After years of being a Toronto Blue Jays fan, frustrated by the increasing cost and scaled-back benefits of being a season ticket holder, in 2018 I decided to apply for a job at the stadium. Having worked in an office for years, would I even be able to handle working in customer service, dealing with potentially drunk and rowdy customers? Could I handle the physical strain of hauling a cooler full of beer up and down stairs for seven innings under the blazing sun? And most importantly, what the hell was I thinking? This is the story of a summer spent avoiding the cost of baseball season tickets, instead using a stadium job as an excuse to gain access to games for free. What started out as a joke, and a job I was sure I'd quit within two months, turned into a season of nerve-wracking, confusing, and hilarious experiences I didn't want to leave. Along with my summer of vending, I interview other vendors from different eras and backgrounds, revealing the disparities and commonalities of our experiences selling cold beer to baseball fans, why we do it, what we learn from it, and why we love it.
