Rogers Centre’s new turf has the attention of Major League Baseball
It’s only been three games, but already there are concerns about the new artificial turf at the Rogers Centre, the home of the Toronto Blue Jays. In the 26 years since its opening, the Rogers Centre, neé SkyDome, has gone through five different kinds of turf – from the original AstroTurf that looked like a billiards table to the new AstroTurf 3D Xtreme, which was installed this past offseason.
But the early returns have not been overly positive. The new turf looks a little bit more like real grass, but it is noticeably softer, is slowing down ground balls, and has seen some unpredictable bounces. According to Jon Morosi of Fox Sports, Major League Baseball is keeping an eye on it.
It’s very unlikely that anything would come of the “monitoring” but it’s interesting that this has become one of the most talked about issues early in the year. There’s little that can be done anyway given that the purchase and installation of the new turf is an elaborate and costly endeavor.
It’s hard to say just how much slower the ball rolls on the new turf, but it has the attention of players, as well as the league.
“There were a couple balls hit that might have scooted through on the old turf,” Blue Jays pitcher R.A. Dickey said after Monday’s home opener. “If anything I think it’s going to allow the infielders to make more plays this year. It will impact the game.”
An AstroTurf official told the National Post that the turf will firm up over time, but that may take a few more months.
“The complicated process of removing the artificial grass between Blue Jays homestands might also help to make the field play faster, he said.
The removal machinery applies “extreme pressure” to the turf when it is rolled up, helping to stabilize the rubber pellets that form the infill and flatten the synthetic blades of grass, [Kenny] Gilman said. Over time, playing on it will do the same thing.
“I think both AstroTurf and the Blue Jays feel it’s a little slower than we thought it would play,” he said. “But it’s brand new and it will definitely speed up.”
Those rubber pellets themselves have already been an additional nuisance for players. On Monday, Rays shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera took a grounder on a hop and got the pellets in his eye. While officials think it’s all much ado about nothing, it’s also just another temporary solution for the Rogers Centre.
The Blue Jays have entered a research project agreement with the University of Guelph aimed at getting natural grass into the stadium. The team aims to have grass in the stadium in time for the 2018 stadium. Until then, you might see some players put Brett Cecil’s fashion sense to a more practical use.
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Ian Denomme is an editor and writer for Yahoo Sports. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter.
