What trick was played on Grayson his first day in the Minors?

In chapter 25, Grayson tells Maniac about his first day in the minors, when he was due to play for the Bluefield Bullets. When Grayson arrived in Bluefield, West Virginia, he asked a gas station attendant for directions to the ballpark. The attendant discerned that Grayson was a new ballplayer and then told him that all new ballplayers were treated to a free meal at the restaurant across the street. He encouraged Grayson to ask for "the biggest steak on the menu. And anything else you want, too, because it's all on the house." Grayson duly went to the restaurant and ordered "a sixteen-ounce steak, half a broiled chicken, and two pieces of rhubarb pie." When he got up to leave, the restaurant owner "came running after him . . . all mad." This is when Grayson learned that the gas station attendant was "a real card and liked to welcome dumb rookies with his little practical joke."
As a result of the gas station attendant's joke, Grayson spent his first day in the minors washing dishes to work off his meal, while his team was taking the field. He should have been playing with them, as their new pitcher.