As the Boston Red Sox made their appearance at Bowman Field last Sunday against the Baltimore Orioles in the annual MLB/Little League Classic game, Penn State senior Hunter Finn felt a kinship to the team he had just left a week earlier.
Scheduled to graduate next spring with a degree in Turf, Grass Management, the South Williamsport native, took the initiative to obtain an internship with the Red Sox and spent this summer working at Fenway Park.
“I’ve always been a Red Sox fan, and I knew I had to do an internship as part of the fulfillment of my degree,” Finn explained. “There were opportunities to work at Penn State, with the Crosscutters, or with the Little League World Series fields. But being a Red Sox fan, I thought working at Fenway Park would be neat and decided to try and get my name out there. I went on Instagram and contacted Dave Miller (the Fenway Park heads groundskeeper). He responded to me and asked for my resume and then accepted me.
“This was a very special time for me. There is something about living in Boston during the summer and going into Fenway every day. Just looking around the field and then watching the games, knowing that what I helped do to make the field look so good provided a most satisfying experience.”
It was Fenway Park and his childhood dream, but this wasn’t a vacation.
“On game days, we would report for work at 7:00 a.m. The first duties would be to patch home plate and the pitcher’s mound with clay. We would level it out and tamp until it was perfect. Someone would go around the infield with a blower to blow grass clippings and displaced clay back onto the infield surface. That was swept into piles and cleaned up. Scrappers were then used to even out the dirt surface before it was dragged with mats and rolled to pack it all down. Throughout all that, the infield would be watered down about three times before 10:00 a.m.
“Once that work was completed, we worked on the bullpens areas to patch and rake the mounds. Once those things were completed, we would set up the various screens and fungo nets that were used for pre-game practice. After the teams were finished with their workouts, we would go right back at it to make the field look nice for everyone. There were twelve-hour days, 7 a.m. until 7 p.m., and then it was game time.
“Waking from my apartment to Fenway and just seeing it was really cool. Walking on Jersey Street to the gate, I would go in; you can tell the place has been around since 1912. But that is what helps make it so neat, the park has been around that long, and people are still going there and loving the place. During the day, I could go to any part of the stadium, so I was able to watch batting practice from the Green Monster. All those little things I got to do add up to a great experience.”
Asked if he got to go inside the Green Monster, Hunter smiled and said he had a few times. That same smile answered the question his voice wouldn’t when inquired if he had written his name inside the storied structure.
“I can’t say yes, and I can’t say no, but it might be.”
When the Red Sox were away from Fenway Park, Finn’s day differed in responsibilities.
“What we did depended upon what might be going on. There were a few concerts this summer at Fenway, including Motley Crew. During the day, we didn’t do much, but we had big fans that we’d move around different spots on the turf, so it didn’t overheat. We’d water different spots that weren’t covered by the stage and just got to watch the concert.”
Access to the players was very limited.
“We had our jobs to do, and the players would be doing their thing. Occasionally, there would be questions about where things were. There were a few occasions I got to talk with Kiki Hernandez and Christian Arroyo about little things, but there was definitely a separation between the grounds crew and the players.
“The most memorable thing for me was just being able to go into Fenway Park to work every day and having that as my office. I am going to remember that forever.”
Internships are meant to provide young people with learning experiences about a chosen profession. For Finn, this was definitely true.
“What I learned this summer will be of huge benefit to me going forward. I had never worked on baseball fields or golf courses before, and experiencing that part of turf management will be great for my resume. During this upcoming year, I’ll be working on the Penn State baseball field, and this should help me a lot when it comes to future jobs.”
For Hunter Finn, advice from mom and dad provided the catalyst leading to his Fenway Park experience.
“I’ve learned from my parents you can’t just sit back and let things happen because they won’t happen. You’ve got to run straight forward and make your future. If you take the initiative, you’ve got a much better chance of having things be as you want them to be.”
