Nearing 40 years with the Royals, groundskeeper Trevor Vance has found a dream career

The Kansas City Royals’ matchup against the New York Mets on Aug. 1 was a special one for Trevor Vance, the team’s senior director of groundskeeping and landscaping.

The Royals hosted their first-ever “Agriculture Night” to honor those in the agricultural industry, especially Vance and his crew.

On top of that, Vance was featured in the pre-game festivities. He threw out the first pitch, while many fans sat with a bobblehead of him driving the team’s tractor — something he does every game.

And after 39 years of working for the club and with thousands of games under his belt, the Raytown native still loves it.

“I don’t know where else you could work for 40 years and still have the fun that I have today,” Vance said. “I look at myself as just another guy that works out here, but it’s really nice when they recognize the groundskeeper and the grounds crew for all they do.”

Even after joining the grounds crew part-time in 1985 before his freshman year at Central Missouri State, groundskeeping was the last thing on Vance’s mind.

Baseball wasn’t “his sport” either. He quit during his freshman year of high school and instead pursued football and wrestling — the latter he played in college. His goal was to become a sportscaster.

But to pay for school, Vance returned to Kauffman Stadium every summer. Eventually, those summers turned into a full-time position in 1988 and a new dream. He was named assistant groundskeeper in 1993 and took over his current role before the 1995 season.

Vance’s daily routine during home games includes a 15-minute drive from his Lee’s Summit home at around 8 or 8:30 a.m. to the stadium to get the field ready. That involves mowing, watering and dragging the field on his tractor. His crew’s day concludes about an hour after the game — just in time for him to catch the Royals’ postgame show, on 610 Sports Radio, on his ride back home.

This all happens for a 7:10 pm game.

“To be successful here in the Midwest, sometimes you go to the field first and family second,” Vance said. “The dedication and devotion they have for this field and the time they’re going to spend in the heat, the time they’re going to spend in the cold weather, they buy into it.”

Vance mentioned it’s even more difficult to maintain the field in Kansas City compared to other cities across the country because KC experiences all four seasons during an MLB season. He learned early on not to follow the weather forecast on local TV because it focuses on the entire city, not just The K.

Instead, the team uses a private 24-hour weather service that monitors the stadium-area’s weather when the Royals are in town.

“We can get as cold as Minnesota and we can get as hot as Texas,” Vance said. “That keeps you on your toes and keeps you aware every day. You can’t just assume the weather is going to be what the forecast is going to be because it could change in a heartbeat.”

Whether it be waking up at 3 a.m. to cover the field because of possible rain or dealing with unpredictable weather, Vance said he’s fallen in love more and more with the job since his first summer at the stadium.

He took over the head groundskeeper role from his mentor and groundskeeping great George Toma, who has prepared the field for every Super Bowl since 1967 (and famously entered the news cycle after the Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII).

When asked what college he attended, Vance responds with: “George Toma School of Groundskeeping.”

Vance’s crew ranges from college students to workers that have been on staff for more than 30 years. Sometimes the crew chief shocks himself knowing that he’s worked at The K longer than many employees have lived. Regardless of the age difference, Vance and his team aim to be the best grounds crew in Major League Baseball.

“We want wives to turn to husbands and say, ‘Why doesn’t our yard look like that?’” Vance said. “We have a small thumbprint in what, you know, the game itself. So, I still stand by it today: I’ll sign a lifetime contract as soon as they give me one.”

Before the Royals’ contest on Aug. 17 versus the Mariners, Vance and his crew worked on the field like usual, hoping to make things perfect. That included him dragging the infield on the team’s tractor, slowly driving in loops to make sure that every speck of dirt was picked up.

His team’s precision shows how much he loves the Royals, even after nearly 40 years of work. Vance was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2022 and his high school’s hall in 2015.

After the organization’s celebration earlier in the month, it’s clear how much they respect him, too.

“My oldest daughter learned how to ride a tricycle here. My son used to carry his blanket around and stretch it out on the carpet like he was putting a tarp down,” Vance said. “This is a great place to work and call home, and I look forward to doing it for a long time.”