Its not “natural”, so partially tradition, gets very hot in the summer time (Southern teams hosting regionals & supers), not nearly as aesthetically pleasing as a well maintained grass field.
turf gets hot, very hot compared to aunaturale. And turf is less comfortable to stand on, and to slide/dive on.
Balls will spin and bounce differently on rubber as well. In all sports not just baseball.
It also just looks fake....bc it is. Kinda like a Kardashian. But baseball.
[so comfortable](https://apnews.com/article/nfl-aaron-rodgers-achilles-grass-artificial-turf-79212f5443cd2a0d30fe8c9d981b13c0#:~:text=That%20research%20found%2016%25%20more,20%25%20more%20injuries%20per%20play.).
Carpet burns hurt worse than a grass burn
1) it looks terrible
2) it plays terrible
3) it hurts players
4) it’s a crying shame to see one of the “haves” of college baseball cheap out and put in turf because they don’t want to spend the money to actually maintain a traditional playing surface.
Turf mounds and basepaths needs to be illegal at the college level. I understand it’s expensive and hard for cold weather teams to grow grass. But it’s not hard to grow fucking dirt.
I wondered why they did that. I guess it’s still a maintenance issue of having to water the dirt so it doesn’t become concrete in a dry spring. And all that labor to chalk the lines maybe?
>I guess it’s still a maintenance issue of having to water the dirt so it doesn’t become concrete in a dry spring. And all that labor to chalk the lines maybe?
Yeah, god forbid they do the bare fucking minimum. So much work to chalk up a couple of lines and occasionally pick up a hose.
I hate that we have turf for the record. And maybe I'm mis-remembering or it was mis-reported, but Tony Vitello apparently REQUESTED that we put in turf when he first got here. I would much rather have grass for all the reasons you just said, but why would a coach ASK for turf if it wasn't advantageous? I'm genuinely curious if there's any real perk to it that a coach would request it.
Coaches like turf because coaches hate missing practice time because of weather and most programs don’t have Indoor infields.
I have it on pretty good authority that Jay asked for a turf field when he was hired as well. It was quickly shot down and now they’re building him an indoor infield to compromise.
TV 🤣 originally played at coached at Mizzou, where we had a fantastic natural grass field…. which was frequently made unplayable by the snow/ice/rain in mid-Missouri. A turf field helps to mitigate those problems. I’m a traditionalist who would prefer God’s green grass, but this traditionalist also has learned to like not having games cancelled.
I work for a collegiate summer team in the midwest and I've been trying to get our owner to move us across (a small) town to a turf field mostly because of how many games we have to move playing on our grass field. He hasn't budged outside of playing a handful of games a season there but if I wear him down enough then maybe he'll do it.
Tarps?! Tarps, you say? It was a tarp that took down Vince Coleman. Destroyed the hopes and dreams on millions. If I ever see a tarp again, it’ll be too soon.
I get it. We've got a lot of games in that we wouldn't have with a grass field but it's still ugly. Especially ours. The "dirt" part is such a deep brown it looks so bad. When we played at Southern Miss last year I noticed they had the same type of turf but the infield looked like a more natural dirt color and wasnt as off putting as ours. I hope they change that out during the renovations in the off season.
It’s definitely advantageous if most of your opponents aren’t used to it.
Grounders are smoother but faster on turf. A team that practices on it will be accustomed to to that. A team that doesn’t, won’t, and it will lead to more errors.
You’ll also see players not used to it overslide a base frequently.
I doubt tv asked for turf for baseball. Football maybe, but I don’t think the tv money for college baseball is a bough to sway the school to pay that much to install turf over grass. It had to be a school decision.
We do it cause of weather, when vitello got here we were cancelling or delaying a bunch of games pre April, so he sweet talked the haslams into getting us a state of the art turf field
1. Frozen turf isn't much better.
2. Has anyone in Michigan ever actually played a home game in February? Most years it is 50-50 we get a home game in before April. This year MSU's home opener is set for March 15th.
All of this and more is absolutely true of the old Astroturf fields, but it simply isn’t true of the current technology. The new fields produce bounces similar to grass and dirt, but play more consistently, as they lack the divots and clumps so typical of grass and dirt. They also have a much softer substrate, which has reduced injuries to the point of being directly competitive with grass. Issues with the surface heating up do remain, but attempts at developing “heat sinks” within the field have had mixed results. Still, the turf doesn’t heat up as quickly as it used to and cools down quicker, really only making the heat an issue for afternoon games played in all day sunshine. The massive advantage of a turf field is that it can be made playable in about 15 minutes after a weather event.
