From World Series Champion to Thriving Luxury Real Estate Agent

Editor’s Note: Superstars in sports and celebrities in real estate is a new series highlighting either high-profile professionals who have made a career transition into real estate, or those agents who represent such high-level individuals in the sale or purchase of their luxury homes. We’ll bring you their stories, best practices, top tips and more. Stay tuned to RISMedia for new stories and updates.

Jim Bruske has gone down in the history books of Major League Baseball (MLB). Maybe not purely for his on-field accomplishments—although he certainly had a respectable professional career—but because he was one of just eight players who has played for both World Series teams in the same season, winning the title in 1998 with the New York Yankees as they swept his former team, the San Diego Padres.

Bruske bounced around the league during his time in the majors, defining his journey as a “grind,” playing frequently in the minor leagues and even getting traded a handful of times within the same year. He eventually switched positions from an outfielder to a pitcher in the minor leagues, a significant and difficult transition. 

This is the discipline that Bruske developed, which has helped him thrive in real estate—go and get what you want by any means necessary. A tireless work ethic, in fact, made success in the realm of real estate feel inevitable.

“I think I’ve always been pretty self-disciplined. I didn’t need someone to wake me up and tell me what to do every day,” Bruske explains. “In fact, when I got my (real estate) license, my wife just shook her head going, ‘Oh boy, I guess you’re going to be working seven days a week, knowing you.’”

Bruske’s wife was right. MLB contracts didn’t pay what they do now, and especially not toward players who weren’t superstars, like his former teammate Derek Jeter, for example. He was up for a new challenge in real estate and did, in fact, work seven days a week for several years, feeling that he didn’t have time to wait around and slowly navigate the industry.

“I needed to make some money right away, which we did…I think I was rookie of the year with my first company. I started with Keller Williams that year and then kind of grew a team, which I didn’t really plan on doing, but it sort of just happened. But now I’ve been doing (real estate) for 22 years, which sounds crazy to me. It’s gone by fast, but it’s gone very well.”

Since 2013, Bruske has been associated with firms such as Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty as an agent before moving to Launch Real Estate. He now sells luxury homes with Engel & Völkers as a manager and agent/global advisor. He also formed The Bruske Team with long-time friend Gretchen Baumgardner.

Growing pains and adaptation

“When I was playing baseball, I’d go to the gym and work out and not talk to anybody, put headphones on, do what I had to do, then go home and spend time with my family,” says Bruske. “But when I got into this business, I quickly realized I needed to be more. I wasn’t rude to anybody, just with my personality, I almost had to learn to be more social and meet people and get them as a client. Because once you start mentioning real estate, everyone wants to talk about it. ‘How’s your market? And what is my house worth?’ And all that.”

Bruske explained how pitching in front of thousands on national television was no problem, but speaking at real estate events in front of a small crowd, or typical in-depth conversations about the market, was what felt like a weak spot during his early years in the industry.

“I could pitch in front of 50,000 people no problem. But speaking and some of these functions I get invited to in front of 50 or a hundred people was a lot harder.”

With practice however, Bruske has adapted. “I have a goal, every time I go for a walk in the morning to introduce myself to at least one person and try to start a conversation with them. And sometimes it’s a lot easier than other days, but if you do it long enough, it kind of comes naturally.”

Getting into luxury 

While with Keller Williams, Bruske had the desire to get into the luxury market. Given how hard he was working, he figured he deserved a bigger reward.

“I wanted to get into the luxury market because if I want to work that hard, I might as well sell bigger and better things and make more money.”

And as a former professional, Bruske is more than familiar with what athletes may look for in a home, although he didn’t get to represent an athlete for his first five years in the industry. In part, he feels that athletes didn’t take him as seriously for some time.

“I think it took five years before I represented a professional ball player. I sold a lot of homes to doctors and professional people, but never really got into the whole baseball scene,” he explains. “I was a baseball guy, not a real estate guy, so they didn’t take me very seriously.”

However, once he began working with athletes, he reflected on his career, and the troubles that his own family went through. He knew the importance of finding a home that felt like home, in a market where, if an athlete got traded, they wouldn’t be losing money if/when they had to sell.

“I think I used my experience because I got traded three times one year, and my wife and I had a 2-year-old son, and she was dragging him around. She finally looked at me and said, ‘I’m going back to Arizona. Our kid doesn’t know what’s home, what’s a hotel.’ I do know what these families go through from firsthand experience. I mean, it’s hard to really call a city home unless you’re a Derek Jeter that spent his whole career in one spot. So I always tried to find them not just a good deal, knowing that when they get traded over, (we’d) be able to sell that house for them and not lose profit.”

And for other business professionals, not all people care for baseball—or sports for that matter. Bruske feels out his clients to determine whether or not his former playing days may help with engaging in conversation.

“I’m not going to lie, not all clients like sports,” he says. “So I figure out who they are, what they like, and after asking them all the questions, if I think it’s the right time or something, I’ll meet with them with my World Series ring on. That doesn’t hurt.”

Bruske did note that his championship run has certainly helped him get his foot in the door at some places, “but for the most part, at the end of the day, it’s relationships and staying in touch with your past clients and just working the network and talking about what you do. I’m constantly meeting people.”

Success comes with time

“For the most part, it takes a long time once you get into luxury home sales without having any history or experience. It just takes time,” concludes Bruske. “You have to work it. This business is too easy to sell a home and then do nothing for a month, and then you run out of money and you go sell another one. And I’ve never had that mentality. Most people don’t last too long. But just grind it away every day.

“Now, I make more in real estate than I ever did in baseball.”