Ex-Brave Klesko bags second career outdoors

I grew up in Orange County, Calif. We had some of the best fishing -- good freshwater spots and the ocean. In an hour or less you could be out bird or quail hunting.

You may not think of California having that, but it was a cool area to spend time in the outdoors. I have pictures far back in my childhood of me holding a fish on a string.

Today I travel a lot to co-host Hardcore Hunting TV, which shows on the Pursuit Channel on Direct TV. The show is my way of promoting my Blue Ryno Foundation, which helps families with children who have cancer and may need emergency help.

There is a lot of carryover between baseball players and the outdoors -- as many as 70 percent of the guys hunt or fish, depending on the team.

In Atlanta, I know Tim Hudson, Chipper Jones and Eric Hinske do. Bobby Cox and [team traveling secretary] Bill Acree went bird hunting with Ted Turner.

When I played in San Diego, there were 14 of us who wore camo shirts around the clubhouse. They called us Redneck Row.

One time I got hurt surfing during the season. There was some criticism: “Maybe Ryan shouldn’t be out there.” Some people wind down with drinking and partying, but I hunt or fish or surf. That’s why I was successful.

If we had a day off during a road trip to Colorado, I’d go fly-fishing up to the mountains. I went to some of the prettiest places. In Georgia, I took some other players bow hunting.

One of my favorite places in Georgia is Lake Oconee. I spend a lot of time there turkey hunting. I also go boar hunting about an hour south of Macon. I’ve been fishing with Bill Acree up at Lake Allatoona, around there.

John Smoltz and I bought a farm here near Macon that has a 30-acre lake and about 1,800 acres of all pine trees. Big K Farms is a timber farm, and it’s just beautiful.

I’ve learned that you can never go wrong buying land in the right places. I have a 3,000-acre ranch in Sonoma County, Calif. I also have a place in Corpus Christi, Texas, on the water, and a ranch that I own with partners that’s about 3,000 acres near Chipper Jones’ Texas ranch. Not all are hunting areas, but all have something to do with outdoors and bigger acreage.

If I didn’t unwind in the outdoors, I wouldn’t have stayed in the major leagues so long [16 seasons]. It’s just so peaceful. Getting out there and getting away from things is something I needed on my off days to clear my head. Being in the outdoors is still a highlight.

-- As told to Michelle Hiskey for the AJC