Sports
Noah Krol, Pittsburgh Pirates Prospect
Right-hander served as the Bradenton Marauders' primary closer during their inaugural season. A 17th-round draft pick of the Detroit Tigers in 2007, Krol earned midseason and postseason All-Star honors from the Florida State League last year.
What was it like playing in Bradenton last year?: It was an overall great experience. With it being their first year, they did a good job of accomplishing everything that goes along with establishing a team in a new city. It was fun playing in the first season here.
What were some of the things you did in your downtime last season?: You don't have a whole lot of downtime. You wake up, grab a quick lunch and go to the field. I ate a lot of . Being at the field all day, you eat dinner there and then you go home. There's not a whole lot of free time, but people would go to the beach when we had the occasional day off.
What did you do in the offseason?: Substitute teach (in his home state of Kansas).
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What was that like?: It was like babysitting high school kids.
Does your career help when it comes to dealing with high school kids?: Not really. I didn't talk baseball with them too much.
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What are your goals for this season?: Take advantage of each and every opportunity given. Hopefully, do well enough to keep moving up.
Best thing about being a professional ballplayer: You get to put on a jersey every day. You don't have to go sit in a cubicle.
If you could play any other sport professionally, what would it be?: I like football. I would like to play football, but those dudes are way too big and way too fast. If I was big and fast, that's what I would want to do.
Did you play football in high school?: I tried. I was a wide receiver and a safety all four years.
Who is the most inspirational figure(s) in your life?: My folks. They take care of their day-to-day business and they go about things the right way.
Do you plan to get into teaching?: Yeah. I plan on going back to school when I'm finished with baseball. I think I have a year and a half left, so that's the plan.
How difficult of a decision was it to sign (a professional contract) when you had a year and a half of school left (at Wichita State)?: Not very hard. You can always go back to school, but your window to play baseball is only open so long. It wasn't that difficult of a decision.
