Ben Zobrist was on the verge of quitting baseball in 2000. But a $50 tryout put him on the path to the major leagues
Ben Zobrist climbed into his 1980 Ford pickup truck and cried. His high school team had just lost in the 2000 Illinois state regionals, but that's not exactly why he broke down.
"I said: That's it," Zobrist recalled. "No more baseball in my life."
More than 1,400 names had been called in the MLB draft, but not his. Bob Gold, his high school coach, received one recruiting inquiry, from a junior college. Gold told the coach not to bother; Zobrist was headed to Calvary Bible College, a 350-student school in Kansas City, Mo., that didn't field a baseball team. He would study to become a youth minister or pastor, like his dad.
About three months before classes were to start, Zobrist met with Gold and asked: Do you know anywhere I can play for the summer?
Gold told Zobrist he was too old for American Legion ball. But Gold had a flyer on his desk with information about a showcase. Scouts would be there.
"I thought: One more day," Zobrist said.
One more
