
Last week, when Mitchell Parker checked into the team hotel at the Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons 5-star property, he knew something was different in his new life. In his near-term future, no more Holiday Inns of year’s past or postgame meals when the team bus stops at the Chipotle near Erie, Pennsylvania. The pregame and postgame spreads at the MLB level, and the charter flights on the team’s new American Airlines jet are just part of the reasons you want to stay on the Major League roster.
Forget about the 5-digit paychecks as big as your zip code — that even a newbie playing on the MLB minimum makes — it is the the accomplishment of calling yourself an MLB player that Parker wants. He is a simple and humble guy from Albuquerque, New Mexico. What motivates him is winning and improving on his craft.
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