During a Chattanooga Lookouts home stretch, Nic Larson's workdays typically span 16 hours. It is his job to feed, clothe and clean up after the team.
As the clubhouse manager for the team, he is usually at the stadium by 9 a.m., with enough bread, milk and fresh fruits and veggies in hand for 35 men. "A lot of people are surprised how much they eat. They are constantly eating," Larson said.
Larson spends much of his day preparing or picking up food for the team. The Major League affiliate Minnesota Twins have a health-conscious program and "want their players to eat well," he said. The players are there from 1 p.m. until the game is over, so they eat two meals and graze on an array of snacks throughout the day.
After the game, Larson tackles a pile of clay- and grass-stained uniforms and shoes with an arsenal of cleaning products, but said that even the toughest stains usually come out easily thanks to a dual-step product called "Slide Out."
His evening is finished when he hangs the uniforms to dry and vacuums, leaving everything ready for the next game.
The days are filled with a variety of tasks and he said his job never gets monotonous. "I love baseball, so that's what keeps me here," he said.
He doesn't travel with the team, so when they are away, he catches up on sleep and "everyday stuff." The Lookouts have a parallel staff member to take care of visiting teams, and other teams have a staff member that provides the same services for visiting teams.
Larson's job is full time during the season; during the off-season, he picks up seasonal work and uses some free time to visit family in Wisconsin.
Larson played ball from Little League until graduating from college at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, but said he knew he wasn't going to be playing at the next level, so he looked for a job that would keep him near the sport. He got the Lookouts gig right after college and has been with them for five years.
He said he has enjoyed meeting people with both the parent Dodgers and Twins teams and "getting to see players like [Clayton] Kershaw, [Yasiel] Puig, Joc Pederson, to name a few. It's just cool having some sort of relationship with them and seeing them have success at the next level," Larson said.
Larson said that one of the best things about his job is "being in the locker room when one of the players here gets called up to the Majors," and watching their reactions. "It's what they play for."