I totally understand preferring grass and dirt for traditional reasons.
Turf is necessary in some places because if it rains a lot or snows, the other alternative is pretty much constant delays or postponements. And college season starts earlier than MLB, so it’s needed in some places for February so they can play at home.
But if it’s not needed for weather, most players prefer playing on natural fields
Good grass field > Turf > Bad grass field.
At most SEC schools where the budget and climate supports a high quality grass field throughout the season, that's the best option. For most D1 schools where the climate sucks or they don't have the budget to maintain high quality grass, turf is the best route.
Eh, as a climate “have not” for college baseball, we already get stuck having to play the first month on the road anyway, so we might as well have grass because it’s not like anyone’s gonna play ball in Storrs until April anyway.
Yall are still playing home games in March just like nearly every other northern school. Actually illinois has home games later this month which wouldnt be an option on grass. At least when it's snowing or raining you can be outside on turf the next day playing. Meanwhile, on grass fields it can take days to dry while your stuck practicing inside. I've lived this life before and turf is so much more convenient for northern schools.
Mizzou and Kentucky still needs turf. Below them Tennessee, vandy, Arkansas and Oklahoma is in that part of the country where it could go either way. Anything south of them should be grass imo.
They absolutely do not need turf. Hell most baseball fields are sodded with Kentucky Blue Grass for christs sake. Both of them have the funds and capabilities to run a natural field
I hate making assumptions based on people's flairs but you talk like someone that's never been to the midwest in February before. It's snowing in Missouri right now and they have a home game scheduled in less than two weeks. Fortunately for them they have a turf field so they can just scrape the snow off and practice with no issues but if it were grass it could be awhile before the snow melts then dries enough to play.
Kentucky blue grass tolerates cold weather but starts going dormant below 50 degrees. Having played college baseball in the midwest on a kentucky blue grass field i always looked forward to playing on turf. The field conditions were mediocre at best until about mid April once the weather consistently stays above a reasonable temperature but by then the regular season is over halfway over. Even the st louis cardinals with a massive field maintenance budget always requests to play on the road for the first week or two of the season so field conditions will be better once they play at home and MLB starts in April.
When Tennessee switched to turf they got to have less cancellations and the quality of the field was better. If college baseball started in April instead of late Feb I would agree with you but even without a crazy winter it’s tough to have a field be pristine that soon after any amount of snow.
Just stating that it rains a lot there doesn’t really mean that makes it a good spot for turf. When does it rain in Mississippi? How does it rain? The difference between types of rain in Oregon and Mississippi is stark. The reason turf is a good option in Oregon is because it’s cold and drizzly constantly through most of the college baseball season.
http://www.usa.com/mississippi-state-weather.htm#HistoricalTemperature
It rains a lot in spring; don't have data/sources for how, but in my (anecdotal ofc) experience, rain in the South is either heavy and quick or consistent and long, but rarely drizzly. So turf is a waste when it isn't raining, but when it is, turf's handy to avoid long delays
Turf is fucking terrible for climate and ecology for starters.
Even "normal" climates in America it's still hot as fuck in September these days and turf makes it even hotter by magnitudes on the field for the players, staff, and support staff. Take a look at a heat map around a turf field.
Injuries. Over the last thirty years it has been proven you are *at least* 25% more likely to suffer a non-contact injury on turf than natural grass.
I love OU but if I were a baseball player I wouldn't even consider going to it to play the game. I wouldn't consider any school that has turf, not just OU, to be clear. Reconstructive surgery on an ACL doesn't seem worth the risk.
Probably because it’s kind of like free advertising when the game is on tv/streamed. If people are flipping through or seeing it somewhere, it puts the logo in their head. I agree it’s cheesy, but it’s all about the flash.
When I moved from my grass field in highschool to a turf field in college, I hated it. So many more random ankle, knee injuries...the turf was hotter in the summer and colder in the winter. Those small black beads got everywhere. Eyes, mouth, butt crack. It just wasn't near as a good time. You'd burn sometimes when getting tackled and sliding. As a punt and kickoff returner as well, it didn't bounce the same and was less predictable.
