Yearout Makes Move to the Majors

SPOKANE, Wash. - Spokane Indians Head Groundskeeper David Yearout is making the leap from Short Season-A baseball to Major League Baseball with his recent hiring by the Philadelphia Phillies to work full-time on the grounds crew. With the announcement, Yearout becomes the third former Spokane Indians groundskeeper to work at the Major League level.

A two-time Sports Turf Manager of the Year at the Short Season-A/Rookie classification of Minor League Baseball, Yearout joins former Indians staffers Chad Mulholland and Joe Hill in the Major Leagues. Mulholland is currently the Director of Grounds for the Miami Marlins while Hill, the 2007 recipient of the Sports Turf Manger of the Year award, recently accepted a position as the Manager of Grounds for the Triple-A Reno Aces following two years as an Assistant Groundskeeper with the New York Mets.

"I'm excited for the opportunity the Phillies have given me and know none of this would be possible without the experience I gained during my time with the Indians organization," said Yearout. "I've learned so much from guys such as Tony Lee during the last five years and I'm really going to miss Spokane, Avista Stadium, and all of the people I've met and had the pleasure to work with there."

Lee, who originally hired Yearout, first joined the Indians in 1996 and served as the head groundskeeper at Avista Stadium from 1998-2001, 2005-2006, and 2011-2012. He still serves as a field turf and grounds consultant for the Indians today.

Yearout, 24, recently completed his fifth season with the Indians and his second season as the head groundskeeper. He started with the Indians in 2011 as an intern before joining the crew on a full-time basis in 2012.

"David has done a great job of carrying on the tradition of making Avista Stadium one of the greatest facilities to play a game at any level," said Indians Vice President and General Manager Chris Duff. "David's journey is another of the many great personnel success stories within the Indians organization and we're very excited to see him take this next step in his career."

A 2014 graduate of Washington State University with a bachelor's degree of science in integrated plant management, Yearout is the first Spokane groundskeeper to stake claim to back-to-back national awards for a storied groundscrew that has won the Northwest League Field of the Year award for 11 consecutive years and 17 times in the last 19 years.

About the Indians

The Indians are the Short Season Class "A" affiliate for the Texas Rangers. Ticket Packages and Group Areas for the 2016 Spokane Indians season are now available! Click here to view the 2016 schedule. For more information, please visit www.spokaneindians.com or call (509) 343-OTTO (6886). Parking at all Spokane Indians games is FREE!