee's? I think it was after that Sunday afternoon game against Reading that took forever...so it must've been June"). As a matter of fact, I don't even use my daily planner during baseball season; just a pocket schedule ("My mother is visiting at the end of the Altoona-Erie homestand" or "I can't go that weekend because I'll be in Akron"). There are games virtually everyday, so every single off-day is cherished.

Also, I'm not just the broadcaster, but also the team's director of media relations, forcing me to juggle the two. So, I spent the vast majority of my day at the ballpark. For home games, which usually start at 7:05 p.m., I arrive by one in the afternoon, at the latest. The time before the game is spent preparing for the broadcast and dealing with any media requests or roster moves. My job requires me to work ahead as often as possible, so much of my day is spent doing just that; I've already prepared stuff on Friday's starting pitchers by Thursday afternoon. If we're getting a new player, I'll have information on him the day before he arrives. I also don't like to feel rushed before I go on the air. I like to be able to ease into the broadcast which, I feel, makes me sound better. Hence, another reason I get to the ballpark as early as I do.

Because of baseball, my lifestyle is completely different than most from April-Labor Day. I have three meals a day, but not breakfast, lunch and dinner. Usually it's lunch, pre-game meal and post-game meal. If I want to meet up with my girlfriend or friends, it's almost always for lunch or a post-game meal (you need to be a really special friend -- or my mom -- for me to agree to wake up early after a night game so that we can have breakfast together). I don't spend summer days idling away at the beach or at a resort and I rarely make it to those summer barbecues (there are always games on Independence Day, Memorial Day and Labor Day).

As a result, when baseball season ends for me, it's also the end of a lifestyle. It takes me several days to adjust to a more common routine. The first few days, I'm exhausted and I don't feel like doing much. Gradually, I ease into my new lifestyle. I start preparing to call high school football and college basketball. I make sure all of my ducks in a row so that I can substitute teach. Usually, there are bills I need to catch up on. Breakfast becomes a part of my routine again. And maybe, just maybe, I start writing on my blog more often.