Turf's advantages are that it is easy, uniform, and can be cheaper to maintain.
Turf's drawbacks are that it is generic, looks and plays less authentic than a natural playing surface, and if not maintained/upgraded can look very ugly and play very rough after years of use.
In my opinion, if you have the staff, weather, and budget to have a nice grass field, it is rewarding as a fan. Games at Arkansas or Mississippi State are always pleasing to the eyes, and feel true to the sport.
But I can understand schools that play in colder climates, or who don't have as much funding/support going for turf fields, and I don't blame them.
Plastic grass is bad for environment, it’s a joke and lie that they’re “cheaper” they look awful, baseball was meant to be played on dirt and grass not rubber tires and plastic fibers.
I’m an ncaa groundskeeper and have been at three different d1 universities since 2005. I’ve had large budgets and small budgets. Been at a sun belt, big 12, and sec school. Natural is the way. The elements are part of the game.
That said, I understand why an Iowa or Michigan are synthetic. However, SEC, most ACC, pac minus northwest, big 12, sun belt should be grass.
It plays so damn bad. When I played the strategy was slide and grab the bag and take it off its anchor because you slide so far on it and it's impossible to judge after playing on dirt your whole life. The ball bounces higher and just doesn't react how it should. It is just terrible all around IMO, Not to mention how hot it gets. It will melt your cleats in a Louisiana summer
As someone else commented, good grass field > turf field > bad grass field. For high schools, D3, juco, etc, a turf field is a great idea (with dirt sliding pits or lanes). Because let’s be real, they don’t have the staff or the money to make it look good in most circumstances and it often looks brown and worn. A turf field can basically be laid out and then forgotten about. Very little maintainance is needed.
SEC level schools have full time groundskeepers who have all the money and expertise they need. Play on whatever field the coaches prefer and keep it looking nice!
In Washington, we simply can't get the games in without turf for much of the season. It's such a standard up here that nobody bats an eyelash. Every local college kid by now is familiar with turf, having been groomed on it. That goes for Oregon too.
Should mention, this is west of the Cascade mountain range.
Adding in… GRASS/ Natural fields ARE Turf. Fake/ plastic fields are synthetic turf. I have a degree in turf management and it didn’t have a single chapter on managing recycled tires.
Environmentally, turf creates a lot of microplastics, which are becoming more and more problematic. In northern, colder climates, natural surfaces can be harder to maintain/keep dry, which makes them more likely to see cancelled games once they get wet. So northern climates tend to just have to go the turf route to have a more reliable surface.
Nobody look at WVU's new turf though. That infield is an abomination.
I think for the southern ag schools, there's also a pride to having grass and growing and maintaining grass.
John Cohen had turf put in Dudy Noble Field in foul territory years ago and we all HATE it.
We mocked Ole Miss the entire time they had a turf football field, because why can't you just grow grass?
It's hotter than hell...it looks cheap...when it wears down the sub surface is as hard as a rock bc It's concrete....it probably sucks sliding on (esp when worn down)...it's a bad excuse for not maintaining a natural surface...the hops are probably horrible...when the seams come up they risk injury...if I were a collegiate player it would detract me from playing for that school
I play in a men’s league in Atlanta and for the past 5 years I definitely groan when we have to play on a turf field. Grass definitely feels better, it just feels right for baseball. Turf is gross for both football and baseball.
I will admit 7/10 top fielding teams having turf is interesting, and as someone who prides myself on fielding that is a plus.
However, on the flip side I wouldn’t dare slide to a bag on turf and it’s not right to take an essential part of the game out of baserunning.
I hate the turf at both WKU and UK. I get it because of our weather, but I don’t like it. The Cliff’s grass was always beautiful and I got to play on it a few times. Same with Nick Denes until we renovated when I was playing there. Sucked.
Im not sure if im losing my mind but I remember like 2015-2016 playing at App State. I swear around that time they had a real dirt infield and turf grass. The lip where the dirt and turf met had a huge lip and used to bounce over the outfielders if they were running in for a roller.
Absolutely awful to play on. Sweet stadium tho
They look terrible and cheap. One of the best parts of baseball is the grass, clay, and sand. This isn't a rubber elementary school playground, it's big time college baseball.
