Following The Dream

Many boys dream of becoming professional athletes and playing in the NBA, NFL or NHL. Growing up, much of their lives is centered around sports, both as a player and a fan. Although their skill level in their favorite sport may be quite good in their neighborhood or school upon reaching their teens, competing on a national level against other youths with the same dreams of being a professional player may make some boys face the cold, hard truth that they may not be quite talented enough to realize their dream.

There are a number of American players who can’t quite earn a starting role in professional sports in the United States who travel to other countries to play on teams where the skill level is good, but not the same caliber as, say, baseball’s major leagues. A good example would be Tuffy Rhodes, an outfielder who played sparingly in the majors with three different teams from 1990-1995, batting .224 with 13 home runs and 44 RBIs in 225 games played.

Not drawing much interest as mostly a bench player from teams in America, Rhodes took his talents to the Nippon Professional Baseball League in Japan, where he became a star. Rhodes enjoyed a stellar career in Asia, hitting 474 home runs, which is tied for 10th in career home runs in the Japanese league, and is the most of any non-Japanese player.

The sports betting public that follow the careers of major league players are often aware of players who travel overseas to play in leagues of other countries because those players sometimes return to America to try and parlay their success in another league into a starting role in the U.S. In addition to baseball, bettors who also enjoy canadian hockey teams in the nhl, NBA betting and NFL betting typically will know the country or league where individual players have gone. Rhodes attempted to return to MLB with the Cincinnati Reds in 2006, but by then was 37 years old and was released during spring training.

Another example of a player achieving success in another country is that of quarterback Doug Flutie. He won the Heisman Trophy with Boston College in 1984. Due to his rather diminutive size for a quarterback at 5’10,” many NFL teams passed on drafting Flutie. He played for a few years in the NFL with the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots from 1986-89, mostly coming off the bench. However, he achieved stardom in the Canadian Football League, winning a total of three Grey Cups, one with the Calgary Stampeders and two as the quarterback of the Toronto Argonauts.

Flutie still holds the single season passing record of 6,619 yards in 1991 with the BC Lions, as well as the mark for most touchdowns in a season with 48 in 1994 with Calgary. Upon returning to the NFL in 1998, Flutie was named Comeback Player of the Year with the Buffalo Bills.