St. Paul Saints scurry to clear snow before Friday's home opener
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Nothing says spring baseball in Minnesota quite like clearing out snow.
The St. Paul Saints grounds crew has its hands full and several days of snow and rain soaked the Twin Cities, much of it freezing over into ice. Opening Day is Friday.
"It's already a grind to get ready for Opening Day without weather," said Marcus Campbell, the director of field operations for the Saints.
Weather is exactly what's forcing crews at CHS Field to double down on clearing snow ahead the season opener.
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On Monday night, the green grass could be seen on the field after removing Sunday's dumping.
"And then woke up Tuesday morning and had a little surprise," he said.
Tuesday's snowfall led to an extra round of heavy lifting, pushing and planning to ensure all 3,500 ticketholders can enjoy the game as scheduled. The sun will play a big role in that mission. In order to quickly melt the snow on the field, Campbell said crews will spray the snow with a green pigment. The darker color will allow the snow to better absorb sunlight and heat in hopes of melting it more quickly.
"If that doesn't go as quick as we hope, we'll clear the field one more time and hopefully that does the trick for us," he said.
Managing spring snowfall is relatively new for the Saints.
When the team was in the Independent League, the season wouldn't start until mid-May. Now as the AAA affiliate for the Twins, late March and early April weather are part of the schedule. The crew does have some experience clearing snow for the Hamline University baseball team that also uses the field in early spring.
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"We're slowly adapting. It would be nice if we wouldn't have to play at home right away but the schedule is the schedule. And without field heat here like Target Field has, it definitely makes things challenging for us," said Campbell.
While it is indeed a challenge, Campbell remains optimistic.
"Obviously you look at [the field] right now and you don't think chances are good but we'll see what we can pull off," he said.
If Friday's game needs to be postponed an announcement could come as soon as Thursday evening. It would likely then be played as a double-header on Saturday.
UPDATE: St. Paul Saints cancel Friday home opener after snowstorm