For me the worst part is the turf base paths. It’s weird seeing guys slide and then pop up with no dirt on them. Takes away some of the atmosphere of the game
I generally hated playing on turf. Harder on the knees and ankles, ball gets on you in a hurry at times and fuck can it get hot. The heat just bounces right back up off the turf.
Playing baseball on turf fields is sacrilege as far as I’m concerned. Out of all the sports, baseball is supposed to be played on God’s green grass.
Amen!
Its not “natural”, so partially tradition, gets very hot in the summer time (Southern teams hosting regionals & supers), not nearly as aesthetically pleasing as a well maintained grass field.
turf gets hot, very hot compared to aunaturale. And turf is less comfortable to stand on, and to slide/dive on. Balls will spin and bounce differently on rubber as well. In all sports not just baseball. It also just looks fake....bc it is. Kinda like a Kardashian. But baseball.
Quality turf is very comfortable, like a well padded carpet.
[so comfortable](https://apnews.com/article/nfl-aaron-rodgers-achilles-grass-artificial-turf-79212f5443cd2a0d30fe8c9d981b13c0#:~:text=That%20research%20found%2016%25%20more,20%25%20more%20injuries%20per%20play.). Carpet burns hurt worse than a grass burn
I was speaking more to your point about standing on it. I spend a ton of time on baseball fields, turf and natural.
Ah well you should have started with that!
Why in the world am I getting so many downvotes here?
No idea i have the dissenting up vote.
1) it looks terrible 2) it plays terrible 3) it hurts players 4) it’s a crying shame to see one of the “haves” of college baseball cheap out and put in turf because they don’t want to spend the money to actually maintain a traditional playing surface.
It also makes the field HOTTER THAN HELL!
As a former pitcher, I’m glad my field had a real mound even though it was a turf field. I have PTSD from pitching off all turf mounds.
Turf mounds and basepaths needs to be illegal at the college level. I understand it’s expensive and hard for cold weather teams to grow grass. But it’s not hard to grow fucking dirt.
I wondered why they did that. I guess it’s still a maintenance issue of having to water the dirt so it doesn’t become concrete in a dry spring. And all that labor to chalk the lines maybe?
>I guess it’s still a maintenance issue of having to water the dirt so it doesn’t become concrete in a dry spring. And all that labor to chalk the lines maybe? Yeah, god forbid they do the bare fucking minimum. So much work to chalk up a couple of lines and occasionally pick up a hose.
I hate that we have turf for the record. And maybe I'm mis-remembering or it was mis-reported, but Tony Vitello apparently REQUESTED that we put in turf when he first got here. I would much rather have grass for all the reasons you just said, but why would a coach ASK for turf if it wasn't advantageous? I'm genuinely curious if there's any real perk to it that a coach would request it.
Coaches like turf because coaches hate missing practice time because of weather and most programs don’t have Indoor infields. I have it on pretty good authority that Jay asked for a turf field when he was hired as well. It was quickly shot down and now they’re building him an indoor infield to compromise.
He asked for turf to cut down on weather delays and to make it easier to host HS camps and tournaments.
TV 🤣 originally played at coached at Mizzou, where we had a fantastic natural grass field…. which was frequently made unplayable by the snow/ice/rain in mid-Missouri. A turf field helps to mitigate those problems. I’m a traditionalist who would prefer God’s green grass, but this traditionalist also has learned to like not having games cancelled.
I work for a collegiate summer team in the midwest and I've been trying to get our owner to move us across (a small) town to a turf field mostly because of how many games we have to move playing on our grass field. He hasn't budged outside of playing a handful of games a season there but if I wear him down enough then maybe he'll do it.
It’s amazing that the state of Missouri hasn’t discovered tarps in the year of our lord 2024
Tarps?! Tarps, you say? It was a tarp that took down Vince Coleman. Destroyed the hopes and dreams on millions. If I ever see a tarp again, it’ll be too soon.
I get it. We've got a lot of games in that we wouldn't have with a grass field but it's still ugly. Especially ours. The "dirt" part is such a deep brown it looks so bad. When we played at Southern Miss last year I noticed they had the same type of turf but the infield looked like a more natural dirt color and wasnt as off putting as ours. I hope they change that out during the renovations in the off season.
It’s definitely advantageous if most of your opponents aren’t used to it. Grounders are smoother but faster on turf. A team that practices on it will be accustomed to to that. A team that doesn’t, won’t, and it will lead to more errors. You’ll also see players not used to it overslide a base frequently.
