Jake Goebbert New To Pirates Clubhouse, But Has A Lot Of Experience In Pumpkin Farming
BRADENTON, Fla. (KDKA) -- Spring Training is an opportunity for players to show what they have to offer.
For guys who haven't made the team yet, it can be a make or break couple of weeks. But one Pirates player in particular has a budding business to fall back on if things don't work out.
One of the newest additions to the Bucs clubhouse is Jake Goebbert, and he is hoping to land one of the final spots on the roster.
But if things don't work out in baseball, Goebbert has a good back-up plan.
Goebbert helps run his family's business in the off-seasons in Chicago. It's not just any business though; it's one of the largest pumpkin patches in the country.
"It's a fun job to go home to in the fall. This was its 30th year," says Goebbert. "My parents started it when they finished college."
KDKA's Rich Walsh: "So this is like the Disney World of pumpkin patches?"
Goebbert: "I don't know about that! That's pretty bold, but it's definitely a unique business."
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Just like baseball, this is a passion for Goebbert, spending time with his dad, trying to develop different and unique ideas so people of all ages can enjoy the fun.
Goebbert: "We have an exotic animal petting zoo, a train ride for kids, a jumping pillow, a wagon-ride out to the pumpkin patch, a pumpkin-eating dinosaur."
Walsh: "So, is this something you're going to do for the rest of your life?"
Goebbert: "Most likely, yes. It's something that I take a lot of pride in, something that taught a lot of life lessons growing up as a kid, how to work hard. I had the unique opportunity to see my dad at work every day coming home from school. And there really wasn't much time for being inside. When it was a nice day, we were outside on the farm, helping."
Walsh: "Is it safe to say your favorite dessert is pumpkin pie?"
Goebbert: "I'd say that'd be a good bet. I get enough of it."
Goebbert also says there's some challenges to growing pumpkins, but one of the secrets to growing big pumpkins, give them a little bit of milk.
