As fans begin to pour into Fifth Third Field on April 4 for the exhibition game against the Tigers and for Mud Hens opening day two days later, they may notice the grass inside the stadium is greener than their backyards.
This is partially thanks to the warmer-than-average winter Toledo experienced, but it’s mostly due to almost constant maintenance by sports Turf Manager Jake Tyler and the rest of the Mud Hens grounds crew.
Tyler said the crew fertilizes the grass 11 months out of year, including November and December, when the crew does work on the warning track.
The crew also adds a winter feed containing nutrients such as magnesium and nitrogen that help the field “pop.”
This year, not all of the grass went dormant over the winter months, which Tyler said made the work this spring easier. He and the crew began mowing the grass Feb. 28, almost a week before their typical start date.
“It’s been really easy this year, knock on wood,” he said.
Because of the head start, most of the major work was done by mid-March, meaning the work to be done between then and the first pitch will be “fine, minute details,” such as grooming the pitcher’s mound and the infield slope, Tyler said.
While grass is what most fans notice first when walking into the ballpark, Tyler said the majority of the crew’s work is done in the infield.
“Seventy percent of the game is played on the dirt,” he said. Tyler said part of his job is working with weather conditions and scheduling around Mother Nature.
“I monitor the weather every hour of the day,” Tyler said. “You have to adapt to the surroundings.”
The field has to maintain a constant moisture level, which is always changing because of shifts in heat, humidity and rain. on humid days, for example, the dirt needs less moisture because not as much is being evaporated into the atmosphere. The goal is to tweak the field and keep it as consistent as possible for players on a day-to-day basis, Tyler said.
After 16 years of maintaining a baseball diamond, “you get a sense of how much moisture you lose,” he said. Ideally, a baseball cleat should go into the dirt and not take any chunks out with it, which Tyler tests by wearing his own and running in the dirt.
“Until you put on a pair of cleats, you have no idea how [the infield] feels,” he said.
Tyler said the red infield dirt is from Alabama and is a mixture of sand, silt and clay. In March, the crew takes the new mix and cultivates and tills it into the ground. Next, they laser-grade the infield to within one-thirtieth of an inch lower than the outfield.
“Ideally, you would be able to walk from the infield into the outfield blindfolded and not notice the difference,” Tyler said.
At night, the crew adds about one inch of water to the infield dirt, allowing it to seep in overnight and save water usage during the day. The crew also sprays the dirt with light coats of water on game days.
While many fans think they are settling dust, the truth is the grounds crew is keeping the moisture levels consistent, Tyler said.
The warning track, which is composed of crushed brick and shell stone, is watered twice a day to prevent dust. The difference in the material helps outfielders hear when they are close to the wall and adjust accordingly, Tyler said. “We have to maintain moisture in every inch of this ball park,” he said.
Tyler, a native of Jackson, Tenn., who has worked with organizations such as the Louisville Bats and New York Mets, earned the International league’s sports Turf Manager of the Year award from 2006-08 while the Mud Hens earned the Triple-A Field of the Year in 2006 and 2007.
“I know a lot of people are proud of Fifth Third Field and they bring visitors to the games and show them how beautiful it is,” said Jason Griffin, director of public and media relations for the Mud Hens.
The ballpark was also selected as a set for the film “Homerun showdown” in 2010 because the film’s producers said it “looked like a Major League facility,” Griffin said. He added that the actors from California said Fifth Third looked better than some Major League stadiums like Los Angeles’ dodger Stadium and Angel Stadium of Anaheim.
Tyler said he used to be more focused on awards and recognition, but is now mostly concerned with maintaining the field.
“I just like taking care of a baseball field because that’s the way I would want it,” he said. “I’d like the fans to take a sense of pride in their hometown.”