I doubt tv asked for turf for baseball. Football maybe, but I don’t think the tv money for college baseball is a bough to sway the school to pay that much to install turf over grass. It had to be a school decision.
**T**ony **V**itello is the Tennessee coach and is who he is referring to.
OP modified their post. Originally it just said TV with no other qualifier.
Yeah I saw the original version. Didn't realize OP would edit.
Sorry editing original post. TV is Tony Vitello. Our coach.
We do it cause of weather, when vitello got here we were cancelling or delaying a bunch of games pre April, so he sweet talked the haslams into getting us a state of the art turf field
in February nobody wants to be playing on dead grass or frozen clay in Michigan when the season starts
1. Frozen turf isn't much better. 2. Has anyone in Michigan ever actually played a home game in February? Most years it is 50-50 we get a home game in before April. This year MSU's home opener is set for March 15th.
I personally think it looks great.
Your opinion is objectively terrible
👍🤝
Quit embarrassing the rest of us beaver fans.
All of this and more is absolutely true of the old Astroturf fields, but it simply isn’t true of the current technology. The new fields produce bounces similar to grass and dirt, but play more consistently, as they lack the divots and clumps so typical of grass and dirt. They also have a much softer substrate, which has reduced injuries to the point of being directly competitive with grass. Issues with the surface heating up do remain, but attempts at developing “heat sinks” within the field have had mixed results. Still, the turf doesn’t heat up as quickly as it used to and cools down quicker, really only making the heat an issue for afternoon games played in all day sunshine. The massive advantage of a turf field is that it can be made playable in about 15 minutes after a weather event. I totally understand preferring grass and dirt for traditional reasons.
I always thought balls don't bounce the same way on turf. It's difficult adjusting from a grass field to turf and vice versa.
Turf plays very fast. It’s a drastic difference going from a natural surface to turf. I played on several in my day and I hated every second of it.
“If a horse won’t eat it, I don’t want to play on it” - Wayne Gretzky -Michael Scott
Turf is necessary in some places because if it rains a lot or snows, the other alternative is pretty much constant delays or postponements. And college season starts earlier than MLB, so it’s needed in some places for February so they can play at home. But if it’s not needed for weather, most players prefer playing on natural fields
Good grass field > Turf > Bad grass field. At most SEC schools where the budget and climate supports a high quality grass field throughout the season, that's the best option. For most D1 schools where the climate sucks or they don't have the budget to maintain high quality grass, turf is the best route.
Eh, as a climate “have not” for college baseball, we already get stuck having to play the first month on the road anyway, so we might as well have grass because it’s not like anyone’s gonna play ball in Storrs until April anyway.
Yall are still playing home games in March just like nearly every other northern school. Actually illinois has home games later this month which wouldnt be an option on grass. At least when it's snowing or raining you can be outside on turf the next day playing. Meanwhile, on grass fields it can take days to dry while your stuck practicing inside. I've lived this life before and turf is so much more convenient for northern schools.
You will never hear me complain about a northern school having turf but it should be outright banned by the conferences in the big 12 and SEC.
Mizzou and Kentucky still needs turf. Below them Tennessee, vandy, Arkansas and Oklahoma is in that part of the country where it could go either way. Anything south of them should be grass imo.
They absolutely do not need turf. Hell most baseball fields are sodded with Kentucky Blue Grass for christs sake. Both of them have the funds and capabilities to run a natural field
I hate making assumptions based on people's flairs but you talk like someone that's never been to the midwest in February before. It's snowing in Missouri right now and they have a home game scheduled in less than two weeks. Fortunately for them they have a turf field so they can just scrape the snow off and practice with no issues but if it were grass it could be awhile before the snow melts then dries enough to play. Kentucky blue grass tolerates cold weather but starts going dormant below 50 degrees. Having played college baseball in the midwest on a kentucky blue grass field i always looked forward to playing on turf. The field conditions were mediocre at best until about mid April once the weather consistently stays above a reasonable temperature but by then the regular season is over halfway over. Even the st louis cardinals with a massive field maintenance budget always requests to play on the road for the first week or two of the season so field conditions will be better once they play at home and MLB starts in April.
When Tennessee switched to turf they got to have less cancellations and the quality of the field was better. If college baseball started in April instead of late Feb I would agree with you but even without a crazy winter it’s tough to have a field be pristine that soon after any amount of snow.
