best playing field/worst playing field

[Seattle1]

Thanks for the link!

Are there any videos of the playing surface replacement process floating around out there?

[Goober]

Why did they have to get the White Sox crew to do it? Didn't that make the Cubs ground crew feel offended?

This is what Roger Bossard does. Even though he is a "groundskeeper," he has installed several playing surfaces around MLB, so I don't think the Cubs staff was too offended... I'd guess it's like a general surgeon having a neuro-surgeon come in for a brain anuerism.

BTW, here's a story from Cubs.com on the playing surface renovation:

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/art...=.jsp&c_id=chc

Moose

[Seattle1]

Yes they did and they used the grounds keeping crew from the White Sox to handle putting in the new field.
They are the most respected crew in the league and the guy who said that old Comiskey had the worst playing surface because of one game that was played 30 years ago was stretching at best.

Why did they have to get the White Sox crew to do it? Didn't that make the Cubs ground crew feel offended?

[Philtration]

Didn't they put a whole new playing surface in at Wrigley for 2008? Maybe that's why the Cubs did so well (in the regular season anyway)!

Yes they did and they used the grounds keeping crew from the White Sox to handle putting in the new field.
They are the most respected crew in the league and the guy who said that old Comiskey had the worst playing surface because of one game that was played 30 years ago was stretching at best.

[lollar]

Unless you have played on any of these fields there is no way to answer this.

[marlins739]

I wonder how the field at Dolphin Stadium compares to some of the others. I'm sure it gets much worse during football season, especially now that the Miami Hurricanes play there too, but I'm convinced we have the best grounds crew in the majors. Dealing with the downpours and the field conversions and keeping it always looking good is a tall order. It's the only major league field I've ever walked on before, and it sure looks nice up close. By comparison, some of the other parks always have dead spots in the summer

[soup]

Didn't they put a whole new playing surface in at Wrigley for 2008? Maybe that's why the Cubs did so well (in the regular season anyway)!

yes. They totally removed the old playing surface. They actually found the anchors for the old goal posts when they removed the dirt and re-graded the field. They put in a modernized drainage system, eliminating the big "crown" that used to make some parts of the field not visible from the dugout. I agree, it used to be one of the worst surfaces in the majors, and disease in the bluegrass made the outfield pretty spotty in mid to late summer. Since the new field was installed, I think Wrigley is on par with a lot of parks in the midwest

[jimmyjimjimz]

Best field:
Yankee Stadium

Worst field:
Fenway Park
Wringley Field

[Seattle1]

For those interested in what the most recent MLB players poll said...

Which ballpark has the best-quality playing field?

Dodger Stadium 23.2%
Angel Stadium 11.2%
Safeco Field 9.5%
Oriole Park at Camden Yards 5.7%
Kauffman Stadium 5.1%

Which has the worst?

Wrigley Field 17.5%
Fenway Park 17.1%
Olympic Stadium 13.0%
Shea Stadium 9.7%
Metrodome 9.3%

550 MLB players participated in this poll

Source: Sports Illustrated/CNN

Didn't they put a whole new playing surface in at Wrigley for 2008? Maybe that's why the Cubs did so well (in the regular season anyway)!

[sickle]

Just wanted to clarify that we are "screwed" in the fact that we are losing our beloved Red Barons.

CBP is right next to Lincoln Financial Field (home of the Eagles). I have not yet been to CBP, but I have been to Lincoln Financial, and walking by, CBP looks really nice (can't see inside, though). It is in a nice area some distance from downtown, so it's not in a bad location at all!

I would like to see a team in Vegas. Some people think they can't support a team, but I think they are wrong. Vegas is the fastest growing city in the country; it could support the nation's greatest game. The 51s might lose some, but MLB would benefit, in my opinion.

There are also the people who are concerned with the gambling aspect of it, but Vegas would have no more control over them than they would over any other team, PROVIDED casino owners and their "boys" would have no ownership in it whatsoever -- bring in someone from out of state.


Other than Vegas, and possibly the Carolinas (and even there, they have the developmental leagues), I don't know if there is another market that can support a big-league team.


Just my two pennies.

[Gjm130]

They gave up because they weren't TRUE baseball fans. How many real baseball fans did you know of before the strike that don't still love the game and support it? Where I'm from (northeastern PA), people drive for hours to go to games in Philly, New York, Boston, and Pittsburg to see games. We love our baseball. How many people from Montreal make that kind of commitment, even now without a team?

My market does have minor league ball (the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, AAA club of Philly, for one more year). When Philly goes in another direction and gets a team in Allentown, we will be filling Lackawanna County Stadium with a tenant before one fan can bat an eye over losing our beloved Barons.

Real baseball fans will never, and I mean NEVER give up on the game.

You're right...But I know that the MLB screwed Montreal by not letting us have our new downtown stadium. The fans should have come even though they had to go to that crappy old Olympic Stadium.

The same situation is happening right now with the Marlins. They struggled to get a new stadium deal and their attendance average is sinking down the toilet. It went from 26 000 to 19 000. You can see the differance.

Could you even believe that the Expos had no ownership. No TV deal. No new stadium. Nothing. How could the fans follow baseball like that.

And the Phillies, on the other hand, have good ownership a bran new stadium, succsesful team, TV deals, (You haven't been screwed)....
I heard the ballpark is far from downtown Philadelphia....is that true???
And where do you think the Marlins will land by the year 2009?

[sickle]

They gave up because they weren't TRUE baseball fans. How many real baseball fans did you know of before the strike that don't still love the game and support it? Where I'm from (northeastern PA), people drive for hours to go to games in Philly, New York, Boston, and Pittsburg to see games. We love our baseball. How many people from Montreal make that kind of commitment, even now without a team?

My market does have minor league ball (the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, AAA club of Philly, for one more year). When Philly goes in another direction and gets a team in Allentown, we will be filling Lackawanna County Stadium with a tenant before one fan can bat an eye over losing our beloved Barons.

Real baseball fans will never, and I mean NEVER give up on the game.

[Gjm130]

I guess I don't quite understand the politics of what happened. You keep saying "give us" and "make us". Didn't Expos fans have something to do with all this? I know that Loria wasn't the greatest owner up there, but heck, he did win a title in FL. At any rate, I think the Vet had a worse playing surface than the O did anyway.

Actually, in the 80s and early 90s, we drew like 28 000 average attendance. People were coming to see games. But all hell broke loose when Bud Selig announced that the 94 season was not going to be played because of a strike. The Expos were 84-30 in the 1994 season (1st in the league). People here just gave up and never wanted to come to a baseball game after the 94 season anymore.
Well, some hardcore Expo fans remained (like me). But they just weren't enough.

[E.Banks#14]

Nah, probably that ivy.

It's not the ivy that players don't like, it's what's behind it --- a brick wall.h

[RottenGazebo]

I'll bet that that the dugout, clubhouse, parking, and bathroom situations had more to do with that than did the actual playing field.

Nah, probably that ivy.