Bud Cauley authors one of golf's best comeback stories at 2025 Players Championship
Bud Cauley authors one of golf's best comeback stories at 2025 Players Championship
Show Caption
Hide Caption
Players Championship standard bearer of the year for 2024 is Parker Neal
The Players Championship standard bearer off the year gets the last group in the final round on Sunday the following year. Parker Neal had the honors.
Bud Cauley, who overcame multiple injuries and surgeries, tied for sixth place at the 2025 Players Championship.
This was Cauley's first top-10 finish in a PGA Tour event since returning from a three-year hiatus due to injuries.
Cauley's performance earned him $843,750 and moved him up to 47th in the FedEx Cup standings.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Until Bud Cauley got a phone call last week at the Bear's Club in Jupiter to inform him Lee Hodges' withdrawal from the 2025 Players Championship put him in the 144-man field, his weekend game plan was 'changing diapers' of 6-week-old son Miles and 'not sleeping very well.'
Instead of changing his son's underpants, the former Jacksonville resident may have just altered the path of his once lost golf career.
While the most buzz Sunday from the gallery at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass was reserved for global star Rory McIlroy ending in a tie with unheralded J.J. Spaun, forcing a three-hole aggregate playoff on Monday that McIlroy won handily, it was hardly the Players' most heartwarming story.
That would be reserved for another 35-year-old playing one group behind McIlroy, where Cauley came through to give himself the best birthday present of his professional life.
Cauley, playing on a major medical exemption for the past 13 months, received a significant career boost by tying for sixth place to ensure securing a PGA Tour card for the remainder of 2025.
He needed at least a solo 18th-place finish to earn the necessary FedEx points to retain his card, easily surpassing that mark by staying in the top 10 over the entire final round.
Though disappointed he didn't make a better push to seize the lead after starting out Sunday just one stroke behind leader Spaun, shooting a final-round 74 hardly diminished Cauley's most memorable career performance.
'To finish top 10 in a tournament this big is a great step forward for me, and I'll try to build on that for the rest of the year,' said Cauley.
'Yeah, I have a lot more confidence, I think, leaving here today than what I showed up with, which I think will help me throughout the year. I'm really excited.'
Recovery from golf hell
After all of Cauley's health calamities the past seven years and questions about whether he would compete on Tour again, he capitalized on a lucky break to get into the Players.
With an impressive third-round 66 to get into contention, then staying on the leaderboard most of Sunday, he became the tournament's most uplifting storyline.
Growing up in Jacksonville and treasuring every moment of watching the Players in person — dreaming of someday doing something special at the Stadium Course — his 9-under-par finish and being three shots out of a playoff is a redemption that many wondered would ever happen.
It's now official: Cauley, who turned 35 on Sunday, is back from golfing hell.
While it's not the historic rebound of the legendary Ben Hogan after his near-fatal collision with a bus in 1949, Cauley still deserves some kind of perseverance medal.
First, he endured a horrific car accident in Dublin, Ohio in 2018, which broke six ribs, fractured his left leg and punctured a lung.
After playing for the next two years, medical complications from the accident began setting in with his ribs. That required more surgeries, forcing Cauley out of competition for 40 months through January, 2024.
When Cauley's wife, Kristi, spotted wetness on his shirt in 2020, Bud noticed one side of his chest had a hole in it. He underwent more operations and got C-diff from antibiotics.
'Everything that could go wrong seemed to go wrong,' Cauley said in his first public discussion about it at last year's WM Phoenix Open. 'That just set me back obviously just over three years.'
'Scariest time of my life'
Cauley has no specific memories of the crash that involved four people on a Friday night of the 2018 Memorial tournament because he was knocked unconscious.
By most accounts, he was fortunate to not be more seriously injured, though the damage to some of his body parts can hardly be classified as minor.
One year after the accident, after returning to play in the Memorial, he said: 'For the first month or so, the swelling was so bad on my side, I couldn't even grip a club, let alone swing one. ... even just sitting around or talking or breathing with the lung was pretty tough.'
Cauley described it as 'the scariest time of my life,' and that was before the follow-up medical complications that put his golf career in limbo.
Besides Kristi, few people have as much insight into what Cauley went through as Tour player Justin Thomas. He followed Cauley, a three-time All-American at Alabama, to Tuscaloosa and the two became fast friends after Thomas turned pro.
