Working in the Minors (PT II)

Last week, he was on the Tacoma groundscrew. This week, Patrick Brown writes about selling peanuts in the stands for the Boise Hawks.

It is another edition of his Working in the Minors series at milb.com.

One of the first things I noticed was how hot it was -- 96 degrees, to be exact. Right then I knew it was going to be a long night at the ballpark, at least outside of the friendly confines of the press box.

As we made our way back to the vending station to load up, there was a slight burning sensation in my legs. That was good to know, since I only had about 3,000 trips up and down the stairs left to go.

Right before we hit the stands, Rad gave me advice every vendor should appreciate.

"Hydration is key," he said. "Stay hydrated, or die."

I give myself a similar peptalk at the start of every off-season.

"Selling is the key. Keep selling or you're fired."

"Peanuts!" I yelled. "Only two-seventy-five! Who wants some Peanuts?
Two-seventy-five!"

Immediately a hand went up, and I responded with a smile and a bag of peanuts. She responded by handing me a $20 bill. That already cleaned out 17 of my singles. Ouch.

Please, pay with the smallest bill, next time.

It turns out that I sold 46 bags, making a profit of $126.50. Not bad for the first day on the job. I made $11 in tips, five of which came from the quarters patrons let me keep. Seriously, their quarters went a long way, and I was thankful.

Just a guess, but he probably made more selling peanuts than he did writing the article. But, it's not about the money:

In the end, while the money made was significant, it's peanuts compared to the pleasure of giving family and friends the experience of enjoying a ballgame together.

Yep, that's why we all do this.