Playing baseball on turf
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Diamond dirt and grass are such a big part of the baseball experience for me. I was oblivious that people are playing on turf. Blew my mind a little bit. Especially the dirt parts actually being turf.
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@approxinfinity it’s the beginning of the apocalypse
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Grass is on the way back, I’m not sure more than a couple MLB teams use an artificial surface. I know it’s better for injury prevention to play on grass. It’s just expensive to maintain so especially at the college level artificial surfaces are more common.
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Went to a semi pro game in North Carolina last summer with my son and turf no dirt. Couldn’t understand it myself but I guess that’s just how it is places. At least the players and such were nice after the game let my son run the bases, take photos and such. He enjoyed it
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Turf is cheaper to maintain over a long period of time so in places that are already strapped for cash, it’s a money saver. Since most college baseball programs operate in the red, it makes financial sense to do so. A lot of youth leagues do as well because of heavy usage their fields endure.
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No water in the Midwest!
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Whilst living in Louisiana our town had a little league complex with 4 turf fields. While i bristled as a tax payer I soon saw the park filled nearly year round with tournaments. Friday night to Sunday evening. Restaurants and hotels filled. Lots of money coming into the town. But in the majors, grass is what it should be.
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Turf is better for places they can’t maintain the fields. Which is honestly most places that aren’t a professional ball club.
When I was playing high school ball, our lip from the grass to the dirt was so gnarly that a hard hit ground ball could literally hop over the 3rd baseman’s head. It was a total liability.
I want to say one of the Lawrence High Schools keeps dirt around the bases still so sliding isn’t as dangerous.
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Dirt around the bases like 80s royals baseball. It works, but man it’s ugly! Full turf is akin to playing basketball on a carpeted floor or a rubber court. It isn’t the quite the same.
