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What happens at a ballpark before a game? Lots of prep

Madison MallardsWe know most of our readers work in the baseball industry, but for those who don’t and want a glimpse of the glamor that is game prep, here’s a look at a typical Madison Mallards (summer collegiate; Northwoods League) pregame routine.

It’s all pretty standard: beer deliveries, food preparation, field grooming. One interesting note: former MLB catcher and MiLB coach Donnie Scott, now coaching the Mallards, shows up early to the ballpark to clean the clubhouse. From Madison Magazine:

After a gentle start, operations lurch into motion at 8:30 a.m., when the fifteen full-time Mallards staff members arrive, and go full tilt when the twenty-five interns arrive a half hour later. And the first order of business is preparing the field.

“Between our interns and our full-time staff and even some of the assistant coaches, we kind of handle all the dirt,” says [Mallards GM Conor] Caloia. “Chalking the bases and dragging the field, that falls on us.”…

Meanwhile, field manager Donnie Scott is happy to start cleaning the clubhouse.

“I figure if you have a little discipline in the clubhouse, you’re going to have it on the field,” Scott says. “That’s why I like to keep it tidy.”

(Disclaimer: This Madison Magazine article was written by Sean Reichard, son of Ballpark Digest publisher Kevin Reichard.)

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