Update on new field turf?

[SHOCKvalue]

Seems to me you guys want what looks good and Gene wants what plays good. I'll go with Gene on this one. I think gene is making the right decision if it plays better and after all that why we field the team is to play and not just to gather and look at pretty grass. I go to see the games played and not to look at the pretty or not grass. But that's just me. I think the facility is beautiful as is and dont think the infield turf would add that much to its beauty.

I'd agree with you to some extent, except for the fact that by the time this is put in, Gene & Co. will be virtually the last holdout in all of college and professional baseball with astrotruf instead of fieldturf or grass.

The angle that Gene and yourself are supporting just doesn't hold water when no one else is saying it. Fieldturf's playability seems to work just fine for 1/2 of the MLB World Series this year, but it somehow doesn't for college ball?

Like I said I think its to our infielders advantage handling a fast infield. When we go on the road or play on slower surfaces our guys should be that much better prepared. I think that has to be Genes reasoning. Its logical in theory.

Sorry, I just don't buy it. If there were others still on the bandwagon then I might bite, but there's not. It's like being the last holdout in the scientific world arguing that the world is flat. Any advantage we're talking about here has to be terribly minuscule.

Let's just hope that through the advent of the technology associated with fieldturf, that the old school astroturf still produced has a more natural appearance today.

EDIT: Nice mature edit there while I was responding. BTW, the popular thing these days is to use rubber tires on vehicles. Personally, I'd recommend staying with the all-wood carriage wheels since they have lower rolling resistance. Who the hell cares what everyone else is doing, right?

[Hill Sitter]

To me, the turf issue was not as critical as the new indoor facility itself and the building is why I gladly ponied up some dough ( albeit a small amount) for Phase I.

[ShockerFever]

This is pretty bad.

The game of baseball was built around natural grass. That's how the game should ideally be played.

The reasons given in this thread to deny field turf is just sad and pathetic.

I'm sorry but this one is gonna piss me off for a while..

[shock10]

What you said Hill Sitter.

[SB Shock]

Like I said I think its to our infielders advantage handling a fast infield. When we go on the road or play on slower surfaces our guys should be that much better prepared.

WSU on the road/neutral field in 26 games - 43 errors (1.7 errors per game)

WSU at home in 39 games - 37 errors (0.9 errors per game)

[McShocker]

Like I said I think its to our infielders advantage handling a fast infield. When we go on the road or play on slower surfaces our guys should be that much better prepared.

WSU on the road/neutral field in 26 games - 43 errors (1.7 errors per game)

WSU at home in 39 games - 37 errors (0.9 errors per game)

On the astroturf, infielders will get to fewer balls (which means fewer chances) and will virtually always get true hops (fewer errors), so those numbers are not at all surprising. The game was meant to be played on grass, but I understand the difficulty in maintaining infield grass. However, with field turf you can have a durable surface that plays almost like grass. Gene could have ordered the field turf "closely mown" so that it would still play somewhat fast. I don't think I'll come around to the "whatever Gene wants" camp, but he's earned the right to do whatever he wants in regards to his program.

[dregn]

I grew up playing baseball on dirt infields...I think they should go to gravel, :)

[SubGod22]

I grew up playing baseball on dirt infields...I think they should go to gravel, :)

:good:

[emcfizzle]

Gene & Brandon toured some FieldTurf installations over the summer and felt that it played too slow for their style of play (more like real grass) so they opted for AstroTurf for its speed.

This has got to be a bad dream.

So we get to continue to have the playing field that's the universal running joke in the college baseball world?

There's honestly not a smiley to convey my disappointment in this news. At this point, I'm really glad I didn't contribute to Phase I.

Embarrassing...

+1. Bad decision.

[Ta town]

WTF?

WHO EVEN MAKES THAT ASTRO TURF ANYMORE?

[Shirley Schmidt]

WHO EVEN MAKES THAT ASTRO TURF ANYMORE?

Try these guys.

http://www.astroturf.com/

[rrshock]

What the heck? Astroturf has also been taken out almost everywhere because it leads to more injuries. I don't know if that was the case with baseball as much as football, but it still caused injuries.

And I guess I'm also confused with how it helps the team more. He may recruit speed, but everyone else recruits power and speed. So if this is supposed to help this team, what about in 4 or 5 years when we might have another coach that recruits a different way? Then they'll want to replace the infield again.

They should have gone with the artificial grass. It just seems that it would be a better move in the longrun.

[Wuzee]

What the heck? Astroturf has also been taken out almost everywhere because it leads to more injuries. I don't know if that was the case with baseball as much as football, but it still caused injuries.

And I guess I'm also confused with how it helps the team more. He may recruit speed, but everyone else recruits power and speed. So if this is supposed to help this team, what about in 4 or 5 years when we might have another coach that recruits a different way? Then they'll want to replace the infield again.

They should have gone with the artificial grass. It just seems that it would be a better move in the longrun.

This ain't your daddy's AstroTurf ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/13/sports/13turf.html?_r=1

[McShocker]

If we are indeed getting the "new" Astroturf, than I must eat my crow. I think everyone on here was envisioning the stuff we have now, and I think that would have been a horrible decision.

[Hill Sitter]

Good links.

Something tells me if its a new product its going to be high quality, regardless of the label. Its not like today's manufactures have a secret warehouse somewhere with scraps that no one else will buy that were left over mid 1970s parks like Three Rivers and Riverfront Stadiums.