FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — The TinCaps are getting into the swing of things after their home opener on Tuesday.

Making sure the players are ready is a job for the coaches, but who ensures that jerseys are washed and food is ready for the players?

“You’re the first one here and you’re the last one to leave,” said Home Clubhouse Manager Sam Lewis. “I do all the laundry. I helped coordinate all the meals, the catering.”

Meet Sam “Swirley” Lewis. As a high school student at Snider, he was the batboy for the TinCaps, and now he does so much more.

“A 14-year-old kid getting picked up from school and my mom would bring me straight to the ballpark. So I was around the players, the team, the coaches 24/7,” Swirley said, recounting his start with the team.

On a normal gameday, he makes sure everyone has the right equipment, helps with warmups, and fights the constant monster that is laundry.

“The laundry is non-stop,” Swirley said. “All the towels, the uniforms, the pants, all their personal clothes. Everything they wear once they’re at the ballpark is washed, dried and hung up by the end of the night.”

But behind all the work is a network of special relationships, including the guys who continue to call him “Swirley” due to the cowlicks he keeps tidy under his ballcap.

“I’m with these guys more than I’m with my own family during the season, so we get close,” Swirley said.

While Swirley can’t compete with the prospects on the field, he does teach them a game he can win.

“I get very close and the bus rides and the euchre games and it’s a blast,” Swirley said while in the team’s kitchen. “Lots and lots of euchre played in this room.”

Many of the players have never heard of euchre when they come to the Summit City, and Swirley teaches them so they can fill their downtime.

“I enjoy teaching guys, especially when I have a young team… I say you and you, come over here, we’re going to learn how to play euchre,” Swirley said. “It’s a fun game and the competition aspect of it brings guys to life, the camaraderie, they get loud and intense and it carries out on the field.”

Card games, special relationships and taking care of budding athletes all combine for a job that is much more than just laundry.

“It’s unbelievable,” Swirley said. “It’s like heaven.”