Feature

Maintaining Synthetic Turf Ballfields

By Arthur Eddy, ASLA, LEED AP

It’s winter now and the switch over from fall to spring sports in the Northeast starts with the winter freeze breaking and players anxious to get out of the house and play. It also means it’s time for baseball and softball. Over the past few years there has been an influx of synthetic turf baseball and softball fields due to the ability to play in inclement weather. The growing popularity of these two sports being played on synthetic turf as well as the addition of overlays of multi-use sports poses new challenges for sports turf managers. These fields have different wear patterns and require different attention than a typical multi-use field.

Pitcher Mounds

Baseball and softball pitcher mounds come in all sizes and shapes with synthetic turf:

1. A clay mound can be formed with curb and infield mix. While these mounds are great for the pitcher, the material also migrates into the turf which can cause problems. The pitcher is constantly walking towards home dragging infield mix into the synthetic turf. That infield mix will get down into the fiber and will become compacted and create a very hard surface in front of the pitcher that can impact how the ball is played at the mound. Once this area is heavily compacted, there is no other option but to replace the turf in that area.

Synthetic Baseball Field

2. A portable mound. Portable mounds can be covered with synthetic turf and can be moved to allow for the rest of the field to be opened for play, but the pitching surface is somewhat counterintuitive to how synthetic turf performs. The pitcher wants to dig in in front of the rubber and as they go through their motion, push off and drive off the rear foot, putting force down on the forward foot which is going to move infill and create stress on the synthetic fiber. This leads to the breakdown of the fiber down to backing in front of the pitcher’s rubber and the landing area of the pitcher’s foot. These areas need to be replaced typically every other year. Because these areas need to be replaced regularly, having an attachment system like Velcro hook can ease the replacement but getting the Velcro to adhere to the mound or new turf will need to be carefully installed and monitored during the season.

Batter’s Box

The batter’s box is another highly impacted area on the field. You typically see a lot of right-handed batters with a smaller number of left-handed batters thus causing the right-handed batter’s box to wear out prior to the left-handed batter’s box. Adding infill will help to slow the breakdown of synthetic fiber in this area, but the wear is inevitable. Batters want to dig their cleats into the surface, stressing the fiber and displacing infill.

This area also gets wear from the area behind home plate by the catcher and the umpire being crouched in a tight area. You have two people on the field that are digging in with the intensity of a goalie in lacrosse creating stress on the fiber. This area will need to be constantly addressed with infill and if allowed, hitting off mats during practice will help to reduce the stress on the fiber.

Baseball Home Plate

Bases

The other places that you will see a high amount of wear are just off the bases. The first base lead off area has the first baseman playing in that area as well as the runner leading off. An arc around first base at about three to four feet will start to wear down. The second base is the sliding area. This area sees more sliding than other areas on the field so the infill is typically pushed out of that area and can be so much so that you will get down to fiber. Third base in the sliding area will also see a higher volume of wear. The area sees runners sliding into third but also have the third baseman typically playing in that area. These areas need infill added on a regular basis to reduce the possibility of premature fiber breakdown.

Permanent mound with breakdown

Infield

Lastly, unlike most rectangular playing surfaces, baseball and softball have areas that play differently. Infields do not want to play the same as grass areas so sports turf managers need to spend more time looking at the mixes of the infill they are putting in the field. Mixing infill with different amounts of sand is critical to match the intention of the playing surface. Balancing infill mixes with sand can help to keep consistency with how the ball reacts with the synthetic turf. Typical infield areas are going to want to have more sand mixed with the rubber to keep the surface firmer in infield areas as opposed to the softer feel of the grass areas. As infill is added to areas, surface hardness can be tested to understand the performance of those areas. A ball machine used on the surface can also to help understand how the ball will react with the surface and the field can be adjusted to give a more realistic feel of play.

Batters Box Repair

Sports field managers understand that natural sports surfaces for baseball and softball require a lot of attention and synthetic turf surfaces are no different. Fields want to transition from firm infield areas to grass areas that are softer and provide more cushion which creates a more realistic and consistent ball play for the athlete. This is on top of the players having more aggressive interactions with the surface in smaller radius areas than multi-use fields. The only other comparison is that of the lacrosse goalie in the goal mouth. Sports managers can overcome these challenges by being prepared and having a plan including mixing different types of infills, having replacements for high-use areas and having the tools to test areas for ball interaction with the surface. •

Arthur Eddy is CEO of RePlay Maintenance in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. Connect with Art at aeddy@replaymaintenanceusa.com or (877) 641-1819.