Royals Fever: A "Grass Roots" Perspective from Monroe City native/KC Royals Groundskeeper Curt Mayes

The Tri States own "Sultan of Sod" puts his work on display for the nation to see during the ALCS

Monroe City native Curt Mayes is now in his eighth season as a groundskeeper with the Kansas City Royals....but is just now experiencing his first ever MLB Postseason on the job. /KHQA Sports File

ROYALS FEVER: A "GRASS ROOTS" PERSPECTIVE OF THE ALCS WITH MONROE CITY NATIVE/KC ROYALS GROUNDSKEEPER CURT MAYES

For the first eight years of his career, Monroe City native Curt Mayes was a little like the CPA who was told to go ahead and sit out Tax Season.

You see, his employer, the Kansas City Royals had this nagging thirty year inability to play their way into a postseason...which left our guy Curt, a rising young groundskeeper, with little more to do in October than watching the unused grass grow at Kauffman Stadium.

Business has, as you might expect,picked up considerable for Curt and crew.

Preparing The K for an All Star Game in 2012may have been Curt'sprevious career highlight, butit is a whole new ballgame now.

Curt Mayes via Phone: "This week we will have the ALCS Game Number Three on Monday. Major League Baseball umpires will come out Monday Morning and inspect all our mounds to make sure the slopes are correct, that we measured bases. We will do all that. And then on top of that is, we also have to paint all the logos. We want the outfield, all the grass and everything, to be perfect. There's much more that goes into it just because everyone is watching."

Since 2007, Kauffman Stadium has been Curt Mayes' everyday office. But until now, he's never gotten a chance to experience this place...or this city through this kind of postseason prism.

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Royals Fever: A "Grass Roots" Perspective from Monroe City native/KC Royals Groundskeeper Curt Mayes