Letter to Me: Bo Plagge
Professional Baseball Player Bo Plagge writes an advice column to his former self, something that all athletes can draw knowledge from.
Dear 15-year-old Bowen,
This letter is for you, a sophomore in high school with a homemade baseball cage in the backyard. Your junior varsity jersey is hanging in your closet, and you have a big-league stadium mural hanging over your dresser. Your incredible story could never be predicted, it’s ongoing, and man, life has a lot in store for you! There’s so much guidance I want to give you, but the ONLY way it can turn out is for you to see for yourself. This is because your hard work allowed you to do something everyone thought was impossible—find a path to professional baseball.
Life in 2014 seems like two lifetimes ago as I write this. You haven’t been promoted to varsity, you haven’t met Hall of Fame legend Brooks Robinson yet and participated in his high school All-Star Event, and you haven’t been recruited by a Division I college as a hitter yet. But most of all, you haven’t endured a pandemic, transitioned to become a pitcher, performed in Tread Athletic’s Professional Day, and signed your Chicago White Sox contract. One day you will be in front of your locker at spring training staring at your name on both your locker and emblazoned on your jersey—what a sight to behold!
Your path from high school to college is a struggle to get noticed because you don’t have anyone in your corner to help you navigate the process. Everyone sees greatness, but no one knows how to put you in front of people who can make things happen. You break nearly every record in your high school (and many still remain today), you make it to the highest level in the state, but where are the college coaches ready to recruit you? Most players never get recruited, let alone start as a true freshman in Division I, but you somehow found a way to do both, and as a two-way player no less. But it lasts only two years before your coach who recruited you retires and is replaced by another. You couldn’t have been more proud to watch us pursue our dreams and take our talents where they were truly valued. You decide to attend St Mary’s College of Maryland where you enjoyed playing everyday again. A global pandemic hits the sporting world (don't ask, but it disrupts a lot including the draft that year).You don’t get drafted and you hang up your cleats for the time being to chase your personal goal of graduating from Auburn University. You graduate Summa Cum Laude, something no one else has done in your family’s four generations of Auburn Graduates. You will find a Club baseball team to avoid hanging up your cleats forever, and you gave it your best and led the Auburn Club team onto an undefeated season. From there is where the magic takes place. You align yourself with a sports performance company both as a client and as an employee, and you finally hear from someone after the pandemic that they see you as a future professional baseball player. They invite you to a pro day and you sign a few weeks after. Nothing happens instantly, and you were patient along that path and it was rewarded when you signed and were proudly recognized by Auburn University.
You go to Spring Training in Glendale, Arizona, home of the Chicago White Sox training complex, where you see your jersey with your name on it. It will be a perfect fit, and you impress the organization. You get promoted twice, but, naturally, there are struggles that come with the long season. You will spend many nights in your hotel room wondering how you attack the next day, month, and year of this baseball life? Let me say to you, always move forward. It’s worth it. You are living a life that movies are made of, even though slugging through the Minor Leagues isn’t the picture perfect life! You will wonder if you can handle the competition, the loneliness, and the failures. There will be no words that can help you, but your friends and family are with you every step of the way. They bring a calming sense to the organized chaos you endure. And since they cannot be there physically, understand this, the one message you need to hear from me to you is you will find a way to keep pushing on no matter what. You don’t quit and you always figure out how to move forward. And to me, that is what makes you a worthy champion.
When you play the game, pretend you are in high school or little league when you didn’t know or understand failure, when everything felt fun. Recognize that, enjoy that, embrace that mindset! Since you love the game of baseball, it gets to love you back. And what is tremendous about this, is you get to do this almost every day. Push through the failures, build yourself up, and enjoy this. Savor every outing, pitch, and moment. The memories you make are what’s important. Memories of all the friendships, the team dinners, the car rides and bus rides, all the different ballparks, the tears, and especially the joyous occasions. The shared experiences you make with your loved ones and your teammates will deepen the connection you have with your life. That’s what makes the journey truly worth it.
Remember when you saw Game Five of the World Series in DC and said, “I can do that! That’s where I belong!” You’ve believed that for as long as you can remember and at every step you’ve proved it. Continue to prove it and you will be impressed with how things turn out, as long as you find and push the best version of yourself. Every. Single. Day.
Enjoy the Ride,
Bo