I've been watching my son play a lot of Karl Young games this summer at U of H, and I have to say it is an impressive field. The games are in the evening so it's hard to get a feel for how hot the field would be in a daytime game, but for evening games the field temperature seems fine.

However a late season emergency edict from U of H points to the shortcomings of a turf field. Apparently the (roughly) 56 innings of baseball a week has resulted in a fear of significant damage to the field from metal cleats, especially in the batter's box. The use of metal cleats was immediately forbidden, which sent fielders scrambling to find turf or non-metal cleats. Pitchers could continue to use metal.

Needless to say, many weren't able or interested in finding acceptable shoes for the few remaining games and chose to play in regular athletic shoes with the predictable slipping and increased sliding over bases. A single turned into a Little League homerun in one of our games when both fielders slipped attempting to get the ball.

Not criticizing the field, or U of H's decision to protect their investment, but this points out that baseball should be played on a good grass field, as God intended. Or at the very least, keep dirt around the bases.

Who knew that synthetic fields, prized for the alleged durability and easy maintenance, require special restrictions on shoes?

(07-31-2014 02:02 PM)louismcc Wrote:  Not criticizing the field, or U of H's decision to protect their investment, but this points out that baseball should be played on a good grass field, as God intended. Or at the very least, keep dirt around the bases.

The red bases decision still baffles me. Not sure what the reasoning behind it was, but aesthetics aside, it seems to fail on every level related to game play.

On a side note, you can see the jarring red on the field from 10000 feet up