BALTIMORE, Md. — Surely, the players notice it as they step out onto the mound for the first time all year. The fans notice it from their seats in the historic, celebrated ballpark. But nobody notices it more than Nicole Sherry.
"Everybody walking in is like – oh, it’s perfect, and I know every spot that’s not perfect.”
That's because she spends all year making sure the grass on the field at Camden Yards is the freshest, brightest shade of green possible.
“One yellow blade - you’re done," Sherry said, pointing to the grass. "Any little imperfection out there, I’m on it.”
Attention to detail is the name of the game when it comes to being a head groundskeeper. Managing this field is both an art form and a science.
“It’s not just about cutting grass and raking the dirt and making pretty lines. It’s a lot of nutrients that we have to apply to make sure the grass is as healthy as possible to withstand the athletes that are playing on the field every day," Sherry tells WMAR-2 News during an interview on the field.
It's her dream job. Only 30 people in the country get to do it for the MLB, and only two of them - Sherry included - are women. But Sherry has never been one to feel limited by stereotypes. Even as a kid, her answer to the classic question, 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' was something most kids - even most adults! - have never heard of.
“An agronomist, which is like a plant and soil scientist."
Naturally, she went on to study agriculture in college, where she also played softball. It was on the same field where she now works every day that she discovered she could combine her passion for sports with her passion for agriculture.
“My irrigation class in college took a field trip to Camden Yards. That was the first time I actually saw a natural grass field," Sherry recalled. “At the end of the trip, the head groundskeeper, at the time, gave everyone his business card.”
Less than a decade later, she'd be the one handing out business cards and calling the shots - literally. She's the person responsible for telling an umpire when a game should be delayed for rain.
Sherry doesn't see her role as "the boss" on a male-dominated baseball field as a challenge. She sees it as an opportunity.
"So every time I’m out on the field, even though not many people may know what I do, they see a woman representing this kind of work environment. That’s my goal - it's just to have exposure as much as I can to the girls and women that attend these games. If you can see it, be it, type of mentality."