To say that Connie Rudolph is outstanding in her field tells only half the story.

Rudolph, a member of Laborer's Local 132, is head groundskeeper at Midway Stadium. You may know Midway as home to minor league baseball's St. Paul Saints, who never miss a promotional opportunity. Here's a new one the Saints can start with: Midway is professional baseball's Field of the Year, according to the Sports Turf Management Association.

That award is prestigious enough - and a clear testament to the work that Rudolph and her crew do in creating a lush field on top of what literally was a dump 15 years ago.

But Rudolph got quite a surprise when she went to pick up the award last month in Tampa, Fla., at the Association's annual conference. She was also named winner of the George Toma Golden Rake Award - the top award in her profession.

Saints owner Mike Veeck was on hand to present the award - which, despite its name, is a large trophy, not a rake. The association also snuck in Rudolph's top assistant, Don Raway, to share in the celebration.

'It feels great,' Rudolph said. 'To be surrounded by my peers, and to have Mike present the award, made it special for me.'

Skills - and then some
The Toma award is a tribute to the legendary groundskeeper who has worked magic for the Kansas City Royals and all 35 Super Bowls, said Suz Trusty, communications director for the turf management association. Nominees are evaluated not only on their job performance, work ethic and experience, but also on creative skills, their role in the community, their self-improvement and what Toma calls the 'and then some' factor.

'Connie definitely met all those criteria,' Trusty said. In fact, Rudolph is one of only 15 groundskeepers in the nation to be a certified sports field manager, a rigorous procedure in which candidates have to qualify just to sit for the final test.

'Connie definitely keeps on top of things professionally,' Trusty said. The Field of the Year award is one demonstration of that, Trusty said. A five-judge panel evaluates everything from a field's safety, playability and aesthetics to its maintenance program and how it solves problems.

'Midway is an exceptionally heavily used stadium,' Trusty said, 'yet the staff maintains excellent conditions.'

'I give a lot of credit to my crew,' Rudolph said. 'It's a job you can't do alone, and they oftentimes get overlooked.'

Nonstop action
Keeping Midway Stadium in good shape for baseball is no easy task, given what Rudolph calls 'the constant juggle of different sports and activities. The place is always busy.' Soccer, football and rock concerts are only some of the maintenance headaches at the city-owned stadium.

Rudolph works mostly during the day - reseeding, aerating, fertilizing and overseeing a number of little repair projects - as well as prepping the field for games. Other crew members crew work nights, during and after Saints games. Midway has a few distinct challenges, including sinkholes in left field, which require the crew to peel back sod and fill in the soil underneath.

Baseball lore includes plenty of tales of groundskeepers crafting a field to favor the home team, but Rudolph says doesn't doctor Midway much.

'Certain position players like their area a little wetter, and I certainly accommodate that,' she said. 'There are other things I might be willing to do, but I haven't been asked.'

So far, she hasn't been asked to jump to the big leagues, either, Toma Award or not.

'I'd be interested to see what happens.' But given that she has four children, Rudolph adds: 'I don't know how willing I'd be to move to a different state. I'm not sure. I'd have to see what the offer is.'

This article was written for The Union Advocate newspaper. Used by permission. The Union Advocate is the official publication of the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly. E-mail The Advocate at: advocate@mtn.org