Another 2:10 pm start for us today gave us the same time to arrive at the stadium as yesterday, 8:30 am. The usual routine continued with us interns mastering our skills in folding towels and cutting fruit at this point. The awesome part about our job is we never have players complain about the food we are cooking or anything along those lines. The players are always so kind and conversing with us like they are one of us. We sat and talked with Chris Colabello for a couple hours before the game and played Xbox with him as well. It's nice being able to say that I have built these relationships with professional baseball players. Our boss cooked up some Italian subs for the players for pregame and he received a lot of happy reviews from the new subs. Once again, another high school bat boy didn't show up. I was called on once again to bat boy, but this time it was down the right field line. My boss once again promised that it would only be for an inning or two and he held up that promise. After having no balls hit to me, I went back inside to relax for a couple innings. Once the post game meal arrived, we set all of the food out in the kitchen and waited for the game to finish. The buses had arrived for the team to move out to Scranton, New York for their next road trip and we had already loaded the bus. The team left at 7:30 and we left at 8:30 that night after cleaning the clubhouse and moving the players cars back to the parking garage. Shawn Morimondo picked up the win with the bats still rolling for the guys in a 12-4 victory.
0 Comments
As soon as we got to the stadium at 8:30 am, I was sent on a mission. Our head trainer's, Chad Wolfe, parents blew out a tire on the highway coming to watch the 2:10 pm game today. Chad asked me if I would take his truck and go pick them up at a gas station they pulled over at. Of course, I was willing to help in any way possible. I took his truck and drove 45 minutes to go pick up his parents and bring them to the stadium. Once I got back at 11, most of the work had been done for the game. All that was left for me to join in on was collecting the players laundry from batting practice and helping clean up pregame meal. Adam Plutko was back on the mound today and picked up a solid 13-6 win as the bats started to roll for the players today. With this day being pretty boring for me and not much work being completed at the stadium, it was odd to help clean up after the game. We left quickly though and got home around 8 pm that night to finally get a good night's rest.
The second game of the series against Norfolk starts today at 7:15 pm. We arrived at 11:30 am to begin the day. Today was hectic for me to say the least. Once we finished preparing pregame meal and folding towels, some players started to roll in. Yandy Diaz came in and asked me to go get Chipotle for him. The Chipotle is only 8 minutes away from the stadium so I run there real quick and get his food. As soon as I get back, Michael Martinez comes up to me and asks if I will get him some Chipotle as well. I get back in my car and run back to get his food. Once again, I get back to the stadium and Ronny Rodriguez asks for our opinions on what he should get for lunch. Sarcastically, I told him Chipotle sounded good. He decided that we wanted that as well. I made three separate trips to Chipotle today. I did get some extra money from them in tips to make it all worth it. After I finished all of this running around, all that was left to do was rub some baseballs. I finished rubbing those for the guys and went down to make sure the dugout was set up. The game started on time at 7:15 with Ryan Merritt on the mound. Merritt brought home an 8-5 win for us tonight with a solid showing on the mound. Post game tonight was Carrabba's chicken parmesan. After the players left, we got out of there around 1:15 am.
With yesterday's rainout, blue skies returned today for our 7:15 pm game. We arrived at 11:20 today to packages for the players waiting at the front desk for us. The packages were mostly new bats for the players that they had ordered. Our boss was ahead of the game today as he had already folded all of the towels for us. All we had left to do was cut up some more fruit for pregame. We eventually rubbed up some balls for the game today and the relaxed until game time. Today took an unexpected turn for me as one of the high school bat boys did not show up for work. With me being the newest intern, I was forced to be a bat boy behind home plate for the game. My boss promised he would call someone and get them there as soon as possible to relieve me. It only took and inning and a half for someone else to show up. It was a cool experience though to be right on the field during the game and be there while the players are on the on-deck circle. A lot of the players like Yandy Diaz and Ronny Rodriguez were messing with me because of how I looked in the uniform. Once I got back inside, it was time to relax until the caterer brought post game meal. Our boss brought his Xbox in to work today and hooked it up to his flat-screen computer screen. We played a couple games of NHL14 on it before the food showed up in the 7th inning. After that, I went down to the dugout to watch the rest of the game before coming back up at the end of the game. Michael Peoples took a tough loss on the mound as we lost 14-3. Some players who struggled at the plate during the game hung around and talked with the hitting coach afterwards so our cleaning didn't get finished until 1 am tonight.
