Life as a Baseball Bum

I retired from the high-tech ratrace a few years back. While I was working, I envied the old geezers that worked at the ballpark, and I promised myself that I'd hustle a job in baseball when I retired. Well, the first winter that I was retired I started calling around to get a job as an usher. Now I work as an usher and a tour guide for the Arizona Diamondbacks. I also work at Mesa's Hohokam Park during spring tranining for the Chicago Cubs. After the big league season is over I work in the Arizona Fall League.

Me, in the pressbox at Mesa's Hohokam Ballpark

Baseball is a good life. The other day I met Frank Robinson while I was at the buffet table in the press box of Scottsdale Stadium. Here's a guy, a legend really, telling me "hey, that stuff's no good for you". When I finally figured out who he was, I was shocked. He was Rookie of the year, MVP in both leagues, MVP in the World Series and the All-Star game, Manager of the Year, Hall of Fame, etc. I told him "well, nobody lives forever".

One day I was stumbling in to work at Chase Field, daydreaming about something unimportant. The Dodgers were in town, so we could expect a busy night. I punched the button for the elevator and when the doors opened, there was Tommy LaSorda. He's a Hall of Fame guy, one of the most well loved and respected people in baseball. I just said "hi", but one of the guys made the classic mistake of reminding Tommy how old he is by saying "you were my hero when I was a kid". Tommy shot back with "hey, I'm not that old".

The business is a lot of fun. Everybody loves their jobs-they could probably make more money elsewhere, without working ten or twelve days in a row during homestands. We all do this because we want to. When you pass somebody in the hallway, they say "hi, how's your day going?", and then they actually listen to the answer. After years in engineering, a business that sucks the life out of you every day, it's a great change. Everybody is part of the team, doing whatever we can to make the Diamondbacks the best baseball club that they can be, and we're dedicated to making sure that every fan goes home smiling-even if the team loses that night's game. Yeah, it's tough putting in long hours and trying to give 100% every minute of every day, but that's what we expect from the guys out on the field. When you work with guys who are as gifted as these athletes, you disapoint yourself if you find that you're giving only 90%. It's hard to explain, really, but the work is very satisfying.

Tim Olson

The team is always dynamic, with players having good and bad days, players coming and going, young guys getting their first shot at the majors and old guys hanging on for one last season. The photo above tells a story. The guy is Tim Olson, a rookie infielder for Arizona. He got called up from the minors about a week before this photo was taken. You can see it in his eyes, all the hopes and dreams of a young guy trying to make it in "The Show". He's just about to go into into the game as a late-inning substitution. As I remember, Tim snapped a pitch into the left field stands for a home run in the at-bat. Tim stayed in the Bigs for a few years as a Diamondback and also in the Colorado organization, moving up to the Rockies and down to their Colorado Springs AAA team. My point is, every guy is a story, if he's a superstar or a mere mortal. There are less than 1,000 big-league ball players but the elite are backed by a cast of thousands, and each of us are doing all we can to provide the best experience that we can for every fan.

Linda and me at Yankee Stadium, about a week after the All Star Game. It's hot in New York in July!

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