Playing The Right Way

Most people know about Mark Grudzielanek's major league career, but some don't. Some people know about Mark Grudzielanek's current job, but most don't. But what kept Mark Grudzielanek busy in between his two jobs in baseball? Hardly anyone knows that.

After fourteen years with five different ball clubs, Grudzielanek finished the 2008 season with his third year as a Kansas City Royal. A 2,000 career hits member, the Major League veteran knew he had a lot left in the tank for the 2009 season, but some of the big league teams didn't.

"I just still felt like I had a lot to give to the game, but it was probably a few bad decisions with my agents and I turning down a few contracts. So that hurt me, not being able to go out there and play like I was capable of playing", said Grudzielanek.

2009 involved just 11 total games in the Minnesota Twins minor league system, before he was released in August. The big league infielder had to prove himself again, something he had done his entire profession. At 40-years-old, he got his chance to finish his career the way he wanted. He inked a deal with the Cleveland Indians in 2010, but it still wasn't a solid fit.

"It turned out not being the right situation. They had some younger kids, which I understand to an extent, but I still felt like I had something to give and I wasn't getting my chance" said the Milwaukee native.

After playing 30 games with the Indians and spending several weeks on the disabled list, Grudzielanek was eventually released again. He hit .273 in his final year.

So with a 15-year resume that included a .289 career batting average, 90 home runs, an All-Star selection in 1996 and a Gold Glove in 2006, Mark Grudzielanek closed the book on his playing career and painfully announced his retirement in February of 2011. But the book that opened was something that he had been waiting for.

Grudzielanek couldn't wait to pick to up his kids from school, go on vacation and just spend time with family. The grind that is a baseball career limits people in the profession to simple everyday activities. Baseball is a game, but the preparation, mental focus and 24/7 devotion to improving is extremely laborious.

"It was nice to be home on an everyday basis. The grind, the workouts, the mental side of the game, the everyday pressure, all of that was released. Even to let my body relax and get healthy, it was a huge relief" said the former professional athlete.

Grudzielanek took a complete hiatus from baseball. Wanting an entirely clean slate, he didn't watch a single game Major League in 2011. Golf and surfing were the only sporting events that needed attention and concentration. That was until it came time for his two sons to play the game that Grudzielanek turned into a profession.

With Bryce and Brody Grudzielanek gearing up for little league, the former infielder pounced on the opportunity to pass his knowledge of the game to 10 and 11 year olds. A chance to teach the proper way to play the game was, again, refreshing. It was a flip side of the sport that he was never able to do while playing. So technically managing the Kane County Cougars was not Grudzielanek's first coaching job.

Now instead of middle-schoolers, he is tutoring young professionals, but that message of the right way to play the game is still what he stresses.

"Believe or not, the way I went about it and played, I know deep down that it's the right way to play the game" the confident rookie skipper stressed. "I feel that this is a blessing in disguise. This is a younger group of kids at the Single-A level that need that understanding to respect the game of baseball. This game will go on with or without you. You don't know if you're going to be in that lineup the next day, you don't know if you're going to get hurt, you don't know if the world is going to end. You just need to go out there and take care of what you can when you have that opportunity. These are naïve young men that are still learning things"

With a coaching staff that features another former big leaguer in pitching coach Doug Bochtler and hitting coach Vince Harrison, Grudzielanek believes his squad has a lot of respect for the men in charge. The "naïve young men" validate that respect with the numbers they have put up. The Cougars are one of at least the top three teams in both hitting and pitching, along with one of the best records in the entire Midwest League. Searching for a postseason spot, Grudzielanek's group is also an easy going cohesive group. With players from six different countries, six All-Stars and a Futures Game participant, the comraderie in the Cougars' clubhouse is full of nicknames, inside jokes and chemistry. They are all led by a manager whose name was once being written down on a lineup card by Felipe Alou, Dusty Baker and Hall of Famer Tony La Russa. Now creating a lineup of his own, Grudzielanek transfers his knowledge of the game the same way he knows it should be played.