Not the players and the umps, but the behind the scenes folks like vendors and security guards and stuff. Daniel Paulling of the Kansas City Star has interesting profiles of a bunch of them who work at Kauffman Stadium. This bit -- about a security guard who works down by the players’ wives section -- caught my eye:
It’s not terribly hard to spot people trying to trade up. The key is what you do about it. Some guys -- like this guy -- kick ‘em back to where their real seats are. Other guys just turn a blind eye, realizing that as long as the real ticket holder isn’t there it probably doesn’t matter.
Burnett has developed a system where he can spot people who have moved down to better seats.
While he doesn’t want to share too many secrets, he said the way a person acts and other little things are big giveaways.
But some guys -- like the ushers at a ballpark I’ve been to a few times but which I won’t identify because I don’t want to get anyone in trouble -- will steer you directly to a primo, unoccupied seat as early as the first inning for as little as a finsky. They’ll even wipe it down for you as if you bought the seat yourself.
But, hey, if the guy in Kansas City wants to leave a few Lincolns on the table, that’s no skin off my nose . . .
