This would not happen in hockey!

For those of you who don't know, I am working for the Normal CornBelters baseball team this summer as the team's clubhouse manager. This is similar to being an equipment manager in hockey. June 1st was the teams opening day. If you haven't seen it yet you need to check out the teams field "The Corn Crib". Although, the field itself is playable, we are without a clubhouse for us and the visiting team. The umpires are dressing in the front office. This makes it hard on the guys who have to go without their normal showers and routines until they get home. Also, it is a lot harder for me to keep things organized and from getting lost. However, we are making due until they are done. The visiting team is getting dressed at their hotel and busing over.

Now in hockey, it is up to the equipment manager to arrange with the team you are visiting to get your laundry washed and get into the locker room to hang up the equipment. At this level of baseball, the clubhouse managers do not travel, only the trainer goes with the team. In my book, it is up to the trainer to make sure everything gets done.

On Friday, I was going about my business and was finishing up getting ready for the game when I received a disturbing phone call at 2:30 pm. The manager at the visiting team hotel, who I know fairly well, called to tell me that the visiting team was there and they were wondering if and when their laundry and uniforms were going to get washed and what they needed to do. As it turns out, they came in the night before, but nobody had bothered to let me know. Granted this would have been harder to let happen in hockey because you have to hang the equipment to dry, but a team could have been left waiting to get in if they fail to call me. Luckily, I was done setting up and I raced to the hotel to pick up their laundry. When I got there I was told that they would just play in their uniforms and only the guys laundry needed to be done. Well, no clubhouse = no laundry room. I have been going to the laundry mat to wash the stuff, so I raced their and back to the hotel put it in their dryer. In the end, Kalamazoo was able to make it to batting practice on time. I apologized to one of their coaches and he told me that it was equally their fault.

You can count on it that next time a team comes in I will call the hotel and see when they are checking in.

Oh, and the walk-off home run in the bottom of 12th inning that won the game for us made me forget all about the day that I had.