San Francisco Giants clubhouse attendant Riley Halpin gathers a mound of dirty clothes in the clubhouse after spring training baseball practice at the team's facility, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)2025-02-19T15:22:44Z SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) From the pinstripes of New York all the way to the Dodger blues of Los Angeles, there is a strong connection among the clubhouse staffers who wash the dirt-caked, hard-worn uniforms of the major leagues.Just like the players who wear the jerseys.The clubhouse community is really close, says Riley Halpin, 29, a clubhouse attendant for the San Francisco Giants.Theres not a guy in the league I dont think that I cant call with a laundry question that wont answer it, says Kiere Bulls, a home clubhouse manager for the Pittsburgh Pirates.On the eve of another season as players throw their spring training apparel into hampers on wheels in Arizona and Florida here is a closer look how laundry is done in the major leagues, along with a few tips for your own dirty uniforms and other items at home: Dirt is worse than grass stainsTEAM: Chicago White SoxLAUNDERER: Rob Warren, clubhouse managerTIP: Dirt on uniforms is more difficult to get out than grass stains. When it comes to the biggest laundry challenges, he preaches patience. Well throw it in, and then usually check it again, he says. Well run it through once and then after that first load is when we kind of do the scrubbing and spraying.QUOTABLE: So well get the first load started within 15, 20 minutes after the end of a game, Warren says. Basically as soon as we have enough to start a load, well start a load. Things will change that time. Sometimes a win is quicker or shorter, or you know, getaway day, hopefully quicker. First, soak itTEAM: Cleveland GuardiansLAUNDERER: Sam Hindes, home clubhouse supervisorTIP: Soaking is important. When it comes to tough stains, sometimes they let the uniforms soak overnight in a mixture of detergent and other products. Then a big thing that works is a lot of people dont know that pressure, like not necessarily a pressure washer, but the higher the pressure on the water, the better it gets stains out, he says. I never really knew that until I started doing the uniforms. QUOTABLE: Hindes says position players usually have the dirtiest uniforms one in particular. Jos Ramrez is one that you always know is going to come back that night and its going to need some work on it, Hindes says. He has pine tar on his jersey and hes always out there, hes a grinder. He steals bases. Hes always diving all over the place. He plays his heart out. Let that pretreat sit for a bitTEAM: New York YankeesLAUNDERER: Lou Cucuzza Jr., director of clubhouse operationsLAUNDRY TIP: Its all about pretreating and letting the pretreat treatment soak in for a while. So if youve got something dirty and youre pretreating it, dont throw it right into the machine because that pretreats just going to get washed away. You want that pretreat really to soak up that stain and separate the fibers of the uniform or apparel, whatever youre wearing.QUOTABLE: The clay that surrounds the field differs around the majors, presenting a unique challenge So we could come off the road or Ill get a team off the road that played, lets say, in Baltimore. They have a tough clay or Boston, their clay is very different than the clay at Yankee Stadium, Cucuzza says. The clay at Yankee Stadium, I have no problem getting visiting uniforms clean. Its really quick. Sometimes Ill get a team, maybe from Baltimore, and its like, wow, thats a tough red clay. Its a little hard getting out so it may have to go through two washes to get it out. Make sure youre using the right solutionsTEAM: Philadelphia PhilliesLAUNDERER: Sean Bowers, home clubhouse assistantTIP: Using the right chemicals is crucial. Some of the laundry chemicals in big league clubhouses arent widely available, but Bowers says he likes Goof Off for pine tar stains and detergents with protein release for dirt-related issues.QUOTABLE: When the field gets painted, getting the paint out is really tough. Just a regular grass stain I can get out fairly easily. But the paint, especially around opening day or after theres concerts and where the stage was, they have to take care of that part of the field. Those outfielders, its really difficult to get that out. Spray, spray and spray againTEAM: Pittsburgh PiratesLAUNDERER: Kiere Bulls, home clubhouse managerTIP: For uniforms (and, presumably, anything else) caked with dirt, Bulls recommends spraying off as much of it as possible before it even goes into the laundry. He has some chemicals that he uses at the ballpark, but he likes OxiClean and Shout for dirt predicaments at home.QUOTABLE: Theres a lot of times that if a players real, real bad that it may have to get washed three times just to get the stains out. But the uniforms are hung dry. ... They dont go in the dryer. They just get washed and hung right outside the lockers.If at first you dont succeed ... TEAM: San Francisco GiantsLAUNDERER: Riley Halpin, clubhouse attendantTIP: Halpin says washing uniforms is a trial-and-error process much of the time. Obviously when it comes to the at-home kind of washing, you dont have these top-of-the-line chemicals that professional teams have, he says. So I would say just do a little bit of research. ... Find out what the top kind of brands people are using at the Walmarts and stuff like that. And go with it.QUOTABLE: Halpin says he gets to the ballpark around noon for a typical night game and leaves around 1 a.m. Its long days. But its kind of what you sign up for, you know, with this job. And its super cool just to obviously get to do what we get to do. So we all put up with it. ___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb JAY COHEN Cohen is a national baseball writer and an editor on the APs sports desk. Based in Chicago, he also covers hockey, football and basketball, along with international water polo. twitter facebook RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site