RISING STAR

To say Ben Hartman ’ s career has been a whirlwind would be an understatement . Going from a position in independent baseball to working for a World Series winner to being a head groundskeeper in Minor League Baseball in a matter of years has had its challenges , but Hartman has been able to take it all in stride .

“ Being the first head groundskeeper in Wichita is a career highlight so far ,” said Hartman , who has held that position for the Wichita Wind Surge ( Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins ) since the ballclub began play in Wichita in 2021 .

“ For me it ’ s all about continuing to progress and continuing to bring the industry together ,” he added .

Hartman — whose official title is director of stadium operations — grew up in Smithville , Missouri , just north of Kansas City , where he played baseball and got his first taste of turfgrass management at the age of 15 when he joined the grounds crew at the local golf course .

“ After my first day at the golf course , I rode my bike home and told my parents ‘ This is what I want to do for the rest of my life ,’” Hartman recalled . “ I thought I would go into golf course management , but I started to realize when I was looking into what I wanted to do for college that I could do the same thing on a baseball field . Working on the golf course helped me learn the science , but my ultimate goal was to be on a baseball field .”

Hartman studied turfgrass management at Iowa Central Community College , where he also played baseball for the Tritons .

“ I joke that I only have one varsity at-bat and that was mainly as a bullpen catcher ,” Hartman said . “ I still had a lot of fun and they have a good turfgrass program . I might do a four-year program eventually , but I ’ ve learned a lot on the job . I do have my AAS in Turfgrass Management .”

After graduating in 2017 , Hartman started his career with the Kansas City T-Bones ( currently the Kansas City Monarchs ), but a call up to the big leagues came early .

“ The opportunity arose for me to go down to Houston , and I took a fall internship with the Astros in 2017 ,” Hartman said . “ I was 21 and already working on a bigleague field . I didn ’ t realize at the time how good the Astros were ; and yeah , everyone knows that 2017 was the ‘ cheating year ,’ but you still have to put the bat on the ball . It was so cool going from an independent minor league club to experiencing a World Series within a few months .

“ After that internship , I didn ’ t really know what to do next ,” Hartman continued . “ So , I asked Izzy [ Astros Head Groundskeeper Izzy Hinojosa ] if I could get on the game day grounds crew , and he said that they would love to have me back for the season . I still needed a way to pay the bills , so I found an assistant superintendent job at a 27-hole golf course in 2018 .”

The hours Hartman worked in 2018 were long and exhausting — at the golf course from 5 a . m . to 3 p . m ., then

24 SportsField Management | October 2023 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com