The Birth of Club 303

It was two years ago that I left my home in Phoenix to take the short 4-Hour drive from Phoenix to Palm Springs. Though it wasn't too far a distance from home, taking a baseball internship for a Summer Collegiate baseball team I really didn't know too much about was a risk for me. I didn't know the players I was going to be analyzing or the people I was going to be working with. Hell, I didn't find out where I was staying until I was 2 hours out of Palm Springs that first day. It truly was a jump in the dark for me.

All of it was worth it though because, while most things did not live up to any expectation I had, most of the people I worked with were absolutely awesome. In particular, at our motel we called home for 2 1/2 months, there were two rooms we occupied. Room 305 and Room 303. Room 303, occupied by Austin, Zach and Pat, soon became the hangout spot for all the interns staying at the motel. With all these hangouts the nickname "Club 303" was born.

All of the Club 303 boys would often work 12-14 hour days in Palm Springs making about $1 per hour. The work itself also was, in large part, not fun. The quality of baseball tended to be subpar, nothing we were given to do our jobs tended to work properly, and, in my experience, you could quite literally get pulled from doing your actual job to go flip burgers because a fry cook called out. It sucked.

But at the same time it was awesome. Zach, Austin, Pat, myself and other interns made the experience enjoyable. You would work all day in the hot sun, wondering what we were doing with our lives, but then come back to Club 303. Where you could just have a few beers, maybe a few more, and just talk ball. We talked about all things baseball. Whether it be Summer Collegiate, College, Major League Baseball or whatever baseball there was to talk about, we talked about it. We all brought different perspectives to the table because of our backgrounds and it always made for a great discussion. This was how we got through the days that honestly could be pretty grueling and turned a long day into a great night.

So this year Zach, Austin, Pat and I decided to make a podcast not only to bring ourselves together again to talk ball, but to bring any listeners that want to join the discussion to be able to. We hope you enjoy it as much as we will.