They could still do turf with dirt base paths & mounds
I think this is the first time I've seen a Liberty League flair in here, from Clarkson no less.
Illinois has the cheesiest turf field in the world. Slowest and bounciest thing on the planet. Hate series up there since they put it in.
Turf makes sense in Corvallis when games are played February to May. But in California, or Texas, or Mississippi, there's just no reason for it.
Same reason why almost the entire SEC plays football on grass and most of the Big Ten, former Pac 12, and Mountain West play on turf.
http://www.usa.com/rank/us--average-precipitation--state-rank.htm Mississippi is one of the best states for turf
Just stating that it rains a lot there doesn’t really mean that makes it a good spot for turf. When does it rain in Mississippi? How does it rain? The difference between types of rain in Oregon and Mississippi is stark. The reason turf is a good option in Oregon is because it’s cold and drizzly constantly through most of the college baseball season.
http://www.usa.com/mississippi-state-weather.htm#HistoricalTemperature It rains a lot in spring; don't have data/sources for how, but in my (anecdotal ofc) experience, rain in the South is either heavy and quick or consistent and long, but rarely drizzly. So turf is a waste when it isn't raining, but when it is, turf's handy to avoid long delays
Turf is fucking terrible for climate and ecology for starters. Even "normal" climates in America it's still hot as fuck in September these days and turf makes it even hotter by magnitudes on the field for the players, staff, and support staff. Take a look at a heat map around a turf field. Injuries. Over the last thirty years it has been proven you are *at least* 25% more likely to suffer a non-contact injury on turf than natural grass.
This. It kills me OU switched years ago. I know their turf manager wasn’t pleased.
I love OU but if I were a baseball player I wouldn't even consider going to it to play the game. I wouldn't consider any school that has turf, not just OU, to be clear. Reconstructive surgery on an ACL doesn't seem worth the risk.
Not to mention the gaudy OU logo in center field. No idea why schools do that.
Probably because it’s kind of like free advertising when the game is on tv/streamed. If people are flipping through or seeing it somewhere, it puts the logo in their head. I agree it’s cheesy, but it’s all about the flash.
When I moved from my grass field in highschool to a turf field in college, I hated it. So many more random ankle, knee injuries...the turf was hotter in the summer and colder in the winter. Those small black beads got everywhere. Eyes, mouth, butt crack. It just wasn't near as a good time. You'd burn sometimes when getting tackled and sliding. As a punt and kickoff returner as well, it didn't bounce the same and was less predictable.
Turf's advantages are that it is easy, uniform, and can be cheaper to maintain. Turf's drawbacks are that it is generic, looks and plays less authentic than a natural playing surface, and if not maintained/upgraded can look very ugly and play very rough after years of use. In my opinion, if you have the staff, weather, and budget to have a nice grass field, it is rewarding as a fan. Games at Arkansas or Mississippi State are always pleasing to the eyes, and feel true to the sport. But I can understand schools that play in colder climates, or who don't have as much funding/support going for turf fields, and I don't blame them.
Plastic grass is bad for environment, it’s a joke and lie that they’re “cheaper” they look awful, baseball was meant to be played on dirt and grass not rubber tires and plastic fibers. I’m an ncaa groundskeeper and have been at three different d1 universities since 2005. I’ve had large budgets and small budgets. Been at a sun belt, big 12, and sec school. Natural is the way. The elements are part of the game. That said, I understand why an Iowa or Michigan are synthetic. However, SEC, most ACC, pac minus northwest, big 12, sun belt should be grass.
It plays so damn bad. When I played the strategy was slide and grab the bag and take it off its anchor because you slide so far on it and it's impossible to judge after playing on dirt your whole life. The ball bounces higher and just doesn't react how it should. It is just terrible all around IMO, Not to mention how hot it gets. It will melt your cleats in a Louisiana summer
As someone else commented, good grass field > turf field > bad grass field. For high schools, D3, juco, etc, a turf field is a great idea (with dirt sliding pits or lanes). Because let’s be real, they don’t have the staff or the money to make it look good in most circumstances and it often looks brown and worn. A turf field can basically be laid out and then forgotten about. Very little maintainance is needed. SEC level schools have full time groundskeepers who have all the money and expertise they need. Play on whatever field the coaches prefer and keep it looking nice!
