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Search every verified Gregory Larson interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Gregory Larson, an author and former minor league clubhouse attendant, discussed his experiences in a September 2021 interview on CBS Sports Radio's *The DA Show*. He described living in an equipment closet at Ripken Stadium for a season, trading beer caps and broken bats for extra income, and said that after his second season his relationship ended because he became deeply immersed in the clubhouse culture. Larson noted that he was making about $15,000 per summer while players in short-season Single A earned roughly $4,500 per season, and he described the cognitive dissonance he felt upon seeing the salary scale. He also recounted interactions with former major league pitcher Alan Mills, who told Larson after reading his book *Clubbie* that any disagreements were "all in love and none in malice." In earlier appearances, Larson spoke about his experience with a 93-day flood in Bismarck, North Dakota, in 2011. He said the flood was caused by dams on the Missouri River being overloaded, and that his house was affected for 93 days. He described evacuating with belongings on a raft in waist-deep water and losing a recently rescued English bulldog. Larson praised the Realtors Relief Foundation for providing a grant within 10 days of the flood's start, contrasting it with an insurance settlement that did not arrive until January 2012. In a separate testimonial, Larson commended PyraMax Bank for its flexibility, responsiveness, and customized credit facilities, stating that the bank's support allowed him to accomplish things he could not have done otherwise.
“Looking through that handbook and seeing stuff like the salary scale, that was the first cognitive dissonance moment for me where I saw the salary scale said like twelve hundred dollars a month, 1250 a month. I was making about triple what the players were making.”
“These guys are making about forty five hundred dollars a year in short season. It's three months. They're only getting paid for the season. I was making about 15 grand each summer and when that clicked in my mind I was like holy this is not the world I expected this to be.”
“The clubhouse attendant dues in Single A would be something like seven to ten dollars a game and for that dues money that's what they're paying to get is the leftover hot dogs after the game.”
“I would take broken bats from players, slap the player's name on it, and then we'd sell them for twenty dollars in the gift shop, of which I would get a $7.50 cut off the top.”
“I was constantly making everybody happy but scraping some off the top for myself by trading beer caps and cases with visiting teams and the stadium beer supplier.”
“I actually lived in the equipment closet in Ripken Stadium for the entire season. It was my kitchen, bedroom, and the equipment storage all in one, with no windows and the overpowering smell of rosin.”
“After my second season as a clubhouse attendant, my relationship ended because I got sucked into that world even deeper, playing batting practice, traveling with the team, and living in the clubhouse.”
“One of the worst players in the clubhouse was Jose Nevar. He would throw his clothes on the ground, pay dues late, and treated people poorly. I did not stand up for myself enough and just took it.”
“Alan Mills, a former major league reliever and pitching coach during my time, said after reading my book that I made him the villain, but he wanted me to know any disagreements we had were all in love and none in malice.”
“I find working with Pure Max Bank a community being that I'm not just a number, that I'm able to get right through directly to people that I know. They take the time to get to know my business, they're flexible in their approach to supporting me, they have a strong work ethic and they're very responsive.”
“They've customized the credit facilities for me in a way that other banks wouldn't and they meet regularly with me to get a business update, truly understand my business and offer ideas that maybe I wouldn't have thought of had they not brought it up.”
“We've established a close partnership with Pure Max Bank and their support has allowed us to accomplish things we couldn't do otherwise.”
“That flood was an unusual flood... it affected my house and 93 days later the water went away and we could walk into my house, so we had a 93-day flood which is very unusual.”
“The dams that were supposed to prevent flood occurrences on the Missouri River got overloaded and so they had to let the water out... the current was so strong that it dug out the bottom of the river and it didn't rise as high as they thought it would.”
“We lost the sunrooms... the things you don't expect, things you don't get back — by the time we realized we had to leave everything, we took out of our house waist-deep water on a raft.”
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