Major league players talk about their lives, careers

Intermountain Catholic

+ Enlarge

Kansas City Royals Pitcher Brandon Duckworth (left) and Catcher John Buck autograph their baseball player cards for a donation to help raise funds.

DRAPER — "Never be satisfied. Always be the best at whatever is it you choose to be," said Kansas City Royals Pitcher Brandon Duckworth.

Duckworth and Kansas City Royals Catcher John Buck, were guest speakers at a baseball fund raiser dinner and live auction at Juan Diego Catholic High School Jan. 26. They addressed the Juan Diego baseball team first, and then were available for photographs and autographs for a $15 donation to help the Soaring Eagle team raise funds to travel to a tournament in Memphis, Tenn., next spring. Duckworth and Buck also addressed the audience at large.

The message Duckworth and Buck wanted to get across to the Juan Diego baseball team was, do not be afraid to fail.

"Hall of Famers are the best failures in the game because they learned from their failures and moved on," said Buck. "I was fortunate. I signed with the Houston Astros in 1998 right out of high school. But at the same time, I created my own opportunities. I learned how to deal with failures. I realize now in the big league, the game of baseball is a game of failure.

"For me, I made every stop possible along the way," said Duckworth. "From high school, I went to junior college, then I played summer ball in Kansas, Alaska, and Cape Code, Mass. I transferred to California State University at Fullerton for one year, and then signed and played low A ball. Mid season I was bumped up to high A. The next year I played high A ball again and then played winter ball in Venezuela. I then played Double A, Triple A, then major league. I have been in the major league since 2001.

"Just know this, everybody is going to fail at one point in time or another. It is how you learn from your failures that matters," said Duckworth. "Once you realize how you failed, you can continue to improve and continue to get better."

"Working with a team psychologist, I learned when things are going well, you really don’t think about anything," said Buck. "But when things start going bad, you start analyzing everything. A lot of times when the Hall of Famers fail, they just say, ‘Oh well,’ because they know they can make an adjustment."

"John and I play in the major league, but we are just normal people," said Duckworth. "Some of the guys can be a pain in the rear. But most of the time it is because people hound them and they just want a little solitary time to themselves. Just know that not all athletes are jerks, or are just out for money. They are good people, they are just on television and in the newspaper a lot, and sometimes they get negative publicity.

"The physical workout for a catcher is different than that of a pitcher," said Duckworth. "A catcher, especially in the Kansas City humidity and heat with all the gear requires a lot of training and conditioning. A pitcher must just remain flexible.

"I take October off after the season," said Duckworth. "But during the season, if I am starting a game, I run a lot, and do a lot of repetitious chest work to strengthen my smaller muscles without making them bulky."

"After the season, I only take about three weeks off," said Buck. "When I first start out, I run for an hour, and lift for an hour for a couple of months. Then in December I increase and do more power lifting and lower the repetitions, and do more stretching. In the morning I start with yoga and pilates to strengthen my core (abdominal area) and increase my flexibility.

"Then we start hitting and throwing over at the baseball academy for a while, and go back to the gym for sprints or cardiovascular training in the evening and start all over again the next day," said Buck. "We will start spring training in a couple of weeks, which involves more scheduled training depending on a player’s position."

"Very few people go through this training without struggling," said Duckworth. "Realize the struggles you go through will make the road blocks you face in life so much easier. You will be able to move around them because you have learned from your hard work and from your failures."

"But most importantly, remember to thank your parents," said Buck. "Your parents have worked hard to give you opportunities and the education you receive."