You might think professional athletes have become spoiled. Might think the money and the fans and the hype have all conspired to strip them of their humility or sever any connection between them and regular fans.
Please meet Kansas City Royals pitcher Kyle Davies, in a way that has to surprise you.
"I'm a laborer, man," he says into his cell phone.
When Davies said that, he was driving home after a long day’s work, away from a construction site where he's been spending his days this offseason near his Georgia home.
Some guys are called "throwbacks" because they slide headfirst or wear a buzzcut or don't celebrate in the end zone. Davies might be more of a throwback than any of them.
He's working a construction job to stay off the couch, keep active and make a little extra money — although whatever he's making is a significant pay cut from the $427,000 he made with the Royals last year.
"I pour concrete, dig ditches, lay pipe, get on the machines, pick up garbage." he says. "Whatever they need me to do.”
Sounds weird, right? But the guy who won all five of the September games he started, toils and sweats — just like a lot of big-leaguers used to do before luxury suites and TV contracts made all that unnecessary.
Davies' father, Hiram, runs a business that builds and renovates a lot of McDonald's restaurants. Hiram Davies is undoubtedly biased on this subject but calls his son "the most dependable worker you can find."
Read the full story at KansasCity.com