HEADLINE: LIFE ON ROAD NO PIECE OF CAKE 

BYLINE: BRIAN ANDERSON, Special for The Republic 

DATELINE: Los Angeles 

BODY: 
   Well, here we are on our first road trip of the season. 

Sometimes, travel in the big leagues is not all it's cracked up to be. 

You play a night game, get on the bus about an hour after the game and the
plane doesn't take off until
around midnight or after. If it's a three-hour flight somewhere, you don't
get to your hotel until about 3 or
4 in the morning. And if you have a day game the next day, it can be tough. 

A good example was the Colorado Rockies. They left the ballpark in Phoenix
last week and had to sit
in the plane for a couple of hours because the pilot didn't show up right
away. They didn't get to their
hotel in Houston until about 6 or 7 in the morning, then went out and lost
something like, 15-2. 

Some guys are not real big on flying. If you're a player, you like to be in
control of your own situation as
much as possible. So to trust a guy flying this big piece of metal . . . Of
course, the way we started out
the season, maybe the guy might want to set it down somewhere and put us
out of our misery - just
kidding. 

I was in Triple-A last year with Buffalo, and we were flying to Omaha. I
was near the back of the plane,
and we were coming in for a landing. I looked out the window, and all I saw
was grass. No runway, just
grass. I think he got it down just on the edge of the runway and bounced a
few times. 

My head flew back and hit something. Things kind of went white there for a
second, and I saw spots.
They couldn't pry me out of my seat for about a half-hour. 

I guess when you really think about it, flying is safe. If a 22-year-old
kid can fly around in bad weather
and survive in World War II, I guess an older guy should have no problem
with a big jet. 

When you finally get to your hotel room, you sometimes have to wait for
your luggage. That can take up
to another hour. They put it all on one big cart. You call downstairs and
they say, "Be right up," but
there are 35 guys calling down at about the same time and getting a "Be
right up." Sometimes it's better
if you get your own bag. 

You almost never rent a car. You usually take a cab everywhere you go. That
can be quite an
adventure. 

It's not true in every case, but a lot of cabbies don't speak English. It
makes it hard to communicate. 

And there are some guys who just look plain creepy. You kind of wonder if
they have a refrigerator full
of body parts somewhere. And there are a few who have probably never seen
or heard of deodorant.
When you get in their cab on an empty stomach, whoa! 

Some of them like to take the long way to the ballpark or a restaurant. You
can go one day and have it
be one price, and have it be a different price the next day. When I was
with the Angels, I rode with Bo
Jackson a couple of times. He told the cabbie exactly how to get there. 

We get about $67 per diem for food. That may seem like a lot, but a lot of
guys use that money to pay
the clubbie in the visiting clubhouse. Those guys work hard, so you usually
tip them. So you have to
keep your eye out for a good ATM and remember your PIN number. 

A lot of people think players can go out and socialize after games, come
back late and play the next
day. That doesn't happen very often. There's no way you could keep that up
and perform at the level
you're supposed to. Most of the guys will go grab something to eat, but
that's usually about it. A lot of
times, I get up early, go grab a cup of coffee and a newspaper. 

If you're lucky, there will be another sporting event you can go to at
night if you have a day game. Or
there might be a concert. When I was with the Angels, Mark Langston got
tickets to a Rush concert.
When I was in Buffalo last year, we had a Sunday day game in Indianapolis
and we drove to Louisville,
Ky., to see Alice in Chains and the KISS reunion tour. 

Most road trips, we wear dress shirts, ties and jackets, even though we
travel late at night. It's as if
we're going to the Academy Awards or something. I really don't mind. That's
what Buck wants, and it's
part of being a professional. 

I guess I'll see you at the next stop, wherever that may be.