Spartan Profiles: Heather Nabozny
HER FIELD OF DREAMS
In the history of major league baseball, only one woman ever became head groundskeeper. It happened March 1 when Heather Nabozny, '93, took over that role for the Detroit Tigers. 'I really don't look at it as being the first woman to do the job,' says Nabozny, called up from the West Michigan Whitecaps, the Tigers' Class A affiliate. 'A male could do the job as good as I do. It's an opportunity for me to do something I enjoy--something that I take pride in doing well.'
Actually, Heather dreamed of being in MLB when she enrolled in MSU's turf management program. 'I knew I didn't want to work inside,' says Heather, who she enjoyed working in her father's lawn care business in Milford. 'In 1990, I attended an MSU seminar on turfgrass management and said, 'That's what I want to do.' (The MSU turfgrass program) was great. I learned a ton. When I got out, MSU really helped me get started with my career.'
After an internship on campus, she worked at the Toronto Blue Jays' spring training complex in Dunedin, FL, before moving on to Grand Rapids with the Whitecaps. Tiger Stadium, and the new Comerica Park, are her fields of dreams. 'It's very exciting,' says Heather, who saw Tigers games while growing up. 'It's really special when you run into some of the players, like Alan Trammell.'
Heather has a day crew of about five and a night crew of about 15. But the work is often at the mercy of uncontrollable elements, like weather and vandals. 'In 1998, we had a break-in (at the Whitecaps' field),' she recounts. 'Some kids played demolition derby with golf carts. It was a disaster. The infield was a quagmire, it rained and rained, and we had a game in two days. But we did put it together.' As she puts it, 'I have butterflies in my stomach. But I love it.'
