I continue my WAGs series with Bess and Seth Frankoff. Seth is a pitcher in the Cubs organization and I sat down with wife Bess and talked about the rollercoaster of a journey the two have had to endure over the years since they met over a decade ago.
The Real
"No one tells you how lonely it can be to be married to a baseball player," Bess explains.
Her situation was a bit different than most however. She came from a baseball family and her mom (a former baseball wife as well) gave her advice and words of encouragement.
"Well my mama did try to warn me the first time I brought Seth home," explained Bess. "You have to be extremely independent because you're alone more than you're together. It was just nice to have someone who understands completely since she was a baseball wife as well."
Beyond her mom being a support system, Bess began to understand the game more, specifically pitching growing up around the ball field. Three generations of baseball players in her family, each of them pitchers.
"My grandfather pitched in the Reds organization, my daddy pitched in the Dodgers organization (which is why it was extra special when Seth got to play with them this season), and my brother pitched in college. My life has always involved baseball, therefore I don't get bored watching Seth. Some guys don't like to talk about the game with their significant others, but Seth does. I personally love that we can share that," she says.
Seth Frankoff was drafted by the Oakland A's in the 27th round of the 2010 MLB draft. He was recently acquired by the Cubs from the Dodgers organization. He went 4-4 with a 3.89 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP in 28 games this past season.
Being prepared doesn't always mean it's easy however. Bess explains the feelings of loneliness creeps up on her constantly.
The Struggle
"I struggled being alone all the time, especially at night," she said. "Addie (their dog child) helps tremendously!"
Bess tells me that Seth "might hurt her for saying this," but Frankoff even made a Build-a-Bear for Bess with a recording of his voice.
The Secret to Making it Work
It has been years since Bess was forced to share a house wth five guys (and one bathroom), but the two still manage to make it work. I asked Bess what her secret was. (If you saw these two interact you would see it's a type of love we all want.)
"We started dating when we were so young," Bess laughs. "We literally grew up with one another, but I think we even each other out pretty well."
Bess explains her optimism and silliness is smoothed out by Seth's perfectionism and relatively serious personality.
"When I'm all over the place with my emotions, he's able to keep me grounded," she says. "When he gets down on himself, I'm able to lift him up. We seem to be strong in the area where the other is weak, as cliche as that sounds."
They also laugh a lot (just follow Bess on Snapchat and you'll see.) "We listen to a lot of Britney Spears and Disney radio." So now we know what takes place on those long car rides across the U.S. It's all High School Musicals and "...Hit Me Baby One More Time."
The Tattoo
So Bess and I went to the bar recently and after a few shots of tequila...
I'm kidding. This isn't that type of story.
A while back I saw a social media post from Seth and he had a new addition to his ring finger. In black, "Bess" was written across his finger.
I thought it was extremely romantic, but that wasn't the exact scenario, Bess told me.
"Well, I'd like to say it started out as this grand romantic gesture, but that's not the case. Ever since we got married Seth has hated wearing a ring. He has never worn any kind of jewelry, not even a watch. I told him he would get used to it, but he never did."
Seth and Bess have been talking about him getting a tattoo for several years and Bess said it was a crazy idea, but it wasn't until Seth was pitching in Oakland in front of a decent sized crowd when Seth "had a change of heart."
"Seth would wear his wedding ring on my daddy's necklace while he pitched. Sometimes it would come undone, but it had never happened during a game. Well that changed and it just happened to be at the biggest moment in Seth's career thus far! He was warming up, in front of a large Oakland crowd, and his ring comes off the necklace and goes down his pants!"
Even after the crazy idea came into play, Bess said she is in love with the ink. It gives her butterflies when she catches a glimpse of it. "Especially when he's pitching," she gushes.
The Advice
Bess didn't mess around when it came to offering advice in regards to dating an athlete. Without skipping a beat (and a bit of satire) she said "DON'T!" when I asked her if she could offer any advice to someone who just started dating an athlete or someone in a similar career path.
"Honestly? My advice would be that it's extremely difficult and it can be very lonely; you have to be understanding/unselfish as well. They miss a lot of life events, I even had to change my wedding date because of baseball! Haha! Buuuut, with all great sacrifices becomes great rewards."
And just like most of the women I have interviewed, Bess mentions that with any relationship, it's a lot of give and take from both sides.
"You just have to ask yourself is it worth it. Obviously, 10 years later and countless temporary homes, I found Seth to be worth it."