Baseball in America Tour - Models

“Well, I know there are nine innings, three strikes, and fly balls.” - Rachel

Ten years ago, I published a fun and memorable account of meeting Alex and Rachel, two recent UGA grads who I met at a baseball game. Alex, a huge baseball fan and aspiring sportscaster, attended over 50 games a year and was passionate about pursuing a career in sports media. Her friend Rachel, a cognitive science PhD student, had a very different relationship with sports, only attending her fourth game ever.

Alex and Rachel

Originally Posted on May 2, 2014

“Okay, tell me what you know about baseball?” I heard this question from one of the attractive women sitting behind me. I had already noticed them as I walked down to my seat, and I actually pointed them out to Mike, the cameraman, who was filming me. We both gave each other that knowing glance guys do when a woman’s physical beauty kind of stops us in our tracks (eyebrows raised and a dumbstruck look while mouthing ‘WOW’). These two were stunning, to say the least. My first thought was that they were girlfriends of the players. As I eavesdropped, waiting for the answer, I thought this could be a fun profile.

“Well, I know there are nine innings, three strikes, and fly balls,” the other one answered. I laughed to myself and turned around to talk to Alex and Rachel, both 23 and recent college grads from UGA, as Alex told me. I had to ask what that stood for. She looked at me kind of funny and said, “Georgia.” I was partly right about them being girlfriends of some of the players. Alex stated she had friends on both teams since she had worked for the Atlanta Braves and the Gwinnett Braves in the past. One of her friends got her the tickets, and she asked Rachel to come along.

I told them what I was doing, and they agreed to be interviewed. They were a lot of fun from the very beginning. Alex is a huge baseball fan. She thinks she attends over 50 games a year. “I can’t explain it, I am just obsessed with the game,” she said. Currently, she is in the Master’s program at UGA for Sports Administration. Her dream job would be working as a sportscaster on the MLB Network. She got into baseball her senior year in high school when she volunteered to be a “Diamond Darling” for the boys’ baseball team and fell in love with everything about it.

Rachel and Alex have been friends since their sophomore year at UGA. They met in a psychology class, sharing “odd” glances with each other during the semester when another classmate would say and do bizarre things. They have been hanging out ever since. Rachel said she isn’t into sports at all. Her parents tried unsuccessfully when she was growing up since they were active in sporting and outdoor activities. Rachel said she did play soccer for a while, and she got stuck as the goalie since she was the tallest and the biggest player. That’s right—you read that right: “biggest.” Rachel went on to tell me (this is hard to believe) that she was once 210 pounds. She stands 5’8″ currently and is 132 pounds and is a stone-cold knockout. I was skeptical of this story and started to think that they might be putting me on.

Alex also played soccer. She said she was “okay,” with a laugh. She played all through high school. I don’t know if she was as good as Rachel was as a goalie, but she did receive scholarship offers to play at the following schools: LSU, Alabama, Princeton, Auburn, and South Carolina. She also played on the Olympic Development Team for five years. Not too shabby there, Alex—you were better than “okay,” sister! She didn’t play soccer in college since she tore her MCL twice, but she did receive an academic scholarship to UGA, saying that soccer was fun, but it had run its course with her, and she wanted to focus on “all things baseball.”

I inquired further about Rachel’s size and how she lost all her weight. She said that she made a New Year’s Resolution in January of 2011 by default when she had nothing to do one day and ended up going to the gym. She felt great after. She committed herself to eating properly and exercising regularly (five days a week). I, for one, was impressed with the results! Both Alex and Rachel do modeling on the side (hard to believe). Alex showed me a picture of a magazine she was on the cover of. They explained to me that a lot of the modeling they do is at conferences and trade shows. I asked if men get out of control with their comments. Rachel said she didn’t get a lot of lewd comments; Alex, on the other hand, said that she did. Both said they get proposals of marriage on almost every job. They laughed easily when we discussed certain things about those jobs. Rachel told me of a time when one intoxicated “gentleman” bet her that he was going to give her $100. She said she took that bet. Unfortunately, she lost when the guy gave her the $100…

I teased Rachel on her knowledge of baseball. She said it was probably her fourth game in her lifetime, a far cry from Alex and her 50 a year. Alex has been to a few MLB stadiums around the country: Giants, Padres, Rockies, and Braves. She is very serious about becoming a sportscaster. She has a very charming and gregarious personality to go along with her stunning good looks and million-dollar smile. She would be a great addition to any sports show. As for Rachel, she is working on her PhD at Georgia State in Cognitive Science. She says she loves doing the research, and since she gets paid to go to school, she says it is not a bad “gig” to have. Both will continue to do modeling to supplement their income until the MLB comes calling and the PhD is finished.

I enjoyed “watching” the game with these two. For some reason, it went by way too fast! Funny how that happened! They struck me as very intelligent and genuine individuals with a lot to offer other than their good looks.