What did you do last summer?: The Clubbie

Forgive Chris Ackerman for sleeping at the job.

When you work as a clubhouse manager for a professional baseball team, finding time for a quick nap can be difficult.

Ackerman, a junior at EWU, just completed his second season as the clubhouse manager for the Spokane Indians.

When the Indians go to work, so does Ackerman - except when the game is over, his work is just beginning. Ackerman's typical day at the clubhouse begins at 11:30 a.m. and ends at 4 a.m.

"During my first year, I slept there a couple times," said Ackerman, who lives about 10 minutes away from Avista Stadium, home of the Indians. "I would sleep on the trainer's bed."

But that's only after his work is completed, and there is plenty of work.

A real utility employee, Ackerman does everything from washing towels and placing uniforms in lockers to chasing down razors, tobacco and anything else the players may request.

"I try and take care of the team," Ackerman said. "If they can't find me, they are kind of out of luck."

Luckily, Ackerman is easy to find. If the Indians are playing in Spokane, he's as much a fixture in the clubhouse as leather mitts and wooden baseball bats.

But the hard work isn't without its rewards. As someone who loves baseball, Ackerman relishes working as an important component to a professional baseball team.

"I work my butt off," he said. "But it is still fun. … I look forward to going to work."

It's so fun in fact that Ackerman can see himself doing the job of clubhouse manager for the rest of his life. But like any minor leaguer, he wouldn't mind moving up to the major leagues.

Fortunately, such an opportunity has a chance of presenting itself now that Ackerman has accumulated two years worth of experience in providing crucial services for professional baseball players. That's not to mention his two years as the team's bat boy.

He's already turned in an application to work in his current capacity for the Texas Rangers during spring training.

If all goes well, Ackerman could be working for the Rangers by the time he graduates from EWU with a degree in marketing in 2009.

"At first it blew my mind a little bit," he said. "I was a season-ticket holder since I was 7-years-old. You see the players from the stands, and then you get to see them in the clubhouse and find out more about them. It's great."