by BDWard » Wed Feb 01, 2012 5:54 pm
My wife and I went to Seattle several years ago and of course we had to check out Safeco Field. It was a night game in late September so the roof was closed. I had never been in a domed stadium previously, so it was kind of a weird feeling seeing baseball being played indoors.
Anyway, we were giving ourselves a tour of the ballpark and went into the upper deck down the right field line. We were approached by an elderly gentleman wearing a photo i.d. and a bright yellow windbreaker. He said he was a greeter. He was a kindly grandfatherly type and was very helpful, not only to us but to others as well. He was kind of a combination greeter/usher.
The game wasn't very crowded, so we talked a little. He said he was retired and bored and his wife wanted him out of the house, so he took a job as a greeter. I told him that he was my idol in that he was getting paid to watch baseball and that I had found my new calling in life and we all had a good laugh about that!
But I have a better story. A fabulous woman (very cute, friendly, smart, helpful, personable, the complete package) I know took time off from work to have a baby. When she went back to work about 6 weeks after giving birth to her son, I asked her who was taking care of the baby during the day while she worked. She said her husband, as he was off of work. Since it was early February, I asked if her husband was a construction worker. She said "no, he works for major league baseball as a pitch counter". She added that it was no problem for her hubby to stay home with their son since it was the offseason and he was collecting unemployment. Man, talk about having the world by the balls. When I grow up I want to be that guy! He's got it all, a new son, a seasonal job where he gets paid to watch baseball and a beautiful wife who's out working while he collects unemployment.
I live in the Chicago area, so I asked her if he works at both parks and she said yes, but he doesn't like going to the "Cell" because he's a Cub fan. I told her that we all have our cross to bear and started rubbing my fingers together to play the world's smallest violin for him and we shared a good laugh.