When Cauley had his accident, he was living in Jupiter with Thomas, who still struggles discussing the ordeal his buddy went through.
After Thomas finished his Sunday round, he didn't hestiate when asked about the most impressive part of Cauley's comeback.
'Just staying positive, having optimism that you're going to play again,' Thomas said. 'He definitely had some moments, I would say, where he was like, 'Okay, what next? What now?' He saw so many different doctors, so many different [physical therapists], traveled anywhere and everywhere to get opinions.
'Man, it's hard to stay patient and believe that it's all going to work out in the end. That's such a cool, unique thing about golf is, other sports, at his age, his career's done. But he realistically could play competitively for another five or 10 years, so I'm glad he stuck it out.'
Cauley struggled to build momentum
Getting his first Tour victory at The Players would have been a dream scenario for Cauley, but a balky putter left him playing uphill all day.
He missed par putts from inside 10 feet at Nos. 3, 4 and 8. A 34-foot birdie putt to close out his front nine was encouraging, but at the turn, McIlroy and Spaun were both two shots ahead of Cauley.
Following a four-hour weather delay, Cauley bogeyed the par-five 11th hole when his approach shot landed in a back bunker. Though playing his last seven holes in 1-under, including a birdie at the No. 17 island hole, Cauley's early putting woes were too much to overcome.
Still, the benefits of having an $843,750 payday and moving from 128th to 47th in FedEx Cup points should give Cauley plenty of incentive to keep it going at the Valspar Championship on Thursday in Palm Harbor.
A decade from now, the lasting memory from the 2025 Players will likely be the outcome of the McIlroy-Spaun playoff. But let's not forget this is also a potential life-changing moment for Cauley, especially if the confidence he now feels leads to him getting his first Tour win after so much medical trauma.
'He's such a good player, I think it would be a crime if he doesn't win at some point in his career,' said Thomas. 'He's just got that much game. Man, he's been through a lot. He's had a lot of injuries and just battled a lot of ups and downs and just craziness.'
Cauley, whose best career stretch came in 2012 at age 22 with three top-5 Tour finishes in a 28-day span, has never lost faith in his game. With his world ranking about to take a massive jump from No. 251, maybe staying healthy enough is all Cauley needs to become a golf force.
'I've always believed that I can compete with the best guys in the world, and I should be hopefully winning tournaments and playing on Presidents Cup teams and Ryder Cup teams,' said Cauley. 'That's always been my dream, and I still believe I can do that.'
For now, it's just heartwarming to see William Carl 'Bud' Cauley III being on a Sunday leaderboard at the Players.
Given all Cauley has been through, he was overdue for the golfing gods to deliver something special.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Robo-umps might be coming to MLB. Are players for or against them?
The robo-umps are coming, and the players have concerns. Commissioner Rob Manfred announced last week that the automated ball-strike system (ABS) could be implemented in Major League Baseball as early as next season. Manfred is planning a proposal to employ the challenge system previously used in the minor leagues and in spring training. Advertisement Major League players are conflicted — at best — about the potential change. 'Taking away the human element would ruin baseball,' one pitcher said. The Athletic's anonymous MLB player poll, conducted this spring, found that 63.4 percent of players were against robo-umps calling balls and strikes. Only 17.1 percent were in favor, while 19.4 percent were unsure. 'I hate it,' one player said. 'Absolutely not,' said another. 'It has proven ineffective in Triple A and everywhere they tested it,' one National League pitcher explained. 'Why would you remove the human element? The game will fundamentally change in a way that fans are definitely not going to like. It will make injuries and the competitive nature of the game worse. There would be fewer balls in play and the games take longer. All proven.' The pitcher then laughed. 'I haven't thought about that at all, huh?' he said. To be clear, it's highly unlikely that robo-umps are actually coming — at least not in the way some players fear. What appears to be on its way is an ABS challenge system — as opposed to ABS calling every pitch — and that seemed a worthwhile middle ground to many players. Some who said they were against ABS in general said they were open to it as part of a challenge system. 'I think there's a fine line,' an NL position player said. 'I think the biggest thing is just trying to get those big calls. … I don't think you get to the (point) where you take the human element out of it, but if we can improve the big missed calls, I think everybody will be pleased with that.' Improved accuracy, of course, was the resounding argument of those players in favor of ABS, and many saw it as a way to help human umpires improve as well. An automated zone would evaluate umpires in real time and offer instant feedback, giving them a chance to adjust their sights if they miss a call. Advertisement 'It feels like the behind-the-plate umpire has more incentive to make the right call or at least give the right effort,' said an NL hitter in favor of ABS. 