Baltimore Orioles head groundskeeper Nicole Sherry, right, smiles as she’s presented her Hall of Fame plaque and a bouquet of flowers at her induction into the Trenton Baseball Hall of Fame on Saturday night at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. Sherry was the team’s head groundskeeper from 2004-06. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
Baltimore Orioles head groundskeeper Nicole Sherry and Boomer pose for a photo at her induction into the Trenton Baseball Hall of Fame on Saturday night at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. Sherry was the team’s head groundskeeper from 2004-06. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
Baltimore Orioles groundskeeper Nicole Sherry with her son Tyson and boyfriend Kyle at her induction into the Trenton Baseball Hall of Fame on Saturday night at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. Sherry was the team’s head groundskeeper from 2004-06. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
Baltimore Orioles head groundskeeper Nicole Sherry smiles as she stands in the dugout at her induction into the Trenton Baseball Hall of Fame on Saturday night at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. Sherry was the team’s head groundskeeper from 2004-06. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
Baltimore Orioles groundskeeper Nicole Sherry, left, waves to the crowd next to her son Tyson, right, at her induction into the Trenton Baseball Hall of Fame on Saturday night at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. Sherry was the team’s head groundskeeper from 2004-06. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
Baltimore Orioles head groundskeeper Nicole Sherry listens to a video message at her induction into the Trenton Baseball Hall of Fame on Saturday night at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. Sherry was the team’s head groundskeeper from 2004-06. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
Baltimore Orioles head groundskeeper Nicole Sherry poses with family, Thunder staff and season ticket holders at her induction into the Trenton Baseball Hall of Fame on Saturday night at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. Sherry was the team’s head groundskeeper from 2004-06. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
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Baltimore Orioles head groundskeeper Nicole Sherry, right, smiles as she’s presented her Hall of Fame plaque and a bouquet of flowers at her induction into the Trenton Baseball Hall of Fame on Saturday night at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. Sherry was the team’s head groundskeeper from 2004-06. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
TRENTON — Nicole Sherry hadn’t given groundskeeping a thought until a college class trip to historic Camden Yards in Baltimore.
It was then that Sherry, a student at the University of Delaware, realized that she could marry her two passions — agriculture and sports — to forge a career.
What a run it has been.
Sherry, who cut her teeth in the industry as the Thunder’s head groundskeeper from 2004-06, was inducted into the Trenton Baseball Hall of Fame on Saturday as part of Women In Sports Night at the ballpark.
“The work I did here shaped me,” said Sherry, who has served as the Baltimore Orioles’ head groundskeeper since leaving Trenton in 2006. “Every single thing that I’ve done here I’ve taken with me to Camden Yards. Just the work ethic alone to shape the field that we had was amazing.”
Sherry began her career in sports turf management as an assistant groundskeeper with the Orioles in 2001 after she connected with Al Capitos, Baltimore’s head groundskeeper at the time, during that class trip. She the moved to Trenton in 2004 and became the first woman to lead a groundskeeping team in the Eastern League.
When Sherry returned to Baltimore in 2006, she became just the second women ever to hold the position of head groundskeeper in Major League Baseball.
“If you can see it you can be it,” Sherry said. “I think if there are little girls or women in the stands who see a female leading a male-dominated crew, you can be part of it. It’s sort of breaking that chain and it becomes more normal to see women in different aspects on the Major League or professional baseball field.”
Former Thunder general manager Brad Taylor told of how Sherry came into his office to apologize because she had the opportunity to the interview with the Orioles when the position of head groundskeeper opened up.
“You got to go take that interview,” Taylor recalled saying. “A week later, she returned to apologize again because she needed to accept that job. I’m glad she did. She’s one of the very best in the business.”
Sherry was asked what she thinks about when she looks out over a pristine Camden Yards before first pitch on any given night.
“Every day I walk out,” she said. “Even when I was here, I was proud of the product we had to provide for the players on the field. I took that with me to Camden Yards. To be able every night to leave at Camden and know that myself and my team had contributed to a win or loss for that team is meaningful.”
There’s much more than mowing grass and painting lines when it comes to groundskeeping.
“You have to love being outside and have a really good labor-oriented work ethic,” Sherry said. “You need to have a passion for science because it’s not just cutting grass and raking dirt. There’s a lot more that goes into providing a really safe and playable field for these professional athletes than something that visibly meets the eye.”
That’s what makes Sherry one of the best.
“The grass isn’t always greener,” former Thunder assistant general manager Greg Coleman said, “unless Nicole Sherry takes care of your field.”
Originally Published: August 3, 2025 at 8:00 AM EDT