On the red carpet in Arlington, Boardroom caught up with 2024 MLB All-Stars Aaron Judge, Paul Skenes, Bryce Harper, Juan Soto, and more to discuss investing, financial advice, and growing the game.
Major League Baseball celebrated its All-Star festivities this week at the Rangers’ Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. But before baseball’s brightest stars arrived at the ballpark Tuesday to throw 100-mile-per-hour fastballs and hit 400-foot homers, they braved 100-degree temperatures walking the league’s annual red carpet Tuesday sporting their freshest high-fashion fits.
Aaron Judge rocked Valentino like he was on a runway in Milan. Paul Skenes sported an all-white ensemble walking alongside girlfriend Livvy Dunne. Numerous players featured personal designs in their jacket linings, including Shohei Ohtani featuring his dog Decoy, William Contreras showing off his native Colombian flag, and Alec Bohm highlighting the Minor League teams he played for on his way to the Philadelphia Phillies.
At the tail end of the carpet, Boardroom spoke with 15 of MLB’s most popular superstars, including Judge, Skenes, Juan Soto, Bryce Harper, and Bobby Witt Jr., about the most important business and investment topics they face on a daily basis, including what players look for in an investment, the best investment advice they’ve ever been given, advice for new MLB players trying to grow their off-field brand, and ways in which they would want to grow the league and the sport.
The following has been edited for length and clarity.
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What do players look for in an investment? What’s their investment decision-making process?
Pete Alonso, first baseman, New York Mets: “I really don’t do much of the crazy stuff. I do a lot of tax-free bonds. I know it’s kind of boring, but tax-free bonds are pretty safe for me. I more play the long game.”
Corbin Burnes, starting pitcher, Baltimore Orioles: “Talk to my financial guys and make sure that I’m not going to get hurt. Those guys are a lot smarter than I am. I stick to baseball and these guys stick to the money.”
Tyler Glasnow, starting pitcher, Los Angeles Dodgers: “Something that deep down feels like a good idea. Something you’re passionate about, you can get behind, and the numbers are good.”
Aaron Judge, outfielder, New York Yankees: “I like to see past numbers. I want to see how it’s going, how the business is doing. I just like to see growth. I like to get in when and if I see some good progress and good numbers. That’s the time to get in.”
Ryan McMahon, third baseman, Colorado Rockies: “I have a team of people I trust, and I let them direct me on what they’re thinking. I usually roll with it if it sounds good. And if it sounds bad, I let them know I’m concerned and don’t go with it.”
Chris Sale, starting pitcher, Atlanta Braves: “I’m a baseball player. You want to ask me about sliders? I got you all day. I have a financial advisor that takes care of all that.”
Corey Seager, shortstop, Texas Rangers: “I’m definitely a little more methodical and analytical. It usually takes me a little time to make decisions. I’m definitely a thinker, so it’s a slower process for me.”
Paul Skenes, starting pitcher, Pittsburgh Pirates: “Do I like it? That’s a big question. Do I like it? Will I use it? Will it help me? Is it going to grow?”
Juan Soto, outfielder, New York Yankees: “Something that is going to be a good investment or just be stable, so I can be focused in the field and don’t have to worry about all my investments.”
Trea Turner, shortstop, Philadelphia Phillies: “I usually like to look for things that people can’t live without or you use on an everyday basis.”
Bobby Witt Jr., shortstop, Kansas City Royals: “Just put it in a lot of different places. I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket, so I’m in a little bit of everything.”
Christian Yelich, outfielder, Milwaukee Brewers: “Something that you can relate to or you have passion about. I always found when you’re most interested and you have your attention towards something, then usually you see the best results.”
What’s the best investment advice you’ve ever been given?
Burnes: “The easiest answer is to diversify. Part of my process in interviewing financial companies was to look into their portfolios and make sure they diversified and make sure they’re not going to get hurt.”
Glasnow: “Buy low, sell high.”
