Have you ever wondered what it's like to be a baseball player's wife? While it must be amazing for your spouse to play sports professionally, the line of work poses unique challenges for families. Whether it is constantly traveling, moving cities after a season, or trying to provide a stable life for kids, MLB wives are tough and resilient partners to their star husbands. 

Because we love talking to our customers, we found out that three MLB wives chose our clear packing cube system to help them in their constant travels. We asked these three special women for their best travel organization tips to see what the EzPacking community could learn from them.

Organizing for Travel Tips From 3 MLB Wives

Take a peek into the world of these 3 lovely MLB wives. Get to know their travel schedule, their secret weapon for keeping things organized when traveling, and some helpful packing tips that we can all learn from!

What’s your husband’s name? What team does he play for?

Ashley Upton: Justin Upton. He was just traded from the Detroit Tigers to the Anaheim Angels.

Amanda Ahmed: Nick Ahmed. He plays for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Kaycee Sogard: Eric Sogard. Last season he played second base for the Milwaukee Brewers and is currently a free agent.

How long have you and hubby been married? Tell us how you two met.

Ashley Upton: We have been married for almost 3 years. Justin and I had a mutual friend that introduced us to each other when he was in his first year with the Arizona diamondbacks.

Amanda Ahmed: Nick and I have been married for 4 years this October. We have been together for 10 years! Nick and I are high school sweethearts! 

Kaycee Sogard: Eric and I have been married for 6 years, but started dating nearly 11 years ago! We met at Arizona State University, where he was on the baseball team and I was on the softball team. We hit it off right away!

 

Tell us about your travel schedule. How often do you travel? How many days do you travel at a time?

Ashley Upton: Travel schedule is a bit crazy! We travel to at least one city on every road trip with him, sometimes multiple. That usually ends up being 4-5 cities a month depending on their schedule.

Amanda Ahmed: Our travel life is pretty hectic! Usually, the boys go on the road about every other week. Most road trips are 12 days long! We try to travel with dad as much as possible to keep the family together. Usually, I would say once a road trip! Family time is so important in this lifestyle!

Kaycee Sogard: Our travel schedule is crazy! We relocate for baseball season from about April to October, and travel every other week or so during those months. We're usually gone between 4-10 days on those trips.

 

Do you have kids? How many? Do you usually travel with them?

Ashley Upton: We have 1 daughter (21 months) that always comes along.

Amanda Ahmed: Yes! We have one son. His name's Jackson. He goes everywhere with us! He's a veteran traveler now : )

Kaycee Sogard: We have two kids, Saydee who is almost 4, and Knix who just turned 2. We almost always travel with the kids. It's so much fun being able to explore new cities with them, and since we do it so often, they're pros!

 

Why did you decide to buy EzPacking in the first place? What problem were you having and how did EzPacking solve it?

Ashley Upton: I first decided to buy EzPacking when we had our daughter. Traveling with a little one meant A LOT more stuff to pack. Because I travel alone, I only pack one suitcase for the two of us. EzPacking has made staying organized a million times easier. Our daughter's stuff gets packed in one color, mine in another. She also loves to help me pack them before trips, which is fun.

Amanda Ahmed: So I have really bad OCD (diagnosed by myself & my husband). I love to stay neat and organized; it makes everything so much easier. Ezpacking is wonderful! Instead of taking 30 minutes to try and find what I need to wear to the ballgame that night, everything is clearly organized in its own container! There's no more searching!

Kaycee Sogard: Obviously we travel a LOT. I used to pack our clothes in ziplock bags, and write our names with a sharpie on them to keep them organized. I needed to be able to see what was in the bags without having to dig through piles of clothes. Obviously the color coordinating, clear EzPacking bags solved all of my problems, and I love that they come in a variety of sizes for our different needs.

 

Do you use EzPacking for anything other than travel?

Ashley Upton: I sometimes use the cubes for diapers and wipes in our diaper bag to keep it organized. Also for toy storage! Small things like legos, dolls, etc. are easily separated and stored with them.

Amanda Ahmed: I use the small-sized bag for my son's essentials in my diaper bag, and I also use one for my car to keep extra things in the trunk!

Kaycee Sogard: I'm always throwing things in our EzPacking bags when we're not traveling. Whether it's lunch, toys for the kids, or diapers and wipes in my purse, they always come in handy.

 

What is your favorite EzPacking size cube and why? Favorite color?

Ashley Upton: Pink and green are our favorite colors :) I pretty much love every cube! Each for different things. The large/extra large ones I always pack clothes and pajamas in, the medium ones work great for her bath stuff, travel toys, bottles, cleaning stuff. The small ones are great for socks or smaller items like that.

