An affinity for the baseball stadium across the bridge

Local auto shop manager keeps field machines operable

Marques Hunter

of the Gateway

When local businessman Dan Kropf wants to take his family out to an inexpensive outing, Cheney Stadium is the first place that pops up in his mind.

Manager of Bridge View Auto in Purdy — down the hill from Peninsula High School — Kropf has been the maintenance machines manager for the Tacoma Rainiers baseball team for the past five years.

In exchange for keeping all the machinery equipment fueled and operable — like the lawn mower and dump trucks — Kropf gets five Gold Club season passes along the third-base line.

It’s a sweet deal for he and his wife Gina, and their 8-year-old daughter, Danielle.

It’s also a great feeling to know he can still catch a ballgame with his family. Kropf has been watching baseball games at Cheney Stadium since he was young.

“We used to go straight from Heidelberg Park to watch the games for free,” he said, noting that kids didn’t have to pay to get into a Rainiers game if they participated in the Little League program decades ago.

Now, Kropf gets to watch the games with his daughter, and she gets in for free, thanks to his labor with the Rainiers.

So far, Kropf hasn’t had to rush to the stadium for an emergency. But that wasn’t the case last year. One day, when a field worker was cutting the grass, a gas pipe ruptured and the grass burned after fuel leaked onto the field.

Fortunately, there haven’t been any disasters since.

“If they call, I go running,” he said.

With the 2008 Rainiers season in motion, Kropf has spent much more time as a fan than working. He describes his fan loyalty as “hardcore,” because they’ve gone to many of the games despite the inclement weather.

“We drove to a game this year and found out when we got there it was canceled,” he said.

Having sat through the bitter cold, wind and rain — all with little cover — Kropf said he doesn’t mind the poor weather conditions as much as most fans.

“If a game is canceled, you get a rain check and go to a different game later in the season,” he said.

With his personal life rooted in the history of Cheney Stadium, Kropf has had a connection dating to the 1970s. He remembers watching Hall of Famer Juan Marichal, who once played for the Tacoma Giants.

Other famous baseball players Kropf remembers seeing are Jesus and Felipe Alou, Jose Conseco and Mark McGwire, and one of the greatest baseball players of all time, Willie Mays.

“That was awesome,” he said about an exhibition game during which Mays played at Cheney Stadium.

Kropf said Safeco Field in Seattle is a Major League-caliber field, but Cheney Stadium is much closer — and he’s been watching baseball there for more than 40 years.

“It’s a home-style field,” Kropf said. “The fans are very close to the players. That’s pretty intimate.”

For about a quarter of the price of a Mariners game, Kropf can take his family to see the Rainiers.

August is when he enjoys visiting the field the most. A cold beverage and a hot dog is what it’s all about, he said.

“It’s just all about family,” he said. “It’s an inexpensive way to spend quality time with the family.”

A Fircrest resident, Kropf lived in Gig Harbor for 15 years in the Artondale neighborhood. After his wife got a job in King County, they made the decision to move because of traffic heading eastbound across the Tacoma Narrows bridge.

With a busy schedule at his auto shop in Purdy, there are games he’s not able to attend. But he gives about 100 tickets each year to charity or to business clients.

It’s all for the love of the park and Tacoma organization, he said.

The grass at Cheney Stadium is always cleanly cut, and the shape of the diamond and soft dirt are aspects of the scenery that Kropf never takes for granted.

After spending about 10 hours on the field machines prior to the season, Kropf hasn’t had to go to the stadium to work; just for pleasure.

Bringing out the tarp

While the weather has forced cancelation or postponement of many Tacoma Rainiers baseball games in the past, it hasn’t affected Dan Kropf’s work for the Seattle Mariners Triple-A ballclub.

So far this year, two Rainiers games have been postponed (April 5, April 13) and one suspended (April 6) because of inclement weather, according to Geoff Corkum, director of media development.

Reach Sports Editor Marques Hunter at 253-853-9243 or marques.hunter@gateline.com.