Underneath the glory and fame of being a Shocker baseball player lay some major difficulties and limitations. 

These include maintaining good grades while practicing for hours a day and traveling to games, or even being limited in the ways players are allowed to address the media.

“Yes, playing a sport is time consuming,” Tami Cutler, assistant director of media relations for the athletic department, said. “It’s hard to put in as many hours studying and doing homework.”

“For me, it’s like a full-time job,” Shocker baseball player Drew Palmer, a junior, said. “Almost every day is eight hours at the field.”

Even though it’s difficult, Cutler said, “they have resources.” 

Some team members are required to study a certain amount of hours, depending on their GPA. Students are exempt if they maintain a 3.0 GPA and avoid C’s. Amid hours of practice and traveling for games, this type of commitment can really help student athletes succeed as students.

“We have one day off a week, so I usually try and knock out as much [homework] as I can when I’m trying to rest,” Palmer said.

Another difficulty student athletes face is responding to the media. The last thing a baseball, or other athletic program, wants is bad public relations. To help prevent this, baseball players receive training about how to answer reporters’ questions.

“They’re mostly common sense things,” Cutler said. “Don’t say anything negative about the team or coaches and don’t talk about umpires.”

While this might be simple to do when a team is winning, it becomes difficult after a tough loss when emotions are high. 

Cutler said that the main focus is to stay positive.

“As long as they’re not throwing anyone under the bus, they’re doing OK,” Cutler said.

Difficulties may be prevalent among Shocker baseball players, but rewards are there. 

Although no one on the team has a free ride, scholarships can certainly be found. 

Palmer said it’s the screaming fans and the challenge that keeps him going.

“When you have success, it’s even better because you put so much work into it,” Palmer said. “At this level, it’s so tough to be dominant and to stay so consistent. It’s addicting.”