'That feels like a good thing.' The expected compromise was likely fueled by the deep antipathy players have for removing the human element from the game entirely. The player-umpire dynamic remains fundamental to the baseball experience — one that players believe provides an edge of sorts, or at least an ability to explore the edges. In the majors, many players argue, the ability to work with an umpire — to understand his quirks and adapt to his flaws — is an important part of playing the game. Umpires have a feel for the moment, pitchers have a feel for the umpire, and hitters have to feel some sense of uncertainty when deciding whether to swing. Mistakes might be a feature, not a bug. 'I like when you're throwing a good game and dotting it up, you might get another half inch,' one NL pitcher said. 'I like having that camaraderie, that respect between players and umpires. When that guy's having a good game and we're on the same page and everything's clicking, that's f—ing baseball. We don't need a freaking robot.' And while the ABS system would most directly affect umpires, players expressed concern about its impact on the other person behind the plate. 'I think catchers' values are going to decrease,' one player said. 'Framing is an art. There are guys who have risen up the ranks because they know how to frame well.' Framing — the ability to receive a pitch so that it appears to be a strike — has become a revered and measurable talent, understood as a defining skill that separates elite catchers from lesser receivers. An automated zone would eliminate its value. 'All that work I did the last 15 years, out the door,' one catcher said. Advertisement As another catcher put it: 'That's our food, stealing strikes.' But it's not only catchers who are concerned. 'It takes away every bit of what the catcher is trying to do,' one pitcher said. '(Their) job is to be able to receive and frame balls, and the umpires adjust to that and the hitter in the box. That's kind of the cat-and-mouse game.' Then there's a mistrust of the technology itself. Players used to uncertainty on the edges have found a defined, computer-generated strike zone to be jarring. 'It feels like you're throwing to a different zone,' one pitcher said. 'Rehabbing last year in Triple A and I had (the ABS system),' one outfielder said. 'It was mind-blowing how small the zone is. I remember taking pitches low and away, and I figured I was down 0-1, and they called it a ball.' Hitters become far less aggressive when they know a pitch just off the plate will be called a ball, which is why many opponents argue that ABS will slow down the game — something baseball has worked on in recent years to avoid. But some players are also worried that computers, too, can make mistakes. 'In Triple A last year, there were times you'd feel like you threw a ball right down the middle and it's a ball,' one pitcher said. 'And it's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, something's off there.' How do you argue with a robot? 'I used it years ago when I was in the Fall League,' said one hitter. 'Guys would bounce curveballs that somehow nicked the zone. It hit the plate, but it's a strike somehow?' One pitcher had a similar experience: 'I pitched with it in a rehab game,' he said, 'and it takes the top of the zone completely away. I'd throw one belt-high and it comes up on the scoreboard as two balls above. It just doesn't feel like part of the game.' Ultimately, the umpires are a part of the fabric of the game, just like the players themselves; most players and managers have considerable respect — admiration, even — for the work of umpires. Advertisement 'Good umpires are good umpires,' one player said. 'Most of the umpires are doing a very good job every single game,' said another. 'Those guys' jobs are incredibly hard, and 95, 96 percent of the time they're doing what they're asked to do.' 'If the umpires leave the game,' an AL starting pitcher said, 'I don't want to be a part of it.' Technology has been a growing force in baseball for several decades, but the game's best players still appreciate and long for the human element of the sport. 'I just like old-fashioned baseball,' one pitcher said. 'Call it if it looks good.' Work is work. It can be rewarding and even enjoyable, but it can also be maddening and tiring, whether you're a writer, a teacher, a doctor, a landscaper, a tax collector, a shoe designer or a traffic cone inventor. And it can be that way for baseball players, too. The Athletic asked more than 130 big leaguers: What is one change you would make to improve baseball on or off the field? The players had ideas. Boy, did they ever. 'More hockey fights!' one major leaguer suggested. 'How 'bout that? Let's fight each other!' Now we're talking. Here are just a few of the highlights breaking down those players' thoughts. Most responses fell broadly into a few defined categories. One of the most popular dealt with the 162-game schedule. 'I really enjoyed the seven-inning doubleheaders (during the 2020 Covid season),' one player said. 'And I would change it so we'd have less games, more off-days.' He paused. 'And same pay,' he added, laughing. 'I think if you could keep the 162-game season but have every Monday off like the minors,' another player suggested. 