DENVER — Weather in the Mile High can change quickly, from snow to hail to sunshine, and the Colorado Rockies grounds crew always keeps a close eye on Mother Nature.
Since 1994, Mark Razum has worked at Coors Field, but his roots started back in Ohio where he worked for the Cleveland Guardians before managing spring training for the Oakland Athletics. Coming to Colorado, he would realized the humidity difference compared to the East Coast, along with the constantly changing weather.
"Well, the one thing for sure, Arizona was kind of pretty much a normal temperature all the time, same with Oakland. But you come to Colorado — it's just different almost every day, every week, which makes it a challenge. It makes it exciting," Razum said.
The grounds crew is made up of four full-time and 11 part-time employees. To ensure the field is game-day ready for the Rockies, the team will come out around eight hours ahead of opening pitch to start mowing, watering, and caring for the grass.
"We want to try to [make] everything the same for the guys every day and that's why we mow every day," explained Razum. "We want the same mowing height for the players. We'll try to keep the same conditions of the infield dirt and so forth the same. It's just that challenge of of trying to get that consistency, whether it's 90 or 40 degrees — those kind of things. We're always trying to make it right for the players to to be comfortable out."
During these hot days when the sun is in full force, Razum said the key is not overwatering the grounds. He explained the grass grows on peat moss in the soil, so it will retain nutrients and moisture and not dry out quickly.
Another grounds crew member, Hung Huynh, has noticed the weather whiplash this year, but knows that is just part of the job here in Colorado.
"The beginning of the season, we had that snowstorm that came, so we had to plow snow, shovel it off, and then we had some rain in May," said Huynh. "Honestly, if anything, it hasn't been much of a challenge, it's been the crazy weather that's been the hardest part. Other than that everything has been running smoothly here at the ballpark."
For this hardworking crew, their love for baseball and the Rockies makes every weather challenge one worth stepping up to the plate for.
"I knew I wanted to be in sports and I knew I loved the Rockies, so I knew being a part of the game — the best way for me was to be a part of the ground crew," Huynh said.
