"I probably would have never made it through college without baseball, so I'm thankful for that," he said during an exclusive interview with Radio.com. "I really am proud that I got to play on that level. It was an incredible experience. My senior year at Western Michigan, I hit .300. But there's probably a hundred right-fielders in Division 1 college baseball this year that hit .300. And they also hit 20 (home runs) and are six-foot five�I don't think I had everything it took to take it to the next level. But I still love baseball. I'm a Detroit Tigers fan through and through."

It was towards the end of college that Ballard's interested in music music slowly but surely moved him away from his beloved sport and into a new career. His most recent full-length, Sunshine & Whiskey, boasts the hit single, "Helluva Life," which peaked at No. 1 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart.