From: sieferme@milton.u.washington.edu (Eric Sieferman)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.baseball
Subject: Re: ARTIFICIAL TURF: EMBARASSMENT TO THE GAME
Date: 21 Jul 92 20:00:30 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Jul21.200030.825
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle

In article <92202.183405IO20456@MAINE.MAINE.EDU> IO20456@MAINE.MAINE.EDU (Ryan Robbins) writes:
>
>Since the advent of artificial turf, baseball has really gone down
>the hill. Turf hits are ridiculous! Baseball should ban artificial
>turf from being used in outdoor stadiums. It may be a bit of a dras-
>tic move, no doubt, but necessary to making the game more enjoyable
>to the fans and the players. I've never played on artificial turf,
>but I can just imagine what it feels like to make a desparation
>dive at a sinking liner after having come in from a long run. Of
>course, many artificial surfaces are also home to football teams -
>yet another reason to call for its banishment (for injury reasons).

When the M's were in Detroit recently, several batters were able
to take advantage of the incredibly thick grass at Tiger Stadium.
Is it any more "real" or "true baseball" when a player drops a 
poorly hit bunt a few feet from home plate but still gets a hit
because the grass eats the ball?  In addition, there were at least
two hits which happened when the ball took a peculiar hop when
passing through the infield.  Is this better or worse than
artificial turf?

>What to do about those teams that are housed in domes? Well, if
>aluminum bats can be made in such a manner as to shrink the size
>of the "sweet" spot and deaden the reaction of ball and bat, then
>there must be a way to soften artificial turf to the point where
>balls don't suddenly decide to launch themselves through the roof.

There is already quite a variation in bounciness among MLB ballparks.

>Why not install a softer turf in outdoor stadiums as well? For the
>same reason why artificial turf should be done away with: injuries.
>I doubt very much that a process of deadening the effects of arti-
>ficial turf would also reduce injuries and the effects of injuries
>to the level experienced on natural turf.

Maybe.  There is some indication that artificial turf is positively
correlated to certain injuries in football.  I've never seen 
similar quality research on this subject in baseball.

>I know that back in baseball's infancy there was no such thing as
>artificial turf, but let's face it: Baseball was not meant to be
>played on concrete covered with rubber and then a rug.
>Is there anyone who actually *likes* artificial turf?
>||   RYAN ROBBINS                    INTERNET:                 ||
>||   UNIVERSITY OF MAINE             IO20456@MAINE.MAINE.EDU   ||

When baseball was invented, it was not meant to be played
by blacks, either.

One of the highly desirable qualities of MLB players is the ability
to adjust his skills to the environment.  Arguing about
artificial / natural turf is no more meaningful (to me) than
arguing about which stadium has the correct dimensions.
I don't like or dislike artificial turf any more than I
like or dislike the shape of the coaching boxes.

Are we going to start referring to the "artificial" wall
in the left field of Fenway Park?


-- 
| Eric Sieferman            |   ___ George Bush                      |
| U. of W., M.C.I.S.        |   ___ Bill Clinton                     |
| sieferme@u.washington.edu |   WF_ H. Ross Perot (withdrew, failing)|
|                           |   ___ Gamera                           |