By Jodie Wagner Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

BOCA RATON — When Joe Astroth signed his first Major League Baseball contract in 1945, he earned a $500 bonus plus a $500 monthly salary with the Philadelphia Athletics.

Sixty-five years later, salaries have changed drastically. For Astroth, however, the game has remained remarkably the same.

“The game itself hasn’t changed,” said Astroth, who played catcher for 10 seasons with the Athletics, first in Philadelphia and then in Kansas City. “Just management has changed — the ownership, the managers, etc. But the rules of baseball are still the same.”

Astroth, 87, a Boca Raton resident who was born and raised in Bucks County, Pa., began playing baseball at age 6.

Like many kids, he dreamed of playing professionally.

“They were schooled when they were born,” he said of his fellow ballplayers. “If they looked like they had talent, their parents put a glove in their hands and said, ‘You’re going to be a ballplayer.’ ”

Astroth, now a grandfather of 10, got his chance in 1945 following a three-year stint in the Coast Guard.

After trying out for six Major League teams, he signed with the Athletics.

In 10 seasons, he hit .254 with 13 home runs and 156 RBI. He retired in 1956 to spend more time with his family.

“When I got out of the game, I said, ‘That’s it,’ ” he said. “I spent my whole life (in baseball). I had to spend time with the family and the kids and everything. They were all growing up.”

Astroth went on to enjoy a successful career in business, though baseball always remained close to his heart.

He still follows the game on television and often reminisces about his own career.

“I don’t regret it at all,” he said.