Judge: “Don’t be afraid to take risks. You’ve got to take opportunities. Sometimes something may seem like it’s kind of a risky take, but you’ve got to risk it a little bit if you’re going to try to win.”
Sale: “Trust my financial advisor.”
Skenes: “Enjoy the product.”
Soto: “Take risks. Sometimes when you don’t take risks, you can get in a little late. So take your shot and see what happens.”
Robert Suárez, relief pitcher, San Diego Padres: “Get the right team in place to be able to find the deals.”
Turner: “Diversify. Make sure you have a little bit of everything.”
Yelich: “It’s kind of cliche, but invest in people who are passionate about what they’re doing and have a passion for either their project or their product. Because when you’re passionate about something you want to see, they become the best.”
What advice would you give to a new MLB player looking to make a name for himself off the field?
Alonso: “The biggest thing is to just remember that every single day is a blessing to be at the yard, and continuously work and recover. And make sure you always keep working hard and make quality decisions.”
Burnes: “The biggest thing is being smart. We’re going to come into a large sum of money in a short amount of time, so we want to make sure it lasts for your entire life. The length of our careers is not as long as people [think], so it’s about making sure we’re protected for the long run.”
Bryce Harper, outfielder, Philadelphia Phillies: “Pick the brands that align with your life.”
Glasnow: “Be open to opportunities. Sometimes, in season, it gets a little stressful to do things like that, so you end up being reclusive or trying to sit in your room. Maybe just be available. And in talking to guys who’ve been retired, a lot of them wish they would’ve done more things off the field while playing. So maybe try to take advantage of the opportunity while you have it.”
Judge: “Just don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. Have fun with it. Find stuff that interests you, things that you like, and then just dig into it. Because we all get defined as baseball players. There are so many things we do off the field that we really enjoy, and you have to take those risks and have fun with some things off the field.”
McMahon: “Just find things you like. If you’re true to who you are, people will find the good in you.”
Seager: “Find things that you care about that you value and be willing to express it.”
Skenes: “Be smart, obviously, but make good decisions. Be authentic.”
Soto: “Just be focused on baseball. Make sure you are ready to perform every day in the field and let everything else take care of itself.”
Witt Jr.: “Just enjoy it all. Be yourself.”
Yelich: “Focus on playing well first, because that takes care of a lot of things. Sometimes when people first get to the league, they want to build their brand or skip a few steps before becoming a good player, and that usually takes care of the rest of it.”
What do you think can be done to help grow the game of baseball, whether that’s MLB, the teams, or the players?
Alonso: “Getting MLB guys in the Olympics would be a great way to grow the game.”
Harper: “Play it in the Olympics.” Harper went on to say he’d love to go to Paris to play for Team USA. “It would be amazing.”
Glasnow: “Just rolling and adapting with the times. The pace of play stuff is probably pretty good. Everyone has shorter attention spans, myself included.”
Judge: “I love playing all around the world. When we have a chance to go play in London or Japan, that’s where you can really showcase the game to other countries that don’t get a chance to see us on a regular basis. So continuing to have trips where we can go to other countries and play the game. If there are ways to do different baseball camps in countries where they don’t really have baseball as the number one sport, that’s the way to do it.”
Sale: “I really enjoyed going to London in 2019. Those were really fun experiences for the players and for people overseas that don’t get to experience the game that much. So going to different countries and playing games like that was a lot of fun.”
Seager: “Engagement with younger fans. It takes a lot of time and money to be able to play, so just being able to provide more resources for people without means that need them, whether that’s time or equipment, just to get more engagement from younger kids.”
Skenes: “Continue doing what they’re doing with social media, and at the stadiums too. Fan engagement, TV, making it super accessible.”
Turner: “Get the youth involved as much as possible and make the game fun.”
Yelich: “A lot of the new rules have done a really good job, actually. The pitch clock’s been a great success. I wouldn’t mind seeing a ball strike challenge system at some point once you get a better handle on it in a way to make sure that everything that you do is accurate.”
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