Ray Sayre and the Sixth-Inning Dance

This offseason we will be looking at the top Wahoo Wonders in Blue Wahoos history as we move towards our fifth season. Ray Sayre, our Director of Sports Turf Management and three-time Southern League Groundskeeper of the Year, gives us a look into planning each night's dance and the special bond he's created with his four-year-old daughter at the park. Click here to view the rest of the Wahoo Wonders. 

The fifth inning.

That's the answer to the most asked question I get (That and what products do I use for my mustache). When do we start planning the moves for the dance at the end of the sixth inning? It's pretty spur of the moment. As far as preparing the dances, we meet in the shop in right field during the fifth inning and spend about two innings putting something together. We can play the song back there and go through a routine very quickly.

I learn it right then. If I practiced a week beforehand, I'd probably forget it. There are times when I'm dealing with the weather that I will literally show up right before the dance and the guys will have to show me the moves right before we take the field. Those are sometimes the good nights and sometimes I can't remember what's going on, so we just kind of wing it.

I'm very lucky that my daughter Karmah is able to come out to the field and spend time with me during batting practice and games. It's really cool to see her interact with the players and coaches. Ryan LaMarre actually came up to me after talking to her and was like, 'I didn't know the warning track was pixie dust.' I look over and there is Karmah throwing warning track into the air; it's silver and looks like dust and she's just running around. It's nice to see players in a different element. When there is a four-year-old running around, they are all big kids and she loves being part of the crew.

She's done the dance with us a couple times the past two season, but the most memorable dance for me this year was when she did the 'Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)' dance. She loves it and was teaching us how to do it in the shop. She was actually getting upset if we weren't paying attention to her or doing it wrong. One of the other grounds crew guys actually had his son out there as well. I like moments like that. We spend a lot of time here so it's special when we can have our kids join us.

As she gets older, it's cool to see her take an interest in actual groundskeeping. She understands that we need to fertilize the grass so it's green and knows we need to water the dirt. 2016 will definitely be a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to it, I have plans to build her a small drag. Got any dance moves we should try?  

Learn more about the Wahoo Wonders here.