At age 24, John Axford found himself out of baseball and working odd jobs to pay the bills. Among them was bar tending and time as a cell phone salesman before getting a second chance on baseball. Axford took advantage of that chance and is now one of the most dominant closers in baseball for the Milwaukee Brewers. In the outstanding read, Axford talks about his rags to riches journey to baseball stardom.

The long, strange journey of Brewers closer John Axford — SportsIllustrated.com