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Field Operations Underway At Oriole Park Ahead Of Opening Day

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The Orioles crew is getting ready for Opening Day.

"We're hoping for a really great day," Orioles Director of Field Operations Nicole Sherry said. She is one of only two women to hold this position in Major League Baseball.

One of her biggest tasks is getting the field ready.

"(We're) addressing the mounds, bullpen, home plate, getting the dirt ready to go," Sherry said. "That's really all we've been doing. Trying to get the grass growing is the hardest thing because you have to wait for Mother Nature kind of kick it in and wake it up."

She said the field goes dormant in the off-season, but once the soil temperature hits 55 degrees, it begins to grow.

Her team is putting on the finishing touches before opening day. However, all of this week's rain has been a little bit of a challenge for them.

We caught her crew pulling tarps off the field Wednesday afternoon.

"We have to get in where we fit in, you know, in between any rain situations," Sherry said. "Work on it when we can and be ready to cover the field if needed."

The past two seasons looked a lot different because of the pandemic, Sherry is looking forward to the start of this season at one of the country's best ballparks, also known as "The Ballpark That Forever Changed Baseball."

"It is a jewel of all the ballparks, I believe, and now that it has been 30 years of it being open and it still looks brand new," Sherry said. "It's really special. I can't really put it into words but I'm honored to be in this position for this organization."

There are still tickets left for opening day on Monday.

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