Fenway’s Mr. Fix-It Keeps The Old Ballpark Looking Like New
Donnie Gardiner doesn’t like to waste time. Not with the Red Sox home opener fast approaching.
After offering a quick greeting at Gate D — “C’mon in. Welcome to Fenway Park,” he says — he rushes off to the visitors’ clubhouse. Gardiner walks and talks.
“We have city inspections we have to worry about,” he says. “We have construction we have to finish up. We have just all kinds of things going on right now.”
When you step into the visitors’ clubhouse, you see and hear what he means. Workers are installing walls, putting ceilings back together, painting, sanding, sawing and hammering. And Gardiner oversees all the action.
The toughest job at Fenway — and, arguably, in all of Major League Baseball — might belong to Gardiner. He’s Fenway’s facilities superintendent. That means he makes sure the oldest pro ballpark stays standing and keeps running smoothly.