Sports is one of those places where people naturally retire. I don’t think every single athlete is willing to do the same thing for years without any rest. Sports often need you at your peak. And it’s very hard to maintain that as you grow older. You are spending so much of your time and energy practicing for a big game or actually playing in the game. And you have to consistently do that so that you can earn money for yourself. But there will always be a point where an athlete steps down and lives a life where they don’t really need to be at full capacity.
NEXT: This Is How You Can Be Rich Like Brian Fuentes
Even as I have written a lot about former baseball players, I still really haven’t found any interest for the sport. Aside from not knowing most of the terms regarding the sport, there’s not really any way for me to watch a single because most sports channels from where I’m from don’t really air baseball games. It’s mostly just either boxing, baseball or football. Sometimes there are racing but the ones that get replayed a lot are the three that I previously mentioned. Even if I did manage to watch a single game, I don’t think I would like it.
There are just so many players that have been part of the hundred-year old sport that it’s really hard to keep track of. I’m not really the type of person that’s great with remembering people. Sure, I’m writing about this person now. But I’m likely to instantly forget about them the second I click publish on this post. There is no way that I would remember this once I finished writing it.
One of the things that makes it difficult whenever I write about certain sports personalities is that there’s not really a lot that you can talk about when it comes to their personal lives. Though, there’s a bit of a pattern sometimes when it comes to them pursuing a career in the sport that they chose.
Brian Fuentes grew up playing baseball. It seems that when he was in high school, he really wanted to be part of the junior varsity baseball team. He had already a specific position in mind when he tried out for the team. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to be part of the team. But that didn’t stop him from getting better at the sport. The surprising is that he was a good pitcher.
He mostly stayed within the community he grew up in Merced, California. He went to the local high school there then went to community college. He played three seasons as part of the varsity team called the Blue Devils. Eventually, Brian got drafted by the Seattle Mariners in 1995. He spent four seasons in the farm system, which is a training program of sorts that the team has for junior players. It wasn’t until 2001 that he became part of the major leagues. He would only spend one season playing for the Mariners.
Later that year, he was traded to the Colorado Rockies. He managed to make it to the World Series in 2007 but the team lost to the Boston Red Sox. He was demoted from his role as closer earlier that year. But that didn’t really stop him. He was still able to be one of the National League’s All-Stars. Then in 2008, he signed on to become part of the Los Angeles Angels for two years to fill in as their closer.
It seems that he didn’t really last long with the teams he was in at that point. Most major sports leagues are weird because they trade people in the off-seasons. It’s not just in baseball. I think it also happens in basketball and football. Weirdly enough, this might be the only sports-related thing I may be right about. After his stint with the Angels, he spent as season with the Minnesota Twins then with the Oakland Athletics. After that, he signed a minor-league contract with the St. Louis Cardinals for the 2012 season but didn’t really play any games after being placed on the restricted list.
In 2012, Brian decided to retire from the game. The main reason for his retirement was that he wanted to spend time with family. At that point, Brian Fuentes earned a net worth of about $3,500,000. Brian mainly gets asked to do a bunch of interviews in podcasts or as commentator in games from time to time. But it seems that he’s mostly a family man now.
