Skip To Content
Filter search
Cal Poly Pomona
  • LIBRARY
  • ONLINE SERVICES
  • DIRECTORY
  • MAPS
  • CALENDAR
  • About Cal Poly Pomona
  • Cal Poly Pomona Overview
  • Visitor Information
  • Campus Maps & Tours
  • News
  • Events
  • Administration
  • Annual Security Report
  • Campus Safety Plan
  • Admissions
  • Undergraduate Admissions
  • Graduate Admissions
  • International Admissions
  • Continuing Education Admissions
  • Military & Veterans Admissions
  • Financial Aid & Scholarships
  • Student Accounts & Fees
  • Outreach, Recruitment, & Educational Partnerships
  • Academics
  • Colleges & Departments
  • Majors & Degrees
  • University Catalog & Academic Schedules
  • University Library
  • Research
  • Academic Resources
  • Registrar
  • Campus Life
  • Student Services
  • Student Activities
  • Recreation & Fitness
  • Health & Wellness
  • Housing & Dining
  • Diversity
  • Calendars & Events
  • Campus Safety & Emergency Info
  • Athletics
  • Visit Athletics Website
  • Alumni
  • Visit Alumni Website
  • Giving
  • Why Give
  • Ways to Give
  • Where to Give

PolyCentric University News Center

Main Menu
  • About Our University
  • Admissions
  • Academics
  • Campus Life
  • Athletics
  • Giving
  • Expand/Collapse Menu
Browse: Home / 2017 / October / Dodgers Stadium Turf Ready for World Series with Help of Cal Poly Pomona Student

PolyCentric

University News Center

Menu

Skip to content
  • About
    • Submissions
    • Contact
    • Department of Strategic Communications
    • PolyCentric
  • News
    • Browse by Topic
    • View All Stories
    • In Memoriam
    • Archives
  • Achievements
  • Announcements
  • Multimedia
    • Videos
    • Photos
  • Social Media Directory
  • Events
  • For the Media

Dodgers Stadium Turf Ready for World Series with Help of Cal Poly Pomona Student

Posted on October 31, 2017

Oscar Del Real, second-year graduate student in plant science now works for the Dodgers.
Oscar Del Real, second-year graduate student in plant science now works for the Dodgers.

At least one Cal Poly Pomona student has a front-row seat during the World Series games at Dodger Stadium.

Oscar Del Real, a second-year graduate student in plant science, works full-time for the Los Angeles Dodgers grounds crew. He helps out with everything from mowing the field’s grass – Bermuda hybrid over-seeded with perennial rye – to keep it cut short, maintaining the visiting team’s bullpen and painting logos on the field.

“Being part of the organization and watching them win has been a great experience,” he said, “but being able to work on the field for the past two seasons has been surreal.”

Del Real becomes the second Cal Poly Pomona turf management student to work a professional sports championship this year. Sean McLaughlin won the Toro Super Bowl Sports Turfgrass Training Program contest and was the only college student to work with the grounds crew in February at Super Bowl LI in Houston.

As a child, Del Real’s goal was to play for the Dodgers. But he eventually realized that he wasn’t good enough to play in the major leagues.

“I told myself that my next goal was to take care of the field,” the Van Nuys native said. “I set that goal my sophomore year of high school, and I made that dream a reality.”

Oscar Del Real paints the logo on the field.
Oscar Del Real paints the logo on the field.

Del Real puts in at least 40 hours a week working with the Dodgers. The full-time employee has watched countless regular-season games and all of the home playoff and World Series games from the grounds crew’s clubhouse in right field or up close when he helps drag the infield between innings.

The graduate student has worked in sports turf management for more than seven years now. Although he might stay in professional baseball for a few more years, Del Real eventually wants to teach. He currently volunteers to help prepare students for national academic competitions.

“I enjoy helping the students as much as I can and the feeling watching them succeed is priceless,” Del Real said. “More importantly, I would like to give back to the students, because I was once in their shoes, and I would like to see them succeed.”

Posted in News | Tags Cal Poly Pomona, dodger stadium, Dodgers, Don B. Huntley College of Agriculture, Major League Baseball, Oscar Del Real, student, student success, Turf, turf management, World Series

POPULAR

  • CLASS Dean Iris Levine

    CLASS Act: Dean Levine Sets High Bar for Herself and Others

    331 views / Posted January 11, 2021
  • Graphic with illustration of Martin Luther King Jr.

    MLK Day Celebrations Include Student-Centric Volunteer Opportunities

    126 views / Posted January 14, 2021
  • Expanded Early Exit Program Info Session

    33 views / Posted January 5, 2021
  • A group photo of Cal Poly Pomona’s Reading, Advising, and Mentoring Program

    RAMP Receives $2.2 Million Grant For Underrepresented Students

    27 views / Posted January 15, 2021
  • Mansion Lane Closure Update

    26 views / Posted January 5, 2021

Picture of the Day »

Toy Drive

Toy Drive

Cal Poly Pomona in the News »

College students reflect on their first semester experiences

Mailani Matsuno, who is taking classes from her home in Guam, interviewed about her reasons for studying from home and adjusting to the time differences between home and her classes.…

Honoring California architecture students through scholarship at the 2020 2×8 Virtual Exhibition


NMSU student research outlines problems in private immigration detention facilities


Out of work during the pandemic, Riverside woman starts charcuterie business, Mel’s Boozy Bites


10 rock stars with impressive college degrees


Tags
Cal Poly Pomona, dodger stadium, Dodgers, Don B. Huntley College of Agriculture, Major League Baseball, Oscar Del Real, student, student success, Turf, turf management, World Series
About Cal Poly Pomona Feedback Privacy Accessibility Document Readers

3801 West Temple Avenue,Pomona, CA 91768

©2018 California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

All Rights Reserved