Amanda Ahmed: I think my favorite is the large (cube) because I can stuff it full (I like to overpack) and for the color I would say black. It's sleek and never goes out of style!

Kaycee Sogard: I find that the small cube is the most convenient for my needs other than when we're traveling. And of course, I love it in my favorite neutral, black ;)

Has your packing process changed since you started using EzPacking? How?

Ashley Upton: I feel as though I pack much more efficiently. If it doesn't fit in the cube, we don't need it :)

Amanda Ahmed: Yes! Instead of throwing everything into the suitcase and jamming it shut. I actually take time to put items in their own cube. It makes me think about what I'm taking with me on that trip, and that makes it easier too!

 

How you do deal with laundry while traveling?

Ashley Upton: We each have a small laundry bag that everything goes into until we get back home.

Amanda Ahmed: Usually I'm not gone for too long so I don't need to use a laundry service. But I just take an extra cube with me and labeled it laundry! That way it is easy when I get home to take it out & wash.

Kaycee Sogard: I don't. HAHA! Once our cubes start to empty as the trip goes on, I usually end up using the large cube to hold all of our dirty laundries.

 

What’s the most exciting part about being an MLB wife? The most challenging part?

Ashley Upton: I love getting the opportunity to travel to so many fun places that we might not ever go to if it weren't for baseball. It's also so fun meeting and connecting with new people. I'd say the most challenging part is being away from family and non-baseball friends. Now that we have our daughter, I've also realized what a challenge it is doing everything by yourself when your hubby is away/resting/in the field. There is very little time to spend as a family during the season, which is why traveling with him is so important to us.

Amanda Ahmed: I think the most exciting part about being an MLB wife is getting to see your husband do what he loves every day. To see his dream come true, that's really special. I also think traveling and meeting new people. Some of the wives I've met through baseball have become my closest friends. I will cherish our friendships. 

The most challenging part I think is staying positive for your husband during the hard times. It's so easy to be happy and cheerful during good times. But athletes can be the hero one day and then zero the next. It's hard on the wife because you see how hard your husband works to have success. It's a lot of highs and lows. But it's worth every second because you get to grow together and become stronger as a couple, and individually.

Kaycee Sogard: The most exciting part is being able to travel so often, and experience all kinds of new places! Also, nothing compares to watching your husband live out his childhood dream. The most challenging part...hmmm...probably all the moving, and also having to spend so much time apart during the season.

 

What are your go-to plane necessities?

Ashley Upton: Snacks and a few more snacks, headphones, iPad, hand sanitizer, wipes.

Amanda Ahmed: Hmm... Good question! I would say a large Fiji water, some healthy snacks, cozy clothes ( I can't stand when people look cute flying ), and an iPad for my son to keep him entertained for our usual 5-hour flights!

Kaycee Sogard: FOOD AND SNACKS. Without a doubt. To keep the kids busy, and make sure I don't get hangry, we always have snacks. Oh, and the iPads!

 

What is one thing you know now that you wish you knew before becoming an MLB wife?

Ashley Upton: How strenuous the guy's travel schedule is. We went on a full 10-day 3-city road trip with him this year. We actually went home 1 day early because I was so over it!

Amanda Ahmed: Oh gosh, I don't even know where to begin for this one...

Kaycee Sogard: People on the internet are really, really mean, and you shouldn't take anything they say to heart.

Any other packing or travel tips you would like to share? We’d love to know!

Ashley Upton: We always try to bring something from home with us. Being in and out of hotels can make everyone feel a bit homesick. My husband has small things that make him smile, as does our daughter. :)

Amanda Ahmed: Packing tips, I think you NEED the EzPacking system; they are a life changer. Travel tips, maybe just to really explore where your visiting, and the culture around you. You never know when you'll be back there! Also, take lots of photos! Memories are important!

Kaycee Sogard: Oh man, I have too many travel tips (mostly for kids), I wouldn't know where to begin. I guess my number one piece of advice would be "never be surprised when things go wrong". Flights will be delayed, luggage will be missing, rental cars will break. It's bound to happen, but don't let it ruin your trip!

We hope you enjoyed hearing their stories as much as we did!

Thanks for all the great travel & packing tips, ladies. You hit it out of the ballpark!

If you want to see more ways to use EzPacking, click here to see how our customer organized her kids' toys!

P.S. Want more travel tips? Check out our post on The Best Travel Tips: 100 Ways on How to Travel Smart (er)!