Baseball and Softball Fields: Design, Construction, Renovation, and Maintenance

Complete guidelines and specifications for designing, building, and maintaining baseball and softball fields Baseball and Softball Fields is a hands–on tool for everyone responsible for the maintenance and management of baseball and softball facilities, including new construction and reconstruction projects. Packed with in–depth material on the design, construction, and maintenance of baseball and softball fields, this practical resource offers real–world knowledge from industry experts, including Major League groundskeepers. Other useful information includes guidelines, specifications, and tips for keeping playing fields in top–notch condition. Leading professionals demonstrate the proven techniques and best practices they use year after year to overcome common problems, from cosmetic fixes for damaged turfgrass to spot drainage systems for wet spots on a field. Written in nontechnical language that professionals can quickly understand, the step–by–step guidelines in this book can be swiftly implemented without any background in field design, turfgrass management, or soil science. From recreational fields to state–of–the–art stadiums, coverage addresses a variety of useful topics for a broad range of ballparks, including: Stadium and field design Fences, dugouts, and bullpens Drainage and irrigation Soil selection Turf management Field aesthetics Renovation Skinned–area maintenance With material addressing all three growing zones in North America–the warm season, the transitional, and the cool season–Baseball and Softball Fields is a potent resource for builders, managers, and groundskeepers of all types of baseball and softball fields.

Preface. Acknowledgments. PART I. DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION. Chapter 1. Field Design. Chapter 2. Irrigation, Drainage, and Covers. Chapter 3. Soil. Chapter 4. Turfgrass Selection. Chapter 5. Construction and Reconstruction. PART II. RENOVATION AND MAINTENANCE. Chapter 6. Renovation. Chapter 7. Skinned Area (and Warning Track) Maintenance and Management Procedures. Chapter 8. Turfgrass Maintenance and Management Procedures. Chapter 9. Field Aesthetics. PARTT III. ANCILLARY INFORMATION. Chapter 10. Fences, Backstops, Dugouts, and Bullpens. Chapter 11. Rules and Regulations. About the Authors. Index.

JIM PUHALLA is President of Sportscape International, Inc., a firm specializing in the design, construction, renovation, and maintenance of sports fields and related facilities. He has contributed numerous articles to Sports Turf magazine and received the magazine’s "Baseball Diamond of the Year" award in 1995 for reconstructing Boardman High School’s field in Ohio. JEFF KRANS is Professor of Agronomy in the Golf and Sports Turf Management program at Mississippi State University. He has conducted extensive turfgrass research, as well as developed, patented, and commercialized four turf–type bermudagrass cultivars. MIKE GOATLEY is Professor of Agronomy in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at Mississippi State University. He has conducted turfgrass research in the areas of plant nutrition, plant growth regulation, and soil modification.