Settling for Less (One Sixty-Two: Day 35)

Writer’s note: One Sixty-Two is a season-long series of blog posts connecting baseball’s major-league players to life’s universal themes. Just as there are 162 games in a season, so there will be 162 posts in this series. Let’s play some ball.

Day Thirty-Five: J.J. Putz, Chicago White Sox

There are so many complications to an economic recession, experienced on many different levels. One of the current recession’s drawbacks is the fact that many people are working at jobs for which they are overqualified. When your upper-management position is eliminated, you may have to settle for a mid-management job. When you graduate with a degree in teaching and there are only a dozen teaching openings in your county, you may find yourself grateful for a job as a teacher’s assistant.

You know that economies operate in cycles, and you eagerly await the day when the job markets will improve. But it’s not easy to wait. Not only has your income taken a hit, but so has your self-esteem.

J.J. Putz knows what it’s like to settle for a job. Three years ago, Putz was the most dominant closer in baseball, saving 40 games for the Seattle Mariners with a 1.38 earned-run average. Over a two-year span in 2006-07, Putz struck out 186 batters in 150 innings, while walking only 27. He was nearly unhittable. But a couple of injuries and an economic downturn later, Putz now finds himself as a middle reliever for the Chicago White Sox. He’s been effective this year, striking out batters at a high rate once again. But Putz is not the head man in his team’s bullpen anymore.

There is hope, of course. Putz’s team is struggling, and there will be teams shopping around for closers in the weeks ahead. Perhaps one will offer the White Sox some prospects in exchange for the former relief ace. Maybe then Putz will get his shot once more at a job he knows he can do – a job he’s proven he can do.

Maybe those Help Wanted ads will fill up again soon, too. Maybe the call will come – “We’d like you in for an interview” or “We’d like to offer you …” Until then, those who are overqualified for their jobs try to find solace in the reality that it could, indeed, be worse. J.J. Putz may be an undervalued middle reliever, but at least he’s got work.