SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/318924
42 SportsTurf | June 2014 www.sportsturfonline.com Field of the Year Category of Submission: Professional Baseball Sports Turf Manager: Casey Griffin Title: Director of Field Operations Education: Oregon State University Bachelors of Science degree in Horticulture with emphasis in Turf Management Experience: My knowledge of the turf industry continues to expand. With a great enjoyment for the outdoors, my interest in turf began in 2003. I have built upon my experience by continually working in all aspects of turf maintenance. I worked a 3-month internship for the Eugene Emeralds and later wrote my thesis based on that experience. While attending OSU, I worked on their athletic grounds, primarily focusing on their baseball, softball and soccer facilities. Immediately after graduating in 2008, I came to Albuquerque and have worked my way from graduate intern to management to now director. Through these experiences, I have learned new maintenance practices and observed different management styles that have helped shape me into the professional leader I am today. Full-time staff: Gil South Other staff: Davin Sandia (intern), C.J Gershon (intern), Guy Feltman, Jeremy Lachman, Michael Gonzales, Robert Gonzales, Thomas Nelson, Travis Stanhope, Jeremy Sandia, Quinn Padilla, Kirk Allen, Braadley Vallez, Cody Hathaway & volunteer James Keefner. Original construction: 2003 Turfgrass variety: Four Variety Kentucky Bluegrass Blend- 25% Bewtiched 25% Prosperity 25% P-105 25% Moonlight SLT Drainage: Herringbone Renovation in 2012: A complete re-sod of the field was preformed, as well as changing the existing grade of a ½% crown on the infield to a flat grade. The outfield was not "re-graded" although it was herigated and worked many directions. In addition, portions of the irrigation system were redesigned. Along with the removal of the game mound, approximately 2" (140 ton) of infield mix material was removed from the existing dirt playing surface. Since being built in 2003, the bluegrass varieties began to colonize and Poa annua had taken over approximately 50-60% of the grass surface, which resulted in a weakening root system and undesirable aesthetics. This rectified poor playability and player safety that could no longer be overlooked. Due to heavily ramped grass edge to clay surface transitions, it became necessary to remove/drop our infield mix playing surface 2" in order to tie in our new short cut bluegrass sod to a seamless infield skin playing surface. The ½% crown on the infield was eliminated and laser graded to a flat surface to remediate the feeling of the pitchers throwing uphill. Although the rubber sat at 10" above home plate, the crown of the infield and numerous re-sods in front of the mound gave the perception that the rubber was in fact lower than regulation standards. The sideline irrigation zone was split to allow for flexibility in watering times considering shade and sun issues that varied through the year. For example, in late fall and winter our first base sideline was often frozen over, or overwatered, in order for the 3rd base sideline to receive adequate moisture. An additional zone was also added to the infield irrigation sys- tem. Previously, there were four Hunter I 40 heads, one on each side of the infield, which resulted in poor distribution uniformity, excess overlap, and frequent puddling on skinned areas due to high spray volume. To remediate this issue, I replaced the four I-40's with four I-20's and added three I-20's to the new zone. This allowed for excellent distribution of water, while eliminating all overlap and puddling issues on skinned areas. Although the I-20's were more susceptible to drift, the amount of time spent hand watering the infield on windy days was minimal in comparison to time spent constantly repairing puddled up skin areas. ISoTopeS park, albuquerque, New Mexico