Atlanta Braves scout shares expert travel tips
— -- Every second counts for Bob Johnson.
An advance scout for the Atlanta Braves, Johnson attends baseball games across the country where he scrutinizes every hit and pitch executed by the competition. So to avoid missing even an inning, Johnson aims to be on the first flight of the day.
"Fly early," he advises other travelers. "That's basically my mantra. I will try to get the best first flight I can get out in the morning. … And I don't mind connections."
By the end of this year, Johnson, 64, expects to have flown roughly 120,000 miles.
"I'll set my schedule up so I can see every pitcher we're going to face in the upcoming series," says Johnson, who also studies the hitters on opposing teams. "I saw every starter the Atlanta Braves faced this year."
Making it to all of those games makes him an early riser.
"It's very rare I fly after 7:30 in the morning," says Johnson, who recommends that travelers book connecting flights that depart at least an hour after the first flight lands, rather than the 40 minutes often suggested. "I fly a lot of connections. It's hard to get (directly) from point A to point B anymore. I try to connect through cities where flights are on time. Houston is a great example."
Johnson books his own trips and became an expert at perusing the websites of the airlines he flies most often: United and Continental. And that task will become even more streamlined now that the two carriers have merged.
"My priority is always the lowest fare," says Johnson, adding that he also needs good connections to cities where major league teams play. "Most of the teams I work for are smaller-market clubs that really watch their pennies, so that's infused in my system, to look for the lowest fares."
And in comparison with many of his frequent-flying peers, Johnson is a bit old school. For instance, he prints his boarding pass at the airport rather than at home.
"Those of us who are flying a lot … we know the process," he says of travelers like himself who've achieved premium status with the airlines they fly most often. "I personally like the human touch, so I'll go check in at 4:50 or 5 in the morning."
Leaving so early also increases the likelihood his flight won't be delayed. "At that hour you don't have a lot of the problems you have later on in the day. Airlines want to get that first flight out because that aircraft is going to be used two or three times in the day."
While many passengers stuff everything they can into an overhead bin to avoid fees or their bags possibly being lost, Johnson checks his luggage.
"I was home maybe eight days during the course of the season from April to October, so I have to pack a lot in that bag," Johnson explains.
And though as a platinum-level frequent flier with United and Continental, he doesn't have to pay checked baggage fees, Johnson still makes a mental note of how much he's carrying.
"I can pick up a suitcase and figure out what the weight is," Johnson says. "I know the difference between 45 and 48 pounds."
Despite the need for multiple changes, he doesn't overpack, carrying four or five outfits at the most and sending out his laundry, or washing it himself, while on the road.
And all that time traveling has made Johnson adept at catching a nap whenever he gets the chance.
"In my job, the greatest skill you have to acquire is the ability to sleep on an aircraft," he says. "I can be asleep 30 seconds after the demo (video) goes off unless I want to work on the plane. … You grab sleep whenever you can."
Johnson was scouting high school and college talent for the Montreal Expos when an Oakland Athletics staffer recommended that he become an advance scout for the Northern California team. Johnson started with the A's in 1997 and stayed with them for eight years. He then went on to work for the Texas Rangers and the New York Mets. He made the move to the Braves last year.
When Johnson hits the ballpark, he pulls out a chart and gets to work jotting down notes.
"I'm looking for tendencies," he explains. "If a guy sets his hands at a different position on different counts. I want to know his stance. Does he close up? Is he an open-style hitter? Does he dive into the pitch? … I first check his hands, then his feet. Then I check where his head goes on certain pitches."
Johnson does double duty at each game. "Some guys will only chart the team they're going to play," he says. "I chart both teams, because that allows me to double up on a lot of guys. Let's say it's Houston against the Cubs, and we're going to play Houston. I'll focus on Houston, but I'll also have information available to me when we play the Cubs."
Back at the hotel, he writes up reports on the game and then emails them to the team's video coordinator, who compiles the various streams of research. The team's manager and staff will ultimately share the information with the players to help them prepare for future match-ups.
By the end of the season, Johnson has accumulated more than 300 charts. When the playing is done for the year, he'll pull the stacks out of his closet and "throw them out." It starts all over again in a few months.
"Every year is a different year," he says. "The way you stay in the big leagues is by making adjustments to the competition. For example, a pitcher that used to throw 95 and now throws 91, he has to adjust his style to the hitters."
There isn't much Johnson doesn't like about his frequent trips. "I love my job and also love traveling to some of the best cities in the country and the world," he says.
But he does have one complaint: travelers who complain about traveling.
"I get really annoyed with people who complain" about the Transportation Security Administration screeners at the airport, he says. And he also gets frustrated by fellow fliers who don't know the rules of the road. "Infrequent travelers really don't know what's going on a lot of the time and that's probably the most bothersome part of what I do. It's really a pretty easy process if you put your mind to it."
Johnson's travel tips
Miles on the road annually: 120,000
Top travel tips:
• Take the first flight out in the morning.
• Don't be afraid of a connection. Just give yourself an hour or two between flights.
• Snooze whenever you can to beat jet lag. That can mean a nap on the plane or at the hotel before heading to work.