John Jaso: Trading an MLB Career for Life at Sea
During the 2017 MLB season, John Jaso, then the Pittsburgh Pirates’ first baseman, came to a quiet but decisive realization: he wanted to retire from baseball and pursue a very different life. Over the course of that season he found himself drawn to marinas whenever the team played near water. Those visits sparked a long-standing desire to own a sailboat and sail away from the rhythm of professional sports.
On a trip before a game against the Baltimore Orioles, Jaso drove to Annapolis, Maryland, where he finally found the vessel he’d been searching for — a 2014 Jeanneau 44 DS. He had the boat surveyed, completed the purchase, and then returned to the ballpark in time for the 7:10 p.m. game. That decisive purchase was more than a transaction; it was the first concrete step toward a new life centered on sailing and simplicity.
When his two-year, $8 million contract ended at the close of the season, Jaso announced to reporters that he would not sign another deal. “I have a sailboat,” he explained, “so I just want to sail away.” The comment was straightforward but revealed a deeper longing: the appeal of freedom, quiet, and a life less defined by schedules, statistics, and constant travel from arena to arena.
For Jaso, Major League Baseball had begun to feel hollow compared with the idea of sailing around the world. He described moments on his boat when everything else faded away — not necessarily when he was actively sailing or fishing, but simply when the boat was at rest, gently bobbing in the water. “Sometimes I’ll just be out on the boat bobbing in the water, not sailing or even fishing, and I’ll think to myself: ‘There’s nowhere else on the planet I’d rather be than right here,’” he said. That sentiment captures the powerful pull of a quieter life and the profound contentment he found at sea.
Jaso also spoke about feeling trapped in a culture of consumerism and overconsumption. He asked a question many people wrestling with modern life have asked themselves: “Why do we always have to have more, more, more?” For him, the sailboat represented a rejection of that constant urge for accumulation and a return to priorities that felt more authentic and meaningful.
He framed sailing as a deliberately primitive experience in the best sense of the word — a way to step away from an electronic, concrete, material environment and reconnect with something elemental. “When you’re sailing, you’re going back to something primitive,” he said. “You’re removing yourself from the material world — this concrete, electronic world. And you’re returning to this sense of wonder.” That sense of wonder, he added, can be as powerful as the instant connection many people feel when meeting a newborn — an experience that makes everything else disappear for a moment.
Jaso’s story highlights the broader appeal of the sailing lifestyle for people seeking a simpler, more deliberate existence. Whether it’s the quiet pleasure of anchoring in a calm bay, the tactile chores that keep a sailor engaged with the elements, or the freedom of setting a course without a fixed itinerary, sailing offers a stark contrast to the relentless pace of professional sports or urban life. For Jaso, the boat was not just a recreational purchase but a tangible symbol of a different set of values: fewer obligations, more time to observe the natural world, and the emotional clarity that comes from being removed from constant distraction.
He emphasized how time on the water can restore perspective: when you are out there, the distractions of modern life fall away and you remember fundamental truths about where people come from and what matters. “Sometimes it’s easy to forget that we all come from the same place,” he said. “When you’re out there on the water, you remember.”
Jaso’s decision to leave baseball for sailing resonated with many readers because it reflects a thoughtful, intentional shift toward a life defined by experience rather than acquisition. His purchase of the Jeanneau 44 DS and subsequent retirement announcement were outward signs of an inner transformation — a choice to prioritize peace, wonder, and the open horizon over the trappings of professional success.
For the full reporting on John Jaso’s transition from Major League Baseball to life as a sailor, see the New York Times.