'Start the season a little earlier but have the consistency of a day off every week. I think you'd see a lot fewer soft-tissue injuries.' Advertisement How to start the season earlier? One player suggested eliminating spring training — though, to be fair, a lot of players seem to like that idea if asked in late March — but many of those who focused on scheduling concerns seemed most interested in getting consistent breaks. 'We have talked about it as players all the time,' one said. 'Some of the older guys who haven't been in the minor leagues (since they introduced the Monday off day) don't realize how nice it is. It's not us saying, 'Oh, we want to play less.' It's like, you have that Monday off day to either feel better or get collected. Maybe it would clean up some injuries, too.' One player suggested fewer games would keep fans interested — 'I just feel like the schedule is exhausting for people,' he said — while another suggested adjusting the schedule to play in the warmer southern cities early, saving the cooler northern cities for the summer, would keep players and fans happy. But not everyone is on board with cutting back on the number of days. 'My wife wouldn't like this,' said one player, presumably double-checking that this survey would remain anonymous, 'but I would make the season longer.' 'Hot take,' said one player. 'I think the shift was a competitive advantage for smarter teams and players. Don't penalize the teams that do it better. Bring it back!' Rule changes were the most popular theme among players. There were suggestions ranging from eliminating catcher's interference — 'Some guys could be purposely making their swings longer to get it!' — to moving the pitcher's mound closer to home plate (you know, because 100-mph fastballs don't get there quickly enough). One of the more hitter-friendly suggestions was to bring back the 2019 baseballs — before they were allegedly juiced — while one of the less catcher-friendly suggestions was to bring back collisions. Advertisement 'I like the old sliding into bases, knock the catcher out,' one player said. 'That's why people cared so much about hockey. We're entertainment.' There was no shortage of suggested rule changes involving pitchers. One player talked about ending pickoff limitations, another suggested doing away with the three-batter minimum, and multiple pitchers said they should be able to step off the rubber with no one on base to call a timeout. You likely already read the player responses to the automated strike zone above — spoiler alert: they're generally against it — and at least 10 players mentioned tweaks to the pitch clock, either eliminating it or lengthening it. 'It's taken the thinking out of pitching,' one said. When it comes to rule eliminations, one player was a 'yes' across the board: 'Remove all the rules they've added,' he said. 'We should play old-school baseball.' Of course, it is possible to both defend the old school and embrace some new ideas. 'I like the idea of making first base wider, deeper, so you don't have those collisions at first on those bang-bang plays,' one player said. 'Other than that, it's America's pastime for a reason. They knew what they were doing when they were making it. It's perfect the way it is.' While most players focused their suggestions on the field, others looked at baseball's place in television, traditional journalism, and social media. 'Off the field? I'd say more marketing,' one player suggested. 'Doing what the NBA did the last five years of really marketing players and better utilizing social media. I know we're trying, but my wife, who doesn't follow any sports, always sees basketball stuff come up. She's on social media all the time, and she says she feels like she sees NBA stuff all the time, but never MLB.' Advertisement That was a relatively popular critique. 'Better marketing of younger players and for younger fans,' one player said. 'Make clips, highlights and viewing of live games much easier,' said another. 'Promoting a wider array of players more often,' added yet another. 'Rather than just the top eight guys consistently.' That sentiment about broadening the array of players who get regular media exposure was echoed, including by one player who suggested a more concerted effort to make Spanish-speaking players more comfortable with English-speaking media. 'I've got two things,' one player said. 'One, do the (World Baseball Classic) at the All-Star break. And two, do more, like, worldwide events. More (games in) England. More, like, Spain if there are stadiums to hold it. South America. Events around the world.' Generally, the idea of promoting baseball — in different markets, to different fans, using a wider array of players — was the most common off-the-field suggestion. One player said he'd like to see more 'Hard Knocks' style baseball documentaries. Another said there should be more fan access in ballparks. Another said ticket prices should be slashed. 'I would just do cooler things for the fans to enjoy the game,' one player said, getting to the heart of the matter. 'Like, I feel like the NFL and NBA have cooler jerseys. We could have some cooler stuff. We're starting to do it with the City Connects, adding all the colors. And football and basketball games, they're playing music while the game's going on, maybe you could do something like that. Make it more entertaining.' Players have long pushed in CBA negotiations for a quicker path to free agency and arbitration, but ownership naturally prefers more years of team control. It's a well-established sticking point that was mentioned a handful of times in our survey. Advertisement 'The arbitration system,' said one player with limited service time. 