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Infield Maintenance Practices Ever wonder how the pros keep their baseball fields looking so perfect? Read here for tips from Boston Red Sox Director of Grounds David R. Mellor on how to turn your field into one that not only will look great, but play well too. By David R. Mellor Director of Grounds, Boston Red Sox
The following are some basic maintenance procedures that should be used regularly, but each facility requires individualized care considering the events scheduled and prevailing weather. Developing a safety checklist used to complete daily and weekly maintenance is helpful when adding to your labor pool using coaches, parents and players to complete some of the procedures. Tools Of The Trade Equipment can be purchased, leased, rented and borrowed. It is important to know the availability of the equipment when you need it. The more use a field gets, the higher the need for maintenance and the more cost effective owning equipment becomes. Mowers - Mow when the turf is dry to prevent clumping. Mowers usually used on baseball fields can be divided into two categories: reel and rotary. By following appropriate mowing practices, either mower can produce acceptable results, provided they are well maintained. Sharp, well-adjusted blades are responsible for a quality cut with any style mower. Frayed, brownish grass that is susceptible to disease is likely the result of dull, poorly adjusted blades that tear rather than cut the grass. Have an extra mower blade on hand so you can always keep a sharp blade on your machine. After removing the dull blade, have it sharpened and ready for when the new blade dulls. The frequency of changing the blade is limited only by your ambitions. Many professional turf managers change blades or adjust them daily.Rakes and blade - A skilled operator, on a field rake equipped with a sports field package of attachments, can do the pre-game or post-game grooming of the skinned area of several fields in the same amount of time a small crew takes to do the job working with standard tools. This results in an efficient use of labor and money for facilities for many fields and events. Utility - Manufacturers are offering more attachments to increase the versatility of their vehicles. Sprayers, spreaders, blades, scarifiers, ballfield finishers and medical beds attached to utility vehicles easily justifies the investment in equipment. Patching Mound and Plate Areas A properly maintained mound and plate enables an athlete to perform to the best of their ability and not have those areas negatively effect the outcome of a game. The extra effort and pride in workmanship will help separate your mound and plate areas from the other fields. League rules stipulate height and slope requirements for the mound. The patching material can be purchased from several different companies. Pre-heated bricks can be used to prevent holes from becoming too deep in the catcher's area, the batter's box, the landing area and the pitcher's mound. Careful installation is important to make sure they are installed level and not too close to the surface, preventing them from contributing to player injury. Moisture is key when using these bricks. Have on hand: a hand tamper, broom, a full watering can, asphalt compactor or wacker, slope gauge, plateau gauge, steel measuring tape, a level, patching material: pre-moistened clay or pre-heated clay bricks. 1. Insure a good bond by sweeping the hole of fines and dust. 2. Moisten the hole with the watering can, making sure to prevent any puddling. 3. Add patching material. Compact thoroughly, adding material in two to three layers to very deep holes. Do not use Topsoil on your clay areas. 4. Do not allow the mound or plate to dry out and crack. When finished patching, water the mound and plate with a hose or watering can and cover with a tarp or astroturf to hold the moisture. Just as with the infield mix, the first watering should be the heaviest, adding more throughout the day as needed. Learn how your mix handles moisture. How much water was used, the dew point, humidity, wind, temperature, any shadows, clouds and the mix itself based on the percentage of sand, silt and clay all influence how soon your material dries. Try to have a good line of communication with all people involved with the field on how soon someone would be using it. Hope for the best, but always plan that someone may come out sooner. Be careful not to flood it and then have all your hard work ruined by the mess of someone using a mound or plate area that is too wet.5. Try to get the coaches, players and parents involved. Many are eager to help, they just need some guidance. Try to patch all areas after the games, before all that possible help leaves. This is efficient use of labor and will help with how those areas play the next day. The moisture level will be better and will enable you to have more time the following day for infield skin and edge maintenance, watering, grass care and overall field safety. Make sure all pitching rubbers and home plates are level and safe. If they are not, replace them. If you know they are not safe and in good condition, you must take action to prevent any possible injuries. Do this not only for your pride and self-esteem, but by taking action before any injuries occur, you lower liability concerns.The Infield Mix An infield that plays safe will play well. The best infield mix composition varies with each facility and players' needs. A soil sample test (available through the local soil conservation district, college or university) will tell the percentages of sand, silt and clay, enabling you to predict how the mix will react to moisture. It takes time and practice to know a field. It takes hard work, proper maintenance and water to have a great infield. Calcined clay is a nice soil conditioner. Some product names are: Turface, Diamond Pro and Pro's Choice. It will hold moisture on hot days and absorb moisture on wet days and helps prevent compaction. Incorporate it into your mix using a Lily Rotera or roto tiller, then back blade to start the leveling process. If you can't survey the field during leveling, use two strings placed back from the edge of the skin to the infield edge and space four to five feet apart to check for high and low spots. Finish by topdressing the field with approximately 1/4" calcined clay.Water is the key to every good infield. When watering an infield you must consider wind, dew point, humidity, sun, clouds, temperature, how the field reacts to water and the timing of the watering before the next game. You control the moisture. Because weather changes daily, so does the amount of water needed. Stay alert to the weather in your area. Make the first watering the heaviest, then add as needed throughout the day. Good infield maintenance provides a smooth playing surface and cuts down on bad hops. You should mat the infield daily. Grooming after batting practice, before the game and after the game add to the quality of the field. 1. Clear the field of larger stones and debris, and pull a nail drag over the skin. Keep the nails sharp and work only the top 3/4 to one inch of the infield mix to fluff up the topdressing, but not disturb the sub-soil. This will provide good footing. 2. Begin six inches from the grass edge. Walk; use a tractor or bunker rake at low speed pulling a mesh screen or cocoa mat over the skin. Prevent compaction caused by the vehicles by alternating their use with walking while matting the skin. Do not drag the mat into the edge of the grass as this could start a lip. Alternate matting patterns to maintain a level playing field. Lift the drag before leaving the skinned area so you don't pull soil into the grass. 3. Hand rake the edges. Where the Skin Meets the Grass At least twice a year edge the grass areas. A lip or raised edge can form where the skin meets the grass. Use a hose to pressure wash out any infield material from the first two to four inches of the grass edge. Stand on the grass, being careful not to erode the soil with the grass, point the hose at an angle. Work a hard-toothed hand rake back and forth, half on the edge of the grass, half on the skin to loosen the lip material. Remove the extra material using a fan rake or broom. Carefully remove only the material, leaving the infield mix in place.David Mellor is the Director of Grounds for the Boston Red Sox and author of "Picture Perfect Mowing Techniques for Lawns, Landscapes and Sports," published by Sleeping Bear/Ann Arbor Press.
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