Today was a very exciting day for us. As we arrived to the stadium today at 11:45 am, we walked in and our boss informed us that Corey Kluber would be down for a rehab assignment and would pitch in today's game. Kluber is one of the most highly touted pitchers in the MLB right now and will most likely be inducted into the hall of fame after his career. We went through the normal pregame routine. The only difference was that we had to rub up Major League baseballs for Kluber instead of the Minor League balls we had been using. We anxiously awaited his arrival. Once he walked in, we immediately catered to his every need. We unpacked his bag, found a parking spot for his car and made sure he had everything he needed. All of the anticipations for the day was built around Kluber throwing tonight. As pregame meal finished up, we caught word that there was going to be some storms moving in that would last awhile. That rain moved in quickly. The game was postponed for the night. Another intern and I still went and picked up the post game meal of Texas Roadhouse for the guys to eat. However, all of the anticipation of watching Kluber pitch was gone. The good news was that with the game being cancelled we would be getting out early and finally be able to get some sleep! Once the players ate and left, we grabbed some left over food, cleaned everything up and left at 10:15 pm.
Another beautiful day for baseball awaited us at Huntington Park as we pulled in around 11:30 am. Today, our boss surprised us with some lunch from a local food truck. After we ate, the towels were ready to be folded and pregame meal was ready to be prepared. While the other two interns took care of those tasks, I began unwrapping the baseballs so we could get ahead of the game and get most of them rubbed up early. I rubbed up 5 dozen and left the rest for the other to guys. I went down to get the water, Gatorade, seeds and gum ready in the dugout. As I got to the dugout, I realized the bat boys did not clean up very well after last night's game. I had to sweep up some more dirt and seeds from the ground and make sure everything was as clean as possible before the game. Game time tonight is 6:35 with Shawn Morimondo scheduled to start against Scranton. "Mondo" is one of the most relaxed guys on the team and tries to interact with us as much as possible. The guys on the team that are like this are what makes this job fun. I played a couple games of ping pong with him before he started to get warmed up for his stretching. After that, I helped prep the pregame meal of turkey burgers and made sure the food trays were properly filled for the guys as they came in from batting practice. We cleaned up pregame meal as the game started and began to relax a little for the night. Mondo picked up the win on the mound with a 5-0 shutout of Scranton. Our winning ways were officially restored. The team started to have more positives vibes after each game and continued to leave quickly (which was a huge benefit for us clubhouse guys). We cleaned everything and left around 12:30 am once again.
Monday May 22nd is a required off day for the team. They usually golf on off days and today they asked the clubhouse staff to join. We played Foxfire Golf Club in Columbus with about 10 of the players, us three interns and our boss. Tuesday May 23rd started our next home stand with Scranton, the Yankees Triple-A affiliate. We arrived at the stadium at 11:30 am to the same old routine. There were towels waiting to be folded and fruit needing cut. Us interns had a solid routine built at this point where we would rotate positions on and off throughout the week. Today Austin Jackson was sent down on a rehab assignment and he bought the post game meal for the team. We also got a nice home win 6-2 with Adam Plutko gaining the win on the mound. Another intern and I went to pick up post game meal, which was Texas Roadhouse, in the 6th inning. After the game, the players were feeling good about getting back on the winning side of things and most of them left the stadium pretty quickly. We finished our nightly routine and left around 12:30 am.
On May 21st, the team finished their game in Louisville and were heading back for the stadium tonight. Our boss said we had to be at the stadium at 8 pm to start moving cars back over. We moved all 16 cars back over from the parking garage to the stadium plaza parking lot. The team arrived around 9:30. We had to unload the bus completely and starting unpacking everything in the clubhouse. The training room and weight room equipment trunks were rolled back to their rooms for training staff to unpack. We strictly unpacked the coach's and player's bags from the trip. We also have to check the player's cleats and clean them if the opposing team did not take care of them. Our boss handled getting all of the laundry started and we sat around and waited for laundry to finish. Once we finish all of that, we left the stadium at 12 am.
After staying the night at the stadium, I woke up at 6:30 am to shower and eat some breakfast. Once the other interns arrived, we placed our hot warmers out and waited for Sunny Street Cafe to drop off breakfast for the players. More towels needed folded and place back out on the rack so we finished those. Today was a busy day because we had to pack all the players bags and equipment trunks for the road trip. Us interns had to rub an extra four dozen baseballs for the trip. Our losing streak continued as Neil Holland took the loss on the mound 4-2 while getting swept by Indianapolis. When moving the team out, the bus arrived in the 7th inning. We took all of the equipment trunks out and loaded those up first. The players still had their bags to finish packing and their bat bags to load up. The game finished at 3:30 and the bus was set to leave at 4:15. This was a hectic time for me as it was my first move out and I had to learn the tricks of packing the bus quickly but efficiently. After we loaded the bus and the team left, we had to move the player's cars over to the Parks Edge parking garage across the street. We moved 16 cars tonight and then were left with just folding laundry, hanging jerseys and tidying up the clubhouse. We left at 5 pm.
