Orioles All-Star John Means Almost Quit Baseball Last Year and Even Made a LinkedIn Profile

The lone representative from the hapless Baltimore Orioles in the 2019 MLB All-Star game is left-handed starter John Means, who went 7-4 with a 2.50 ERA while posting a WAR of 3.5 in his rookie season.

Before this season started, Means almost quit the game entirely, even going so far as to make a LinkedIn page, with "baseball player" and "substitute teacher" as his only job experience.

A former 46th round pick -- a round which doesn't even exist anymore -- who languished with the Double-A Bowie Baysox for three seasons, Means couldn't take the trials and tribulations that came with being a minor leaguer.

“I’ve never felt like that after baseball games before,” Means said, “where you think your career is over, you think you’re going to quit.”

After finally cracking the roster this year, the spry 6-foot-3 lefty is now sharing the same stage as Mike Trout and Cody Bellinger in the 2019 MLB All-Star Game.

Making a non-livable wage in the minors and risking your health in front of 800 people in Double-A could turn some away, but Means suck through it and earned one of the most important individual honors in the game.