Behind The Scenes With Sam Salabura
As Clubhouse Manager, Salabura is responsible for everything in the locker room. He must be a "jack-of-all-trades," with his duties including laundry, cleaning, shoe shining, meal preparation, delivery service and more.
He recently talked with TulsaDrillers.com about his unique profession.
Q: How does a typical day go for you?
A: Early Preparations
For a regular 7:05 p.m. game I'll get here about 10 or 10:30 in the morning. I like to get in a little early. What I'll do is come in and set up everything and make sure all the laundry is done, which I usually do the night before. The players start rolling in anywhere from 12:30 to 2, just depending on if they need treatment or if there's any early work. So my days will be in full swing by around 12:30. As far as the players go, I make sure they get all their laundry. They'll be on the field doing their thing, so I don't really have to worry about bothering them when they're out there.
After batting practice
They'll come in from BP, which for a 7:05 game is typically around 5:15, and I'll have a meal ready for them. The meal consists of a lot of different things. You know, they're baseball players so they eat a lot of food. As far as a typical spread we will always have your cold-cuts, turkey, ham or tuna. Then we'll have hot stuff like chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, brats. Just stuff to fill them up.
Just before the game
I have a couple of bat-boys that help me out before the games as far as getting the water ready for the dugouts. You always have to have sunflower seeds and a lot of towels. On hot days, we'll have Gatorade out there for them. Anything to keep them hydrated. That's the biggest thing.
During the game
As far as the game goes, I'm there if they need anything during the game, which usually isn't much. My day really gets going when the game's over.
After the game
I'll start by doing all the laundry. I have a couple of assistants after the game that will help me clean up the clubhouse. We'll also have a post-game meal for the team. They're always wanting to eat. Food's a big thing.
Once they eat and clear out, I start to get after it. Laundry, cleaning, then once I get all the jerseys hung up and the locker room all straightened up, I call it a night. I usually get out of here typically two hours after the game.
Q: With a schedule like that, do you hate extra innings?
A: I'm happy when the game is over quickly. Then I'll be back at it again in the morning. I'll get in here around 10:30 or 11. But it's kind of a waiting game until they (the players) get in. I'll be hanging out, straightening out stuff. I also take care of the umpires. They have their own room and they get fed too. They have to make sure all the balls are ready for the game. They have laundry that has to be taken care of. That's pretty much a consistent day right there.
Q: Speaking of food, what's the strangest thing that's ever been requested?
A: I'll typically have a sheet out there if there's anything that they want. Out of the normal, this year a player I won't name asked for some hard-boiled eggs. Actually, that's not really out of the ordinary. That's a good question. I've got a couple Australian guys on the team so they'll, every once in a while, want me to fix up some Australian food but I'm not a very good cook.
Q: What does that consist of?
A: (Laughs) I don't want to put them under the bus on that one. To be honest there isn't really that many strange food requests. They're ball players. These guys are like normal people but they'll eat anything. They'll put down a lot of food.
Q: So who eats the most?
A: (Laughs) Who eats the most? On the team right now, probably Dayton Buller. He puts down a lot of food. (Laughs) Dayton Buller.
Q: What's the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you as far as your job goes? Have any of the jerseys turned pink or shrunk during a load of laundry?
A: Well, last year when I was with another organization, there was a jersey that had some stains on it. Some of the stuff is hard to get out but one of the jerseys ended up turning a different color. It wasn't because of what I did. It was because something was mixed in. Luckily it wasn't a game jersey. It was just a practice jersey.
Q: Do you have any favorite players in the clubhouse?
A: Um, No. I'm not really partial to anybody. They are all really good guys.
Q: Tell us about a "wow" moment you've had. Something that you'll always remember.
A: Some of my wow moments have just been seeing some of the big-name players come through and just saying "wow." You get to see them now and you think a couple years from now they're going to be up in the big leagues, and you'll be watching them on TV. That's kind of a wow moment. You'll be able to look back and say I saw that guy play in Tulsa in such and such year and you think he was young there and now he's a future all-star. Just the different players you get to watch coming through. That's a big plus on the job. It's a cool perk.