Photo Credit: Scott Bills
As a Certified Sports Field Manager, I consult with dozens of municipalities, schools, and private sports organizations each year regarding problems with ball fields. If I only had a nickel for every time I heard, “My infield mix doesn’t dry out,” ‘My infield mix turns to concrete in the summer,” “My infield mix is like a sand box,” or “How do I keep weeds from growing in my infield?” Sound familiar?
Despite all of the inventions and historic moments in the last century—curing polio, sending a man to the moon, developing the Internet—no one has determined what makes a quality infield mix.
In 2007, two major-league baseball head-groundskeepers had serious problems with their infield skin surfaces. After calling most of the major manufacturers of infield materials, the only answer was to completely tear out the mix and start from scratch. Unfortunately, time and expense didn’t allow for that option. Convinced they could somehow salvage or “amend” the mix they already had, they continued their inquiries. The symptom of both fields was “chunking out.” In other words, the infields would not stay together without a lot of moisture. Their experiences working with many materials told both groundskeepers they needed more clay.