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/460594
10 SportsTurf | March 2015 www.sportsturfonline.com and easier storage with bagged clay. There are many quality mound clay products on the market today for sports turf managers. Keep in mind that the product you use will gener- ally not be 100% clay. There may be some silt and sand in it as well. The materials I enjoy using pack well, but have a small bit of grit to them as well. This can help reduce slickness of the clay product on wet or dewy nights. Use clean infield conditioner as topdressing on your mound consistently. Make sure it all gets swept out of the area around the pitching rubber and in the land- ing spots after every game. Your goal each game day is to add fresh mound clay out of the bag to stress spots on the mound. Please buy some mound tarps and use them. Use them all the time. Use the mound tarp on a rainy day or a sunny day…just use them every day, so the mound keeps consistent moisture. Finally, when going into winter, insulate the top of the mound and the landing area with some pink or blue housing insulation and then tarp the mound before the first freeze. This will minimize heav- ing of the clay during winter and have it ready to go earlier in the spring. Joey StevenSon, Indianapolis Indians Mound maintenance and construc- tion is a crucial part to any successful sports field operation. Our assistant groundskeeper, Joey Gerking, oversees the mounds to ensure they are consis- tent from bullpen to game mound. Choosing the right products saves us issues down the road. The majority of our mounds are composed of our infield mix. Our infield mix is around 60% sand, 18% silt, and 22% clay. From there the "bell," the landing area and the area around the pitching rub- ber, is 3-4 inch layers of gumbo clay. This clay is >95% clay and is consid- ered a high impact/durable clay. Moisture management is the most important aspect of mound maintenance. Gumbo clay is high Field Science Building a mound By Michael Boettcher, Milwaukee Brewers Every play in baseball starts with a pitch. That pitch starts on the mound. The mound starts with us groundskeepers. The steps we take to build our mounds, no matter the level, plays such an impor- tant role in the game of baseball. Here is a step-by-step process to help build that quality mound: 1. Confirm grades/elevations/position of your mound as it relates to home plate and the rest of the field. Establish your 18-foot diameter, providing a great starting point for your build. Place forms for positioning of rubber or plateau, if available. 2. Select a clay material that best suits your field, location, level of play, ability to maintain it, etc. You need to make sure that the mound will hold up under the constant digging, landing and traffic. Clay products are gener- ally your best choice since they become firm when compacted, allowing pitchers great footing for leverage/ stability, while providing a cushion for landing. There are several types of mound clay available. In Milwaukee, we have found success using a gumbo clay. 3. Begin the build with bagged clay. Add clay in 1-inch increments. Compact by using hand tamps (ideal) or vibrating compactor after each inch of material is added, ensuring your mound won't settle after you complete your construction. Once within a ½ inch of grade, dig out the location for your rubber, place it and confirm mea- surements. Use smaller hand tools and pack clay all the way around the rubber to set it and eliminate shift. 4. Once you have your rubber set, start to shape and determine the sizes of your plateau and landing. The use of string line, forms, levels, gauges, etc., will help with the establishment and confirmation of measurements from initial build, all the way to finish product. The use of a sand/silt/clay blend material for the transitions of the mound to the grass edges can help with edge integrity. 5. Once built, confirm all measurements are correct. Adjust as needed. After you are set, you can begin with the management of your mound. With precision application of water and use of a conditioner to manage that moisture, a quality mound should be yours. 6. Dress it to your liking and Play Ball! 7. Don't forget the Maintenance! Every quality mound needs it. Patch after every use, if possible. Do yourself a favor and tarp it . . .your mound depends on it! 1. Starting the process. 2. Building the mound. 3. Reaching the plateau. 4. Almost there. 5. Putting on the final touches. 6. Stars and stripes in Milwaukee. Photos courtesy of Michael Boettcher, Milwaukee Brewers.