www.stma.org
fered
varieties with more of an upright growing pattern, and a
finer bladed type of turf that could handle the heat. That's why
we went with it," Klein says.
This past season, the infield was grassed with 419 Tifway
bermudagrass, at the request of the
infielder players who wanted a
shorter height of cut and a faster ball
roll on the infield. "The infielders
like it fast. The pitchers like it slow.
This year we had a better earned run
average with it fast as opposed to
when I had it taller to help the
pitcher," Klein says. "Sometimes
coaches over-read these things. In
my eyes, both teams have to play on
it. You either have players or you
don't have players."
At Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros, Dan
Bergstrom, senior director of major league field operations, says
"I'm really excited about the new zoysiagrasses."
Although the field at the park is mainly grassed in seashore
paspalum, Bergstrom has tested Zorro Zoysia, Zeon Zoysia and
L1F
Zoysiagrass in certain areas. Right now, on Tal's Hill, the
slope at the rear of the outfield that is in deep shade for most of
August and September, Bergstrom maintains 2,500 square feet
of L1F Zoysia.
"We put L1F on the hill and it has
been absolutely gorgeous. It's got the es-
thetics we're looking for. We're able to
mow it down tight under ¾-inch. It's a
beautiful color. It's a matrella with a super
fine texture. It's wear tolerant. It's been
bulletproof," Bergstrom says.
Tal's Hill gets different, more aggres-
sive wear than the rest of the field.
"When a player makes a play on that hill,
he gets there at full speed and stops at full
speed, when he is chasing the ball to that
hill. Every team that comes in does prac-
tice on the hill. The visiting center fielder will run up all over it
for a half hour before batting practice," Bergstrom says.
"Our stadium tours go past the hill; it gets a lot of foot traf-
fic. It's also the area immediately behind our stage for major
concerts. All of our power cords, and all the traffic related to
The sloping, grassed hill in centerfield at Minute
Maid Park in Houston features L1F zoysiagrass.
Photo courtesy of Houston Astros.
February 2014 | SportsTurf 21
