An MLB Player who was around the game for a while makes a nice sum of money from their playing years. Some players understandably sit back, relax, and live off the money they made playing baseball. Others decide to dive into different interests and desires they may have in their life and work on those after their playing career. Regardless, some players are as successful in their endeavors after baseball as they were playing the game:
10 – Kyle Farnsworth
Farnsworth was a pitcher from 1999-2014 who played for 9 different teams during his playing career and ended up becoming an amateur bodybuilder after his playing career had ended. Athlean-X trainer and popular social media influencer Jeff Cavaliere said in a YouTube video that Farnsworth was an “absolute beast”. Cavaliere went on to say, “The fact that he’s a bodybuilder now doesn’t surprise me at all because I always wondered if he was more interested in bodybuilding versus pitching.” Farnsworth looks completely different from his MLB playing days.
9 – Bernie Williams
Williams is a Yankee legend, playing with them for his whole 16-year career. He was a 5x All-Star, ALCS MVP, and 4x World Series Champion. After baseball, he went on to become a Grammy-nominated guitarist and published 2 Jazz albums. Most recently he is now a Winemaker at Millbrook Winery, creating his own wines and goes by the name “Bernie’s Blends”. He mixes his passion for Music and Wine by combining the two and serving his wine while he performs in front of his audience. Certainly, an interesting mix of passions after baseball.
8 – Jake Peavy
Peavy, a member of the San Diego Padres Hall-of-Fame, has had an up-and-down life after his playing career. But he now owns a live music venue called “Dauphin Street Sound” and owns two bars which he purchased for over a million dollars back in 2018. There have been at least 20 albums produced at Dauphin Street Sound, although the number could be higher. An industry outlet has labeled his venue as “the world’s finest studio design” Peavy also owns a 75,000-dollar duck boat that is massive and looks awesome.
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7 – Kevin Youkilis
Youkilis is a legend in Boston for his play on the field, but he owns a brewery in California that is separate from his baseball career called the “Loma Brewing Company” which was opened in 2016. In 2017, the Brewery was named “California Commercial Beer Brewery of the Year”. He most recently has become a color commentator for the New England Sports Network covering the Boston Red Sox. It has all come full circle for the Red Sox legend.
6 – Jim Bunning
MLB Hall-of-Famer Jim Bunning enjoyed a nice 12-year career in politics after his playing career, as he was a member of the House and the Senate from 1980 all the way to 2011. From 1999 to 2011 he served as the Senator for the state of Kentucky. He is the only athlete to have been a member of both the U.S. Senate and the Baseball Hall-of-Fame. He unfortunately passed away in 2017 at age 85, but it is safe to say he lived a very successful life and made great contributions to society.
5 – Bobby Brown
Brown was a 4x World Series Champion with the Yankees back in the ’40s and ’50s. He stopped playing baseball to become a heart surgeon and became a battlefield surgeon in the Korean War. He also became a respected cardiologist and was the president of the American League from 1984 to 1994. He was an extremely well-respected man who went on to live until age 96 before recently passing away in 2021.
4 – Andre Dawson
Dawson, also known as The Hawk, was a Hall-of-Fame player mostly known for his time with the Montreal Expos and the Chicago Cubs and was an 8x All-Star and NL MVP in 1987. He currently owns and runs a funeral home with his wife Vanessa. He started as an investor before eventually going into the business fully. “We got to perform for people who are in dire need at that time to help get through the healing process … I look at (the funeral home) as an extension of the church.” Said Dawson in 2020 during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
3 – Jayson Werth
Werth, an All-Star in 2009 with the Philadelphia Phillies, now owns an organic farming operation which he is very passionate about. He is a big advocate for organic farming and believes in a “clean way of living”. Organic farming assures that the crops he produces are free from genetically modified ingredients, such as toxic fertilizers, which could be harmful to human consumption. Werth continues to devote his time to his 300-acre farm, where he grows crops from corn to wheat to beans. It’s nice to see someone so passionate about healthy farming practices.
2 – Cal Ripken Jr.
Everyone knows Cal Ripken Jr. the Orioles legend, but not as many know about his ventures outside of baseball. Ripken Jr. has written nearly 30 books from his autobiography in 1996 to children’s books in 2007. He owns a minor league team, the Aberdeen IronBirds, a Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. He was also on the board of directors of Zeni-Max Media until 2021, a video game holding company that was involved in the making of popular games such as Skyrim and Fallout. Ripken Jr. has invested his money made from baseball very wisely and continues to grow his wealth.
1 – Jackie Robinson
Robinson needs no introduction, as he is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time. He not only broke the color barrier in baseball but also after it, when he became the first black officer-level executive at a major American corporation when he became the vice-president at the coffee company Chock Full o’Nuts. He also was a co-founder and chairman of the Freedom Bank, which closed down in 1990 during a recession, but was still widely considered a massive success and a breakthrough for African Americans all across the U.S. He was a civil rights pioneer at a time when they were needed the most, and he fought for what he thought was right. Robinson not only had the best career on the field, but he also had the most impactful life off the field.
