Baseball & Bowhunting with Ben McDonald

September is nearing its conclusion, and with that — at least to yours truly — comes the most wonderful season of them all. Fall has officially arrived, and to me that means a couple different things. One, of course, is the beginning of archery season. To those of us that celebrate the crisp, silent, borderline perfect mornings that occur while 20 feet up in a tree, there’s nothing quite like chasing big bucks this time of the year.

Another passion of mine for as long as I can remember has been baseball. While it’s true that most people think of spring when speaking about America’s pastime, the best and most intense baseball of the entire calendar year is just getting its start as we speak. As I write this, there’s only one week left in the grind that is a 162-game regular season, and that means one of my favorite phrases will return to our lives very soon: playoff baseball! For my money, there’s truly nothing else quite like it in sports.

One man who shares my passions for both bowhunting and baseball is Ben McDonald, and he just so happens to be extremely talented at both. The Louisiana native, and former LSU Tiger great, was the No. 1 overall selection in the 1989 Major League Baseball draft by the Baltimore Orioles. The 6’7” right-hander went on to pitch nine seasons in the big leagues, seven of those coming in Baltimore before finishing his career in 1997 with the Milwaukee Brewers. Today, he's found his way to the broadcast booth, working both Orioles’ games for MASN, as well as college baseball on both ESPN and the SEC Network.

Team Realtree

While he was already a diehard bowhunter, McDonald made an important connection in the hunting industry not long after his first season as a professional baseball player had concluded. That man was Bill Jordan, and it was the start of a relationship that has never gone by the wayside after all these years.

“I met Bill in 1990 at the Buckmasters Classic. He walked up to me and introduced himself,” McDonald said. “He said, ‘Hey man, you like to hunt big deer? I said, ‘Well who the hell doesn’t like to hunt big deer?’ And from that point on we started to hunt together and just became friends.”

That relationship got off on the right foot immediately, and Jordan certainly didn’t have to pitch his company to McDonald. Truth is, he knew all about it already.

“I was already a Realtree fan. I tell people all the time — Bill Jordan is the guy that made camo cool,” stated McDonald. “Nobody ever wore camo to a movie or a ballgame, but now you see it all the time because it’s cool now and he’s the man responsible for that.”

Over the years, he’s had plenty of opportunities to hunt with both Bill, as well as son Tyler, who he’s had the pleasure of watching grow up from afar.

“I’ve known Tyler since he was just a baby obviously, and he’s taking a step forward in the business world with Bill and they’re continuing to move that company forward,” McDonald said. “I’m really lucky to be involved with the Jordans, and I fly the flag with Realtree — that’s who I am.”

Forever A Bowhunter

Want another fact about McDonald that most hunters can’t claim? He doesn’t hunt with a firearm. Ever! And considering his success as a professional athlete, the reason for that shouldn’t really surprise you.

“It’s the challenge for me,” he said. “I’ve always been a competitor in my life. I played basketball at LSU, I played baseball at LSU, and I played baseball in the Major Leagues. As a competitor, you’re always looking for the biggest challenge to go do certain things. I shot a lot of deer with a rifle when I was a kid, but I started bowhunting in 1990 and all I do is bowhunt now. I’ve not picked up a rifle to shoot a deer in 25 years because I just like the challenge of getting the animal close to me. That’s what makes me tick.”

And if you’ve seen Realtree’s popular "Monster Bucks" video series — or posts he’s made on social media for that matter — you already know that archery presents an added challenge to McDonald that most bowhunters don’t have to deal with. He’s a right-handed shooter who just so happens to be extremely left-eye dominant.

“I’ve got to wear an eye patch because even if I keep both eyes open, I’m so left-eye dominant that I still see nothing out of my right eye,” he explained. “So, it’s even tougher for me, but again, I love the challenge bowhunting presents for me and that’s just another part of it.”

Every bowhunter dreams of the next time they get to fill out a harvest report of a big, mature whitetail, but there’s much more to it than that for McDonald. He enjoys the whole process, and that starts in the heat of the summer.

“I always go put cameras out in July because I know it’s getting close,” he explained. “I was back at my place in Mississippi (in mid-August) and did a lot of bush-hogging, did a lot of trimming, checked all 35 bow stands I had up and made sure they were safe, so that ol’ trigger finger is starting to itch. It’s an exciting time of the year because you start to see some new deer and some deer that you let go last year.”

And that’s yet another aspect of bowhunting that McDonald has an extreme passion for: herd management.

“I look at a deer now and think he’s four — he’s a heck of a deer, but what’s he going to look like when he’s five or six,” he said. “So I always have these expectations of deer and I always look forward to this time of the year.”

Playoff Baseball

With his broadcasting gig for the Orioles, however, it’s possible that the Major League Baseball postseason could cost McDonald a bit of time in the woods. But for one season at least, the former pitcher would gladly accept that if it meant a deep playoff run in Baltimore.

“There was a time five or six years ago that we didn’t have to worry about October baseball because the Orioles lost a lot,” he joked. “But I’ll be honest, with where the Orioles came from, I don’t mind missing a little bit of time. While it may cut into my bowhunting, I enjoy doing what I do and being around the Orioles and being in playoff baseball mode.”

So, with just one week of baseball to play, how does McDonald see the baseball season playing out? Well, according to what he’s seen all season, the field might be as well-balanced as it’s been in a number of years.

“There’s not one team in Major League Baseball this year that’s on pace to win 100 or more games,” he said. “We had three teams do it last year, including the Orioles, so it’s almost like nobody is taking control. The Orioles and Yankees got off to a great start and they’ve kind of slowed down. Then the Phillies looked like they were going to be the unbeatable team a month ago, but they’ve kind of backed up, too.”

He did offer up a few teams to watch, however, as well as what it might take for his Orioles to reach their first World Series since winning the Fall Classic in 1983.

“There hasn’t been a real dominant team for me this year,” he stated. “The Dodgers are getting going now, and I think it’s in the tank for the Yankees, too, if they get going a little bit. And I do think it’s in the tank for the Orioles if they can finally get some guys healthy. But we’ll see who gets into the playoffs and then the key will be who can get hot. We saw that last year (with the Texas Rangers).”

Embrace The Pressure

One thing that’s not debatable this time of year — whether you’re talking about the treestand or the pitcher’s mound — is that there’s going to be plenty of pressure to perform. So, that begs the question: which situation is more nerve-wracking? Well, it’s a good thing I had someone to ask that’s been in both situations at the highest level. After all, expectations tend to come at a near-impossible level when you’re the first overall selection in a draft.

“The sportswriters here always asked if I was feeling a lot of pressure with the expectations,” McDonald said. “I told them that pressure is a giant buck standing 30 yards away and you’ve got to squeeze off a shot in between two saplings to make a heart shot. That’s pressure! It got my heartrate higher than anything I’ve ever done in sports. I actually think what I’ve done athletically has helped me control my heartrate in big moments, and it’s helped me make big shots under pressure.”

That's quite the statement for the bowhunting community, wouldn't you say? 

Above all else though, if you're someone that shares the love of either bowhunting or baseball like we do, here's to you. It's our time of the year, so let's make the most of it!