'I am an older player, and I'm not going to have much of a chance to earn a lot of money because the team controls me for several years. By the time I could even be a free agent, I will likely be near the end of my career. It's kind of a messed-up system to begin with.' One player suggested teams do more to help pay for housing, especially in spring training. Another suggested larger rosters to spread the workload and perhaps limit injuries. Among the less-obvious suggestions about the player experience: allowing players to be more creative in what they wear on the field; limiting the amateur draft to college players only; and an offseason trade deadline. 'Find a way to keep teams more competitive, I guess,' one player said. 'To make games more meaningful at the end of the season when teams are out of it. You can't do minor league style where there's a first-half and second-half winner, but like, finding a way to make it more competitive all the way through.' With an open-ended question like this, service time and the path to free agency are rarely far from the players' minds. 'Unless you're an absolute stud,' one said, 'it takes players a long time to get established, get their feet under them and start making good money. If we could shorten rookie minimum or arbitration to two years, it could be good for the game.' The schedule. The rules. The money. The marketing. We expected these types of suggestions. We did not expect … this. Match play, like in golf. 'Each inning is match play,' one player said, having clearly thought this through. 'We're at home and the other team goes 1-2-3 in the top of the first. Our guy hits a homer, we hit a walk-off in the bottom of the first. We win the first inning, and then it goes right to the top of the second.' Advertisement The player — a pitcher — noted that such a setup could completely revolutionize pitching staffs, with quicker innings making it easier to use only the top arms. 'It would eliminate my job,' he said. 'But it would make it interesting!' His wasn't the only out-of-the-box idea. One player called for expansion to 32 teams. Another requested more retractable roofs to avoid rain delays. Yet another recommended more demotions to the minor leagues — but for umpires, not players. 'You know in softball how they have the two bases at first?' one player said. 'That would be a good one.' Sure. Maybe. It's at least more realistic than the proposal that extra innings be replaced by a two-player home run derby, or the lengthy and detailed suggestion — with a reference to Greg Maddux and an insistence that this would increase offense — that television remove the strike zone box from broadcasts (because the TV strike zone has distorted the impression of the strike zone and changed the way pitchers earn strikes on the edges … though it's possible that might actually happen anyway?). 'From what I understand, the square is not the real strike zone anyway,' the player said. That's one way to think of changes outside of Major League Baseball itself. Another way? Get back to the roots of the game by recommending a change in the culture of youth baseball, its demand for expensive tournaments, and its push toward early specialization. 'That system is totally broken,' one player said. 'Yeah, exposure is great to get in front of the scouts and play, but I'm a firm believer that, if you're good, they're going to find you. 'Just let kids have fun.' Editor's note: Some player quotes included in this story have been lightly edited for length and clarity. (Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Photo: Norm Hall / Getty Images)
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
MLB players talk biggest misconceptions about playing in the majors in anonymous poll
On almost any given night, from late March to early November, a baseball fan can turn on the television and find a game to watch. The players, managers and coaches of Major League Baseball can become a presence in the viewer's life, a collection of protagonists and antagonists able to be followed as spring turns to summer turns to fall. Because you can see these people all the time, you can understand their lives. Advertisement Yet to hear players tell it, there is still a sizable gap between the public's perception of the profession and the lived experience of the players. As part of The Athletic's annual MLB Player Poll, our writers offered the participants a chance to correct the record: What is the biggest misconception about the lifestyle of a baseball player? More than 130 players gave us their thoughts. The responses mostly fit into a few categories, with answers centered around the grind of the 162-game season, the extensive time commitment, the lack of free time with friends and family, and the economic realities of players on the fringes. Many respondents acknowledged the remarkable privilege of playing professional sports while still taking a moment to vent. 'Our life is awesome, but it's not as easy as people think it is,' one National League pitcher said. 