A Real Life Crash Davis

As this is the 25th anniversary of the release of Bull Durham, I think it is appropriate that Bryan Curtis profiles a career minor leaguer, Mike Cervenak, who has spent 15 years in the minors, with only a short stint in the bigs:

After his junior year, Cervenak was drafted in the 43rd round by Oakland. He thought — naively, he realizes now — he would have plenty of chances to play pro ball. The next season, Cervenak wasn't drafted at all.
Cervenak got work with the only team that would take him: the independent Chillicothe Paints. It was like an Ohio club dreamed up by Sherwood Anderson. There was a woman in the stands who would toss Cervenak a caramel every time he got a hit and a plate umpire with one eye. In 2000, Cervenak's OPS had climbed to 1.035 when his manager, Roger Hanners, told him he was leaving. He'd been signed by the Yankees.
"I'll always remember going to the airport that morning," Cervenak said. "They said on the radio, 'Kind of a bittersweet day for Chillicothe. They win the game, but Mike Cervenak ends up getting signed, getting an opportunity with the Yankees.' I'm on the radio in Southern Ohio. I'm excited. I've made it!" In lieu of a signing bonus, the Yankees sent a plane ticket.
By 2001, Cervenak was rolling. He was 24 years old, which wasn't an awful age for Double-A Norwich. He hit pretty well that year — he had 37 doubles in 128 games. But he couldn't get out of Norwich. The Connecticut town had colonial homes and a river that boaters could ride to Long Island Sound for lunch. A nice older couple called the Hinsches rented Cervenak a room. It was the kind of place a minor leaguer can't wait to get out of.
Cervenak didn't get called to Triple-A in '01. In spring training the next year, he figured he'd get a promotion. But some Yankees major leaguers accepted assignment in Columbus, and Cervenak was sent back to Norwich. In 2002, he nearly doubled his home run total and added almost 50 points to his slugging percentage. Columbus didn't call. The Hinsches fussed over Cervenak; the local paper began to write articles about him. He was still in Norwich.
At the end of 2002, the Yankees announced they were moving their Double-A team to Trenton, New Jersey. Cervenak, who was depreciating as a prospect, was happy to toil somewhere else. "I said to someone at the gym, 'I tell you what: That's the last time this town will see my shadow!'

As you can guess, he got traded, and ended up back in Norwich.  I've got to say, I can think of a lot worse ways to make a living.  It may be frustrating, but I bet he made more money than most people, and only worked about 8 months a year, playing the greatest game on Earth.  Not too bad.