Boston.com - Fenway hawkers such a vaunted reputation in the industry that a team from Boston recently traveled to Toronto to tutor their Canadian counterparts. “These guys are probably — and we could get some nonsense for this — some of the best hawkers in the country,’’ said Rich Roper, regional vice president of Fenway’s food provider, Aramark. “I can honestly say that, by the numbers.’’ Hawkers at Fenway, back at work today for a nine-game home stand, work straight commission. That means the more Push Pops they push, the more Cracker Jacks they promote, the bigger their take. The ones who make it do not get to start slinging hot dogs behind home plate on Opening Day. Hawkers work in a rigid caste system, in which seniority defines everything: what they sell, where they sell, how much money they make. The roughly 200 hawkers on Aramark’s roster know their seniority numbers as well as their own birthdays, from the guy hired in 1976 to Jake Glasser, a lanky 16-year-old from Newton who ranks 196th. Ninety minutes before first pitch, hawkers meet in the musty underbelly of the right field grandstands for an auction defined entirely by seniority. Hats flipped backwards, teenagers crowd a table, picking products and sections, hoping for hot dogs and home plate, but often ending up with cotton candy in the bleachers.
I respect the fuck out of Fenway vendors. I really do. I’ve never once in my life looked at them and thought to myself. “hmm that seems like a cool job”. Nope. I’ve always looked at them and said thank god that’s not me because that job looks like it sucks. They are always sweating their asses off. They are always hustling all over the place. So this article didn’t need to convince me it wasn’t all fun and games being a hawker. Only a moron would think that. But at the same time I’m still not sure what makes Fenway venders so special? Because they figured out that you want to sell water when it’s humid out? Or that you need to yell the name of the product you’re selling? That’s why the flew to Toronto? To teach people that? Again I respect the hell out of them, but I guess I just don’t see what the difference is between the Fenway venders and every other vender in the world.