We rolled into Huntington Park today at 11:45 am to laundry waiting for us and fridges needing restocked. I was only a couple days in and I was starting to realize that this job is going to be the same repetitive thing every day. However, today my boss sent another intern and I out to Sam's Club to pick up some cases of water, deli meat and fruit to restock everything. This was my first ever trip to a Sam's Club! It took us awhile to get there because of all the construction Columbus always has going on year round. We loaded his truck with the groceries and headed back to the stadium. This trip was nice to get outside and not be cramped up inside all day. Once we arrived back at the stadium, it was time to cut fruit and start preparing the pregame meal. A couple players came in and dropped off their laundry for us to do. As it neared game time, we made sure we had enough baseballs rubbed up and sent the bat boys down for the start of the game at 6:35pm. Adam Plutko took the mound tonight and gained a loss as the Clippers dropped the third game of this series to Indianapolis. Players came in dejected and left pretty quick after eating. We are staying the night at the stadium tonight because we have an early game tomorrow. After we finished cleaning and hanging laundry, we went to bed at 1:15 am.
I arrived at the stadium at noon today with a double header on tap. Parking in the main lot was a hassle because the concert venue next door was hosting an event. We had several packages waiting for us to pick up as I walked in to be distributed to the players. Once I walked into the clubhouse, I distributed the packages and got to work folding towels from the night before. The other two interns came in and started cutting fruit for pregame meal. As the players started to roll in, we began rubbing up baseballs for the game. Once we finished the 10 dozen baseballs, we started to go through any rosters moves we may have that day. Yandy Diaz was sent down to us in Columbus and Bradley Zimmer and Shawn Armstrong were called up to Cleveland. The first game started at 5:35 after we prepared pregame meal for the guys. I had to do a couple players personal laundry. We also had to prepare another small meal for in between game. We lost the first game 5-1 with Ryan Merritt gaining the loss on the mound. We refilled the water, Gatorade, sunflower seeds and gum in the dugout as well as cleaned up the player's cleats. Game two began around 8:30 with Cody Speer on the mound. He also gained a loss as we lost 9-0. The players came in and began to shower and eat post game meal. We collected their laundry as they came in and filtered it back to our boss to spray and scrub. We grabbed their cleats and headed down to the cage area to scrape them off and spray them down. Once we came back upstairs, most of the players had left and all that was left for the night was to hang up jerseys and other laundry loops and clean. We left at 1:30am.
Today we arrived at the stadium at 12 PM. I was extremely tired as I was not prepared for the long day that we had yesterday as my first day. Our first job of the day was to fold the towels the players used for showers the night before. After this was completed and towels were put away, we made sure everything was stocked up in the lounge. We had a couple new players called up from the AA team so we had to make new lockers for them. Then, it was fruit cutting time. Pineapple, strawberries, celery, carrots, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries are the fruits that are chosen for the players each day. Today we have a double header so we will have a quick transition in between games. We will have to have a meal ready for the players after the first game at 5:35. After this game, we collected the players jerseys and began to wash them. We also cleaned the players cleats so they weren't dirty for the next game. We had to check the dugout to make sure the Gatorade, water, seeds and gum were all properly filled. We continued to do laundry during the second game and then brought in the post game meal for the players. We finished some laundry for the night, cleaned the kitchen and left at 1:30 am. I'm definitely going to need to get used to late nights.
We awoke at 10:30am after staying the night at the stadium and got right to work. We finished up the players personal laundry and jerseys from the road trip, cleaned their cleats and got right into preparing the pregame meal for the day. Us interns are in charge of making sure the proper fruit gets cut, the players lounge refrigerator and coaches refrigerator are completely filled with water, beer, Gatorade, Propel and soda. The players refrigerator also contains milks, juices, yogurt and string cheese. Our job is to make sure these supplies are always filled, but not getting wasted. We also have to keep an eye out for any trash that players might leave behind in the clubhouse and be sure to sweep up any dirt that is tracked in from the field. After the pregame meal has began preparation, two of us interns went down and began to set up the dugout for the players. Two coolers were taken down, one for Gatorade and one for water. Also, two containers are taken down full of sunflower seeds and bubblegum. The next task was to get the baseballs ready for the game. We were to use the rubbing mud and rub up the 12 dozen baseballs before the game. After this was done, we waited for the players to come in from batting practice and began to put out the pregame meal. After the game, we have a postgame meal that my boss says varies throughout the week. Tonight, we had Texas Roadhouse cater the meal. We cleaned up after the players, cleaned their cleats, washed their laundry and left the stadium at 12:30 AM.
I was nervous for my first day on the job. I had no idea what to expect from the supervisor or what kind of role I would have. I got to the stadium at 10:15 that night to be there to help move the players back in from their road trip. Our first job was to move the players over from the nearby parking garage. There isn't enough parking by the stadium for the players to keep their cars there throughout their road trips when the stadium is being used for other events. We move their cars to a parking garage down the block. Tonight, we had to move their cars back to the parking lot. I was the transfer driver of the other two interns and my supervisor in a Jeep back and forth from the stadium to the parking garage. This took about 30 minutes to move 16 cars. The team was expected back late this night so we stayed the night at the stadium as it would be more convenient. We woke up at 4:30am with the bus arriving at 5am. We unloading all of the equipment, players bags, etc. and did laundry. We got back to sleep at 7am.
|