Grounds control at Roger Dean Stadium -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 7/20/2006
Last Visited: 7/20/2006
JUPITER - Marshall Jennings, head groundskeeper at Roger Dean Stadium, always walks with an eye to the sky, especially when lightning flashes over the busiest ballpark in America.
On one threatening day recently, Jennings radios for a weather update from an assistant who is monitoring radar via computer.
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Jennings makes the call over the radio: 'Pull the tarp!'
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'It was just gut-wrenching because we knew what work was ahead of us just to get ready to play again,' said Jennings, who stayed at the stadium through Frances, listening to the light posts snap and embed themselves in his field.
But Jennings and his workers have restored the field each spring.
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It was in a striking pose, so we had to eradicate it,' Jennings said.
Jennings doesn't worry about snakes, preferring to act on what he can control.His eyes turn back to the clearing sky.The tarp can come off.There's baseball to be played.
'You want to provide the team every opportunity to get wins,' said Jennings, who knows the FSL doesn't require making up every game called off because of bad weather or wet grounds. 'It is a sense of pride for our crew.'
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