MILWAUKEE -- It’s said that watching grass grow can be absolutely boring, but not for one guy.
Mike Boettcher is Head of the Grounds Crew at Miller Park and a man who takes pride in Miller Park, his field of dreams.
“My expertise and my time gets spent here. If I’ve got a little time to put with the home lawn I try but this is my baby out here and I make sure I take care of this one first before anything else,” he shares proudly.
Making sure his “baby” successfully sleeps through the winter takes a ton of work.
There are almost a thousand sandbags put in place by hand, and twice that many pins keeping the tarp tacked down.
"We have the covers down," he said. "These are breathable covers for the turf to kind of maintain our turf and leaf blades during the entire winter here in Milwaukee.”
Military veteran, Jayme Wilcox, is a grounds crew intern. He almost had a career on the field playing ball, prior to an injury, but he’s thankful this job keeps him close to the game.
“Getting up here and working in this atmosphere is pretty cool. It’s amazing.” Wilcox said.
The roof at Miller Park was open Tuesday on purpose to let the cold settle in so the crew can confirm the ground is properly protected.
They’ll continue to manually monitor everything from temperature and light all winter long to ensure green come spring.
