Cougars' clubhouse man wouldn't trade his job for anything else
Scott Anderson loves his job.
“Sometimes I don't even call it work,” he says. “I just say, ‘I'm going to the Cougars.'”
A regular workday as the Kane County Cougars clubhouse manager can last 14 hours.
Anderson, 23, arrives at the minor league baseball park in Geneva from his home in Stone Park hours before game time and rarely stops moving. With a wide variety of things on his daily to-do list, his workday can last well past midnight.
Anderson handles all the daily needs of both teams, the umpires, the front office, the coaches and the batboys. He will deliver mail that might include bats and letters from home to the players. He will refill water coolers in both clubhouses. He will place food orders and deliver the ballpark cuisine for the players, coaches and umpires. He will restock coaches and umpires refrigerators and carefully align the contents for easy retrieval.
Anderson will spend time with the batboys, giving them advice based on experience from his days in that position. He will pick up sweaty uniforms and towels and arrange the clubhouse for the players while they play the game.
As he gathers and delivers the towels to each clubhouse, which are located beneath the first-base and third-base dugouts, Anderson must maneuver through the crowd on the main concourse. The only other route between the two is on the field, which isn't an option while the game is in progress.
“It seems like the washers and dryers are always rolling,” he says of his least favorite chore. “Time management is a huge thing in this job.”
Anderson also collects game-used baseballs and bats to give to ushers who will, in turn, give them to youngsters in the crowd.
“That will make a kid's day and put a smile on their face,” Anderson says with his own smile.
Anderson also enjoys working with Ozzie, the team mascot who entertains the crowd between innings.
“We work pretty closely together,” Anderson says of his close friend from his days as a batboy six years ago. “We come up with ideas and if he likes it, we'll put it into action.”
“It's not an ordinary job,” Anderson says, thoughtfully. “There's always a smile on my face. I love it. I wouldn't trade it for the world.”