Former Dodger clubhouse boy tells all: keep them players happy

In the wake of the Metboy steroid scandal, the Los Angeles Times reports on a former Dodger batboy/clubhouse boy, Dave Dickenson who says what happens in the dugout stays in the dugout.  Chores like giving a star beer so he can play without getting hungover (or go into DTs):

Dickenson said he would pour a cup of beer and place it in the dugout bathroom. The star player would sneak there between innings for a drink, and continue drinking throughout the game.

"The guy couldn't play with a hangover, so we had to keep him going," Dickenson said. "Hey, he played great, and nobody complained."

Keep them going, and nobody will complain.  Make the players look good, and management will look the other way.  Wash their cars. Walk their dogs. Bring them women.  And, in at least one case in New York, give them drugs.

"It's not about doing the laundry, it's about keeping the player happy," said Dickenson, a former longtime beloved Dodgers clubhouse attendant and manager. "And you'll do anything to keep the player happy."

In this case it means shutting up about amphetamines:

He said he never saw a steroid at Dodger Stadium. However, he did say that before baseball's amphetamine ban, he would commonly vacuum "greenies" off the floor after games.

Or pimping up some women (despite denials):

Dickenson said that when a player was attracted to women in the stands during the games, he would be ordered to bring those women the player's phone numbers.

"I wasn't anybody's pimp," he said. "After I gave the phone number, they were on their own.

And occasionally becoming a boxing referee:

When players did want to fight, it was Dickenson who always jumped between them, even once physically dragging Milton Bradley away from Times writer Jason Reid.

"Like I said, it was my job to protect the team," he said"

The Dodger head batboy lost it because of poor judgment at a 'company outing':

Known throughout baseball as "Bonsey," the wiry 38-year-old was fired last year after 14 seasons in Dodgers clubhouses for, sources say, drinking and partying too much with the players....(some say the) true reason Dickenson was fired has nothing to do with his drinking on the job. Some feel that he was fired only after he jokingly insulted the McCourt (Dodger owners) children during a company softball game in the fall of 2005.

He was wearing batting gloves during the game, and a Dodgers official wondered why he didn't give similar gloves to the McCourt children.

"I gave him two reasons," Dickenson said. "I said, 'The kids didn't ask for them, and I don't like them.' "

Comments

[christian louboutin shoes]

Nice topic and post,It really is a nice surprise!Welcome to look at my website and blog articles.