LITTLE FALLS, N.Y. (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY) – The world’s greatest baseball players converged on Miami in mid-March for the World Baseball Classic, an international tournament likened to the World Cup but for baseball, to see which country reigns supreme on the global stage. While the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout and Randy Arozarena were putting in their best effort to bring home the trophy, behind the scenes there was a lot of work being done to make sure that they had their chance to play in front of the most people to ever watch a game of baseball.

Former Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs and current Miami Marlins grounds crew member Tom Campione was instrumental in that pursuit, working 18-hour days to make sure that the field at loanDepot Park was in pristine condition for the best players in the world. Campione spent over 20 years maintaining Veteran’s Memorial Park in Little Falls before moving to Miami to take a groundskeeper position with the Major League Baseball franchise there, where his primary responsibilities include maintaining the home dugout.

The Marlins began their season on Thursday, MLB’s Opening Day, with a loss to the New York Mets, 5-3.