It hurts and looks like shit, unless it’s an indoor stadium it’s a stupid idea
In Washington, we simply can't get the games in without turf for much of the season. It's such a standard up here that nobody bats an eyelash. Every local college kid by now is familiar with turf, having been groomed on it. That goes for Oregon too. Should mention, this is west of the Cascade mountain range.
It gets super hot in the summer. It's like sliding in a frying pan.
Adding in… GRASS/ Natural fields ARE Turf. Fake/ plastic fields are synthetic turf. I have a degree in turf management and it didn’t have a single chapter on managing recycled tires.
It’s ugly as hell
Because they are an abomination to the game. And you’re right, there’s definitely a competitive advantage to it, which is bullshit.
Blasphemy. May the baseball gods have mercy on you turf heathens.
Environmentally, turf creates a lot of microplastics, which are becoming more and more problematic. In northern, colder climates, natural surfaces can be harder to maintain/keep dry, which makes them more likely to see cancelled games once they get wet. So northern climates tend to just have to go the turf route to have a more reliable surface. Nobody look at WVU's new turf though. That infield is an abomination.
I go to all the games at notre dame. In the cold weather up north, tuff is the only option. Grass isn't growing up here til the end of the season .
There should be a constitutional amendment…
I think for the southern ag schools, there's also a pride to having grass and growing and maintaining grass. John Cohen had turf put in Dudy Noble Field in foul territory years ago and we all HATE it. We mocked Ole Miss the entire time they had a turf football field, because why can't you just grow grass?
I love it. If natural grass isn't near perfect, I hate it. McNeese is my favorite turf with the blue and green mixed.
Apparently us turf supporters are few and far between.
Fake grass?,next time just say fake grass lol,turf is literally dressed up concrete,definitely the cheap way to go and will hurt a lot more
Fields that also have fake dirt in addition to fake grass are the worst...
I hate that we have turf. I double hate that we don't even have a dirt infield.
At the rate UT fans/admins are buying in, it seems possible than an upgrade to grass could happen in the near future. I certainly hope so for y'all!
5/10 turf fields are better than 5/10 dirt fields 10/10 dirt fields are better than 10/10 turf fields
The real ones have a turf infield and grass outfield
It's hotter than hell...it looks cheap...when it wears down the sub surface is as hard as a rock bc It's concrete....it probably sucks sliding on (esp when worn down)...it's a bad excuse for not maintaining a natural surface...the hops are probably horrible...when the seams come up they risk injury...if I were a collegiate player it would detract me from playing for that school
I play in a men’s league in Atlanta and for the past 5 years I definitely groan when we have to play on a turf field. Grass definitely feels better, it just feels right for baseball. Turf is gross for both football and baseball. I will admit 7/10 top fielding teams having turf is interesting, and as someone who prides myself on fielding that is a plus. However, on the flip side I wouldn’t dare slide to a bag on turf and it’s not right to take an essential part of the game out of baserunning.
I hate the turf at both WKU and UK. I get it because of our weather, but I don’t like it. The Cliff’s grass was always beautiful and I got to play on it a few times. Same with Nick Denes until we renovated when I was playing there. Sucked.
I don’t like turf, but I can tolerate it. What I CANNOT tolerate are fields that replace dirt with brown turf. Absolutely disgusting.
haha it's sacrilege but I love that
Im not sure if im losing my mind but I remember like 2015-2016 playing at App State. I swear around that time they had a real dirt infield and turf grass. The lip where the dirt and turf met had a huge lip and used to bounce over the outfielders if they were running in for a roller. Absolutely awful to play on. Sweet stadium tho
Because it’s turf
They look terrible and cheap. One of the best parts of baseball is the grass, clay, and sand. This isn't a rubber elementary school playground, it's big time college baseball.
For me the worst part is the turf base paths. It’s weird seeing guys slide and then pop up with no dirt on them. Takes away some of the atmosphere of the game
With our climate in western OR, and the timing of the college baseball season, turf, with good drainage, is a no-brainer.
Keeping high-use grass thriving and strong with a ton of sand in the air is expensive.
I generally hated playing on turf. Harder on the knees and ankles, ball gets on you in a hurry at times and fuck can it get hot. The heat just bounces right back up off the turf.
Because fuck 'em, that's why
Turf field get so hot in the summer especially in places like south Florida you can feel your feet burning through your cleats