'I don't know if fans realize that when we say we spend more time with our teammates than our families, we're not exaggerating. It's not even close. That's why I say if you want to be a good dad, a good husband, it's not easy.' Added another National League pitcher, 'I haven't seen my mom on her birthday in 17 years. Little things like that that matter to me. People are like, 'Yeah, but you're getting paid, you're getting treated great.' . . . I've missed so many things for so many years, even before pro ball. Like, I couldn't go to my prom because I had a baseball tourney, you know? It's just little sacrifices you make over the years that you never get back.' The answers revealed one connection between the average baseball player and the average baseball consumer: traveling can be miserable. No, players don't have to worry about missing a connecting flight or checking the hotel room for bed bugs. But even with chartered planes and top-shelf hotels, players said, putting your life in a suitcase several times a month can be exhausting. Advertisement 'You're packing up every single week,' one National League hitter said. 'You're either going home or on the road. You pretty much only spend one week in one spot.' Added an American League pitcher, 'People don't fully understand the travel. Getting in late at night and going on short rest. Playing at night. Playing 162 games. I don't think people fully see everything that goes into that, and how it affects your body towards the middle to the end of the year.' Added a National League pitcher, 'I don't know if people realize how hectic the travel is and how exhausting that is. There's so little downtime.' The proliferation of data and the importance of advanced scouting has led to longer days at the ballpark. Rebuilding teams devote those hours to helping players develop at the big-league level. Contending teams use the time to share strategies to win that night. Which means . . . 'People ask what time I get here, and I tell them 1 p.m. — they're shocked,' one National League pitcher said. And that guy might be getting to the park a tad too late. 'We get here at noon,' one American League pitcher said. 'We practice before. Everyone has his own routine: weightlifting, throwing. We get to the field way before first pitch.' Added a National League position player, 'They think we just show up and play the game. But they don't really see the work that goes in the hours before: going over scouting reports, hitters' meetings, base running meetings and doing your full warm-up routine. Go to BP, chill for a second and then get it going again to play a game. After the game, get a lift in, talk to the media, go get dinner, see your family. It's a full-day thing.' This could explain, one American League hitter suggested, why it might not be easy to snag an autograph during batting practice. 'People think we are arrogant with our time, but our time is very limited during (batting) practice,' the player said. Advertisement Because the day begins long before the television broadcast starts, one National League pitcher said, that could explain why fans question a team's effort during a losing streak. 'Sometimes when it goes bad, they don't have the empathy because they don't see the work we're putting in behind the scenes,' the player said. This is the labor required to make routine plays look routine. And even then, several players said, the routine can be difficult to execute. One National League pitcher harrumphed about those who think 'that the game's f—ing easy. Everyone complains about what might seem like the simplest tasks, but in our world, it's one of the hardest things to do in sports.' The schedule makes activity away from the ballpark less adventurous. 'The lifestyle of ballplayers has changed drastically over the last 20 years,' one American League pitcher said. 'People aren't going out. There's not a nightlife. People think players go out and do whatever they want. That doesn't happen anymore. But apparently back in the day, it did.' Added another American League pitcher, 'People are like, 'Dude, what's it like to be in Seattle for three days?' I got one lunch and one breakfast. You don't have time. I don't go to the beach.' Not even family members are immune to misunderstanding. 'I had family that was in town one time,' one National League hitter said. 'We had a game at 7 p.m. and they said, 'You want to get dinner at 5?' Yeah, I can't do that.' The strain that baseball puts on relationships with friends and family also came up often among our respondents. The schedule forces players to miss milestones. 'Can't go to any weddings ever,' one pitcher said. It strains the connections with friends. 'I haven't had a summer since I was eight or nine,' one American League hitter said. It puts stress on your partner and children. 'When you have kids and you're away from home half the month, going city to city, it's just not as glamorous as people think,' another National League pitcher said. The time at the top can be fleeting. 'We're all people, just like everybody else, trying to make a living,' one American League pitcher said. 'Not every single player on the baseball field has superstar status. Most of the guys up here and grinding just to try to stay afloat. I mean, we're all having the time of our lives. But at the same time, most players are grinding their butt off to stay there. Most careers aren't as long as people think. I've talked to guys who got two or three years up here and they wish they'd been able to enjoy it more. But they were grinding so hard just to stay at this level.' Advertisement Which brings us to . . . the money. The major-league minimum salary is $760,000 in 2025, and it will rise to $780,000 in 2026, the final year of the current collective bargaining agreement. Suffice it to say, that is good work if you can get it. But as the players have already detailed, to reach this summit requires sacrifices. 