One of the more challenging jobs out there must be working as a beer vendor at your local baseball field. Facing the unforgiving elements 81 times a year to make a buck is not our idea of fun. Of course, if the elements are too unforgiving the game is called and you don't make a buck.Certainly, one cannot be a sports fan and do their job with any diligence. We simply can't see how a sports fan can walk around with a case of cold beer only to sell it to the first overweight, hot dog stuffing, sports maniac with a valid ID. Safe to say if we were beer vendors there would be a lot missing (plastic) bottles and a lot of thirsty Nats fans.
So, in the cactus league gives us an insiders view on the training required for such devilish work. At the Peoria Sports Complex, Suzz Keegan, the park's beverage supervisor, gives us the 411.
"A day in the life of a spring training beer vendor centers on the vending room - a dark, cool cave tucked away off the ballpark's entrance. The evening before the game [Suzz] Keegan and several others pack up 72 cases of assorted beers, which they stack in five refrigerators overnight. Throughout the game, pallets of ice are carted in and scooped on top of the cases; keeping the beer cold is everything. On a good day, the ballpark will go through about 1,300 bottles of beer."
According to the article, Ken Bishoff is a part time vendor and he "climbs 44 steps each time he makes a round, which is 12 to 15 minutes of non-stop movement. The coolers weigh anywhere from 35 to 60 pounds."
Clearly the moral of the story is enjoy the ballpark and tip your vendor well. Play Ball!
*Picture by Cheryl Evans, the Arizona Republic.
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