{"id":10915,"date":"2019-09-04T18:51:54","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T22:51:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/?p=10915"},"modified":"2019-09-04T18:51:54","modified_gmt":"2019-09-04T22:51:54","slug":"batavia-muckdogs-field-crew-creates-magic-for-every-game-ready-for-playoff-baseball-named-field-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2019\/09\/04\/batavia-muckdogs-field-crew-creates-magic-for-every-game-ready-for-playoff-baseball-named-field-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"BATAVIA\/Muckdogs field crew creates magic for every game, ready for playoff baseball, named “Field of the Year”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Left to right- Joe Mogavero\/Director of Operations and Cooper Thomson\/Head Groundskeeper<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For the first time in the team’s 80 year history, the field at Dwyer Stadium has been named “Field of the Year” by Ben Hayes, President of the New York-Penn League. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(Submitted photo by Phil Casper of today’s playoff field)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“I think its pretty unique in Batavia, pretty much the two of us doing the work, our game day guys do a lot, but when its a small franchise you gotta do a big amount of work, I was surprised and pretty honored,” says Thomson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The field crew of two has managed to sneak in one day off a month during the winning 2019 Muckdogs season which started in April for Joe Mogavero and Cooper Thomson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It was tough, we had a bad spring,” says Thomson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was one of the wettest springs on record, but the crew of two worked around it along with the scheduled high school baseball games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We come in here at 8 o’clock in the morning and leave here at 3- 4a.m. in the morning,” says Mogavero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Its just him and I most of the time and we just do it, we just keep going.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thomson calls the game to game creations a science and an art. Not knowing if the team would make the playoffs this year the pair had to be prepared to create a new field look for the playoff game this evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thomson spent Tuesday evening painting postseason by hand on the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were some pretty good competitive fields in the league this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Williamsport, who hosted the MLB game, they have two full time MLB guys and State College, they have a state college looking out for their field. Its pretty cool to compete with them,” says Thomson<\/p>\n\n\n\n