The MLB Playoffs Are in Full Swing: Exploring the History of Baseball Players and Fly Fishermen

As the MLB postseason unfolds, players across the league are chasing glory under the lights. But when the season ends, many of them trade their bats for fly rods. Baseball and fly fishing might seem worlds apart, but both demand patience, precision, and timing. It’s no surprise that some of the sport’s best have found peace on the water.

Ted Williams: The Original Fly Fishing Legend

Ted Williams, one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, was also one of its most accomplished anglers. After his playing days with the Boston Red Sox, Williams became a passionate fly fisher and even represented the United States in international competitions. He was inducted into the International Game Fish Association Hall of Fame and hosted a television series about fishing. Williams was known to tie his own flies and spend hours studying casting techniques. Many who knew him said that while baseball was his career, fishing was his true love.

Williams is the only person to be inducted into both the Baseball Hall of fame, and the International Game Fish Association Fishing Hall of Fame.

Rick Porcello: Finding Calm in the Current

Cy Young award winning MLB pitcher with a deep passion for fly fishing, Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers pitcher Rick Porcello is one of the more recent players to embrace fly fishing. In an interview with the American Museum of Fly Fishing, Porcello said that the sport helped him slow down and focus during his time in the majors. He described fly fishing as a perfect balance to the chaos of professional baseball, allowing him to reconnect with nature and himself.

Charlie Blackmon: The Modern-Day Outdoorsman

Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon, known by fans as "Chuck Nazty," was one of the most recent active players recognized in the fly fishing community. Blackmon has appeared in Flylords Magazine, where he spoke about his love for fly fishing and the escape it provides from the demands of a long MLB season. Living in Colorado gives him easy access to some of the best trout water in the country, and he often spends his off days wading mountain rivers.

Norm Charlton: From Reliever to Saltwater Guide

Norm Charlton, who played for the Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners, and other teams during the late 1980s and 1990s, took his fishing passion full-time after retiring. He became a licensed fishing guide in Texas, specializing in saltwater trips for redfish and speckled trout. He currently runs a guide business in Rockport, TX "Norm Charltons Big League Adventures". Charlton has said that his time on the water is more rewarding than his days in the bullpen, calling guiding the perfect second career.

Other Baseball Anglers

Several other players throughout history have shared a connection to the water. Wade Boggs, another Boston Red Sox great, was known for his love of deep-sea fishing in Florida. Bo Jackson has spoken about his time fishing and bowfishing, while Kirby Puckett often spent his offseason fishing the lakes of Minnesota. Even if not all were fly fishers, the same appreciation for quiet, patience, and skill runs through their stories.

The Common Thread

Baseball and fly fishing share an unusual kinship. Both require focus, rhythm, and an understanding that success comes from repetition and feel. For players who spend much of their year under pressure, standing in a river with a fly rod in hand is a reminder of why they love competition in the first place. The strike of a trout and the crack of a bat both demand one thing: perfect timing.

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