20 SportsTurf | March 2014 www.sportsturfonline.com
SportsTurf: How do you manage work-
ers' expectations of the job?
Winter: In the hiring process, it is impor-
tant to find out what the applicant's percep-
tion is of the job. In
professional baseball,
the "grind" is a reality I bring up early in all
interviews. Education and work experience
are important, but work ethic, persever-
ance, and a clear vision of what the job is
about are just as important.
Barry: Before the season begins, we hold a
meeting with the crew. We get pizza and
hand out crew shirts for the year. At this
time we go through the expectations of the
season, for example what to improve from
last year, changes for this year, etc. This way
everyone is on the same page moving for-
ward into the season.
Deacon: When we hire someone or pro-
mote someone I sit and talk with them
about what I expect from them, what the
organization expects and we try and be real-
istic; it isn't all fun and good times there are
going to be things that you have to do that
you won't like. For me the good outweighs
the bad and I try and make it the same for
HOW TO GET THE
BEST PERFORMANCE
FROM YOUR CREW
Facility & Operations
Editor's note: We asked some prominent professional baseball head groundskeepers how they lead
their crews to get maximum performance on the diamond. We heard from: Keith Winter, Fort Wayne
TinCaps; Britt Barry, Dayton Dragons; Bill Deacon, New York Mets; Luke Yoder, San Diego Padres;
and Greg Burgess, Greenville Drive. Here are their responses:
Left: Seattle Mariners'
crew in action during an STMA
Regional Conference in 2012.
Photo by Anthony Murillo.
Right: Crew painting a logo at
TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha.
Photo courtesy of Dan Blank.
