PADRES / BEHIND THE SCENES : He’s Smiling Through the Setbacks : Prilaman Works Padre Home Games--for the Opposition

Brian Prilaman of the Padres suffered through a losing season last year, and he loved every minute of it.

Prilaman, you see, is the visiting clubhouse attendant at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. Last season, the National League champions went 48-33 at home during the regular season and 4-1 during the postseason. Consequently, the guys in Prilaman’s clubhouse were 34-52 in 1984.

“It sure was a change to have the clubhouse quiet after a game,” Prilaman said. “I also saw more players kick drinking fountains and bust chairs.”

The 31-year-old former Padre batboy admits he can keep a good poker face. But when there is joy in San Diego, he is always smiling on the inside.

“I try to watch what I say to the players when things are going bad for a team,” Prilaman said.

And good for his team.

“Certain players would say to me, ‘Go ahead and smile. We know who you wanted to win,’ ” Prilaman said.

It’s not unusual for the players to kid around with Prilaman. He is paid by the Padres, but he actually works for every other team in the National League for three to four day stretches. His job for the next four days, for example, will be to make the Dodgers comfortable.

“The players are on me from the moment they come in to town,” Prilaman said. “They’re on my food and on me. But it’s a fun sort of agitation.”

Prilaman’s favorite agitators include Nolan Ryan and Joe Niekro of the Astros, Joaquin Andujar of the Cardinals and Jerry Reuss of the Dodgers.

And Prilaman enjoys turning the tables on the pranksters.

On one occasion, he set up Reuss’ locker in the bathroom. The uniform with Number 41 on it was hanging above a stall.

And he once put a rubber snake in Andujar’s uniform pants. Andujar raced out of the clubhouse and didn’t return for 20 minutes.

It’s the give-and-take between the players that keeps Prilaman going. It makes him feel like he’s a part of the game.

He became hooked on baseball as a 17-year-old Padre batboy, and he became the assistant visitor’s clubhouse attendant the next season. Five years later, when Herman Levy died, Prilaman took over the top spot.

Just what are the characteristics of a good clubhouse attendant?

Being organized, being able to cook and clean, being social. Being Brian Prilaman.

“My friends think the job is more glamorous than it is,” Prilaman said. “People don’t realize how many jock straps I hang up.”

His time is consumed by preparing post-game meals, cleaning sweaty uniforms, chilling the beer and getting players their favorite gum and chewing tobacco.

During the season, Prilaman regularly works from nine in the morning until midnight on days when the Padres play night games.

Prilaman, who had no idea how to cook a roast or even prepare a hamburger when he got this job, starts his morning with a meeting with his local supermarket’s butcher.

Once the shopping is completed, Prilaman heads to the stadium to start preparing the players’ post-game meal.

Working out of the kitchen in the lunch room behind the Padre clubhouse, Prilaman has learned to put together what he calls his “simple meals.”

Roast beef, mashed potatoes and corn is a staple. Salads are prepared for players who are vegetarians. Prilaman makes a pot of spaghetti the night before afternoon games, and then he heats it up the next morning. The Dodgers will be getting spaghetti Thursday afternoon, which should be fine with Tom Lasorda.

When Prilaman realized his knowledge of bats and balls would not help him cook a meal, he turned to his wife, Karen.

“My wife helped out a lot those first few years,” Prilaman said. “We had a small apartment back then, and she would cook the food for the players and I would take it to the stadium. Then, she said, forget this.”

Now that he’s been on his own, Prilaman has become more creative in the kitchen.

At an exhibition game in Yuma last month, Dave Kingman of the Oakland A’s told Prilaman he would buy all the ingredients if Prilaman would make him some chili. Later that day, the clubhouse attendant/cook and the A’s designated hitter chopped onions and tomatoes together.

Soon after he starts cooking in the morning, the players begin arriving at the ballpark.

“Guys seem to be coming to the park earlier than they used to,” Prilaman said.

Prilaman said that some players arrive at the ballpark as early as 11:30 a.m. for a 7 p.m. game. Most players start hanging around the clubhouse, playing pool and video games at around 1 p.m.

As long as their uniforms are in place, the beer is cold and the food is ready when the players come thundering into the clubhouse after a game, Prilaman said he doesn’t get too many complaints--just a lot of good-natured ribbing.

On occasion, he’ll get some lip from the players about where their lockers are located or not located. Lockers are usually assigned in numerical order, but there are exceptions. Pete Rose, for example, always wants to be in the same corner.

By the time the players get to the ballpark, Prilaman has most things in order. But even he puts in overtime.

When a team comes to San Diego, even if it arrives at 2 a.m., the uniforms and equipment are immediately taken to the stadium, and Prilaman has to be there. He has to put the uniforms in lockers and organize the equipment.

Once a series has started, the nights don’t get any shorter. When a game ends, Prilaman becomes a laundry man. He even does laundry during the games, washing uniforms worn during batting practice.

“I might get to see an inning or two during a home game,” Prilaman said, “but the only time I really get to see games is when I make my one road trip with the Padres and during spring training.”

It is on Prilaman’s one annual trip that he can root for the visiting team.

In his clubhouse, the visiting clubhouse in San Diego, the inhabitants are the bad guys. And though he won’t let it show, deep down inside he hopes the guys in his clubhouse have another losing season.