by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
Tom Kackley spends about as much time at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville as any player, coach or diehard fan.
Kackley, or “Tonto” as many call him at the park, is the Jacksonville Suns’ home clubhouse manager. He’s been with the team for two years.
“I’m a clubby,” he said, “and if you don’t know what that is, you can basically think of me as being like the players’ den mother.”
And like any mother, Kackley is very protective of his brood.
In fact during this interview, Kackley was interrupted twice. Once by a player who needed to have his jersey dried and again to comfort a another player who recently found out his car stereo had been stolen.
“When things come up, and they come up a lot, I usually just say, ‘no problem’ and take care of it,” said Kackley. “I do whatever I need to do behind the scenes so that the guys are comfortable enough to get out there and play their best.
“I make sure they have nothing to worry about off the field.”
To be sure of that, Kackley does everything from the players’ laundry to meal preparations. He even occasionally gives them words of wisdom.
“It’s all part of the job,” he said. “For 71 games a year, it’s what I have to do and I have no complaints, none at all.”
And though only briefly a player himself, Kackley said his job a perfect fit.
“I enjoy myself, I really do,” he said. “For a real player, being a cubby would be too much of an embarrassment, but I don’t think of it that way.
“I have the opportunity to work with a solid team and see some great games. I can’t really think of anything better.”