Cubs Convention Recaps: The Day in the Life of a Major Leaguer

John Williams of WGN Radio hosted this session with guests Bobby Dernier, Jody Davis, Geovany Soto, and Jeff Samardzija to talk about the life of a professional baseball player. Here is the full recap of the session, which was a week ago today:

• Geovany confirmed that he has lost 40 pounds this offseason. (Some sites had reported 80)
• He was a little disappointed with '09 and is ready to get off on the right foot in 2010.
• Soto says that if being too light becomes a problem in the summer, gaining weight is the easy part.
• The winter has been great for The Shark thus far. He's been watching some football this offseason.
• Jeff is a big Bears fan, and he admitted that he'd love to help him out. He loves where he's at and what he does, so no change is on the way.
• Samardzija usually cuts his hair around Spring Training.
• Jody said that it's hard for people to understand how time consuming and grueling the life of a major league baseball player can be.
• You spent 24 hours a day trying to get ready for game time. When the game's over, there's not a hole lot of down time until you have to get ready for the next game.
• Dernier says that each year you go through the grind, you become more accustomed to it.
• When Bobby and Jody played, guys took lots of time off in the winter. Now a days, baseball is all year around.
• On the road, players get cash to spend on food and expenses.
• On the plane, the guys use the money to bet some money.
• Davis is not a card player, but Bobby enjoys to play cards.
• Jeff said that in baseball, you are allowed more freedom than football players.
• Current players can't go out and have fun after games because of cell phone cameras. Bobby said that guys could go out a lot more when he played.
• Soto said that you kind of get tired of the people wanting your autograph every where you go, but when you think about it that's a really cool feeling.
• Samardzija says that he loves Chicago because people are great. He lives in the city, and everyone is nice in public. This city is very respectable. Jeff has been other places where people are not like that.
• Soto is fine with people asking him for an autograph or picture in public, but he thinks people should be understanding if he doesn't have time.
• Jeff also has no problem with signing autographs.
• Geo says in 2008 he felt like a rock star. He said the Cub fans are "true, loyal, and the best fans in the world."
• Shark doesn't mind being booed.
• Dernier says that when he played there was not as much booing.
• Davis said that there was no booing when they were stinking because there was nobody there.
• Bobby said that people mostly boo because of lack of effort. If you give a good effort at Wrigley, you will not get booed that much.
• Jody could see where Mark McGuire wanted to get the situation off his chest, but a lot of the things he said like "it didn't help" and "I didn't know it would make me stronger" doesn't seem true.
• Dernier says that amphetamines were prevalent in baseball during his era. Today, guys are more educated on what not to do.
• Samardzija says they have unlimited amounts of totally random testing for steroids.
• Geo wanted to lose some weight because he was starting to feel wear and tear on his knees.
• Jeff usually cleans his hair with whatever they have in the hotel.
• Soto thinks that you have to hit the gym more after catching 9 inning, you will feel better late in the season. Instead of resting after games, it's better to flush them out.
• Davis said that having your legs in shape and strong is the best thing you can do as a catcher.
• The best thing for a pitcher to keep your arm in shape, is to do some cardio and running the next day.
• Soto doesn't think at all about how it costs him money when he does bad. For him, it more about pride. He was born to win.
• Geovany said you always want to play good for the fans everyday.
• Shark says it's a "balancing act". It's amazing to find people who still act the same after making all the money. For Samardzija, "the better you play, the more you get payed" works as a good incentive.
• Samardzija feels like he has a long way to go. He's happy that he's in the situation where he can just worry about getting better and see how things go.
• Jody thinks that one of the incredible things about the 1984 team was that the team truly got along on and off the field. Ryno and Hawk had amazing work ethics and served as quiet team leaders similar to Derrek Lee.
• Jeff said that a lot of guys on the current team came through the system together as good friends and teammates. He called the "ra-ra leader guy with pump up speeches" B.S., and would rather have a guy like D-Lee lead the team.
• Geo liked a fans idea of making a Soto workout DVD to help people lose wait.
• Samardzija is excited about how things are going, and he's very happy with his situation. He's looking forward to having a chance to win a spot in the starting rotation.
• On October 19, Soto started training. Once he started eating better, the pounds started coming off. He stuck with the diet for 3 1/2 months.
• Geovany just got tired of hearing about his weight. He's a professional athlete, so he decided he wanted to look like a pro athlete.
• Soto hasn't worked out that much this winter, the weight loss came totally from eating right.
• Samardzija likes visits from Geo and Koyie on the mound. It's fun because you never know what you're going to get when they go out there.
• Lou is very "to the point" when he comes out to the mound.
• Jody says that the biggest thing as a catcher is to know your pitching staff. Certain guys need to calm down, but others need to get pumped up.
• Soto has never asked for a day off. Even if you can barely stand up, if Lou asks if you can go today, you say yes.
• Good footwork is key for a catcher to get the ball to second base better. Geo suggested practicing in front of a mirror to a young softball player. Davis added that long toss could help to make your arm stronger.
• Soto is happy that he doesn't have to hit against Zambrano.
• Jeff thinks he can handle any hitter, but guys that are very good at making last second adjustments are tough.
• The first day Shark was called up, he struck out the first batter on an inside fastball and was like, "Wow, that was awesome." In the second inning, he throw a great pitch, but Cantu (of the Marlins) nailed it down the line.
• Dernier thinks the Blackhawks are looking good. "Get ready to party with the Hawks," he said.
• When Williams asked how many games the Cubs would win this year, Bobby got the last words of the session saying, "Just win the last one."