CHICAGO — Nevest Coleman looked around the Chicago White Sox ballpark in wonder as he walked down the third-base line.

Flanked by two colleagues, Harry Smith and Jerry Powe, Coleman marveled at how much the stadium had changed since 1994, when he last worked for the team. As he took in the sights, legendary head groundskeeper Roger “The Sodfather” Bossard came over and embraced Coleman in a quick hug.

“I saved your spot for you,” Bossard said. “I knew you’d be back.”

And he told him, “Just remember, I’m counting on you to help me with that tarp, too.”

“I’m ready,” Coleman replied.

Coleman’s first day back at work Monday could not have been more remarkable. He had been on the White Sox groundskeeping crew in 1994 when, at age 25, he was charged with a heinous rape and murder.

He spent the next 23 years behind bars until DNA evidence led prosecutors to vacate Coleman’s conviction in November 2017, leading to his freedom. A Cook County judge granted him a certificate of innocence this month, clearing his name.

Soon after, the White Sox agreed to give him his old job back, helping Coleman realize a dream he often discussed in prison.

As Coleman approached Gate 4 at Guaranteed Rate Field, Smith remarked, “He got a little fatter, but that’s him.”

The two men hugged one another, then went inside, where Coleman, Smith and Powe shared a private moment in the tunnel leading to the field.

Back in the 1990s, the three men worked together on the grounds crew. Prosecutors pushed for Coleman to receive the death penalty after his trial in 1997, but a long line of character witnesses stood up for him at his sentencing hearing, including three White Sox employees.

Smith and Powe remain, while the other no longer works for the team. Powe is now Coleman’s supervisor.

“Glad to see him out. Glad to see him back,” Powe said. “I’m so happy for him, me and the White Sox.”

From the time he left high school, Coleman said, he has been on the job. He always wanted to be independent.

“I don’t like to ask anybody for anything,” Coleman told the Tribune last week — a point he emphasized again Monday.

Even while incarcerated, Coleman kept working, including a job making socks. Still, he particularly enjoyed his time with the White Sox and said he considered it a “family.”

“I’d wake up in the morning proud to go to work,” Coleman said Monday. “A lot of times, you get people who get jobs, you go to work, you be like, ‘I don’t want to go.’ Here, I loved it.”

His Monday morning included a flurry of interviews. He sat in the home dugout talking to reporters.

At times, Coleman gazed at the giant advertisements, the billboards, and the television in the outfield, amazed by the changes.

Reflecting on his newfound freedom, Coleman said, “You get tired sitting around the house.”

“You won’t be sitting” here, Smith replied.

After about an hour reuniting with his friends, Coleman changed into a yellow rubber suit. He put on gloves and goggles then headed outside, where Powe handed him a power washer to spray the ground clean.

The fairy-tale return for Coleman was set in motion by friends and loved ones after he left prison in November. Speaking of his plans after his release, Coleman often mentioned the White Sox.

“I want to sit back for a while, get to know my family, and when the time comes around, go back to Comiskey Park,” Coleman recalled saying.