'People see the contracts we sign, or even the major-league minimum and think we're set for life,' one National League hitter said. 'You don't know what goes into it.' And achieving the right to earn millions through arbitration and then free agency is a privilege that most players cannot reach. 'Baseball shows the top one percent, and those are the people that are marketed,' one American League pitcher said. 'But no one really knows about the guy who has parts of five years in the show but only 20-something days total, the fringe guys their entire career. Yes, they're making good money, but by no means are they wealthy. There's probably a misnomer (that) if you play baseball, you're incredibly rich.' Added another American League pitcher, 'Yes, the living is good. Yes, we make good money, some way more than others. But the logistics behind everything, moving your family, paying for two to three mortgages and the stress it causes some families. You're always on the move and until you're on a guaranteed contract, you're kind of living out of a suitcase. There's a lot of logistics and not knowing that I don't think people understand.' Added one National League pitcher, 'The biggest misconception is that people look at you like you're a multi-multi-millionaire because you're in the big leagues. Don't get me wrong, we make good money, but people ask me how many homes I've got. It's not like that in your first year — you're making the minimum, which is good money, but you're not like crazy rich.' Some of these gripes may not be well-received. It may be hard to find pity for the American League hitter who groused that 'nobody realizes we have to pay big-time taxes on our salaries.' It may be difficult to empathize with the fellow complaining about paying three different mortgages — an offseason home, a spring-training property and a regular-season home. But these are the realities that some players face, ones that they believe the public does not recognize. Advertisement 'I don't think people understand the logistics, especially if you have a family, of trying to organize moving, living in three different places, traveling with kids, making sure they have cribs,' one American League pitcher said. 'The stress just mounts. We just moved to a city that neither of us has ever been to. Money certainly helps, but it doesn't solve all of those problems.' One National League hitter found a pithy way to summarize the knowledge gap between the players and the public. 'I don't really know,' the player said, 'what people think about us.' Editor's note: Some player quotes included in this story have been lightly edited for length and clarity. (Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Photo: iStock)
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Rory McIlroy Shares Troubling Message Ahead of U.S. Open
Rory McIlroy Shares Troubling Message Ahead of U.S. Open originally appeared on Athlon Sports. After a two-week hiatus from the PGA Tour following the PGA Championship, Rory McIlroy returned to action this week at the RBC Canadian Open—but his time in the tournament was short-lived. Advertisement McIlroy struggled mightily over both rounds, never finding a consistent rhythm across the 36 holes he played. He ultimately missed the cut—and by a wide margin. The 2025 Masters champion shot a 71 on Thursday followed by a disappointing 78 on Friday, finishing at nine-over par. The cut line stood at two-under. Now, with a chance to regroup ahead of the third major of the year—the U.S. Open at Oakmont—McIlroy offered a concerning message about his performance in Canada. "Of course it concerns me," McIlroy said on Friday after his round. "You don't want to shoot high scores like the one I did today. Still, I felt like I came here obviously with a new driver thinking that that sort of was going to be good and solve some of the problems off the tee, but it didn't."He continued, "Obviously, going to Oakmont next week, what you need to do more than anything else there is hit fairways. Still sort of searching for the sort of missing piece off the tee." Rory McIlroy lines up his tee shot on the 14th tee during the final round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Quail Doster-Imagn Images Rory McIlroy has had an outstanding year by any measure. His most significant achievement came at Augusta National, where he captured his first Masters title and completed the career Grand Slam. He also added victories at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Players Championship to round out an impressive season. Advertisement However, in comments this week, McIlroy admitted that maintaining motivation has been a challenge since his win at Augusta. After chasing the Masters for more than a decade, he said it's been difficult to find that extra edge and drive to compete at the same level. "I would certainly say that the last few weeks—I've had a couple of weeks off—and going and grinding on the range for three or four hours everyday is maybe a little tougher than it used to be," he told reporters. "You have this event in your life that you've worked towards and it happens, sometimes it's hard to find the motivation to get back on the horse and go again." Related: Fans Appalled By Rory McIlroy's Latest U.S. Open Blunders This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
