Best baseball diamonds are well-groomed ... down to the dirt

Ventura slipped on loose dirt in Japan last week and injured his ankle

April 2, 2000
Web posted at: 9:41 p.m. EDT (0141 GMT)

In this story: 'Everybody likes it different' 'Fans want to see what's going on' RELATED STORIES, SITES

NEW YORK (CNN) -- With the crack of the bat and the roar of the crowd, baseball season is back.

This year, fans likely are looking forward to the return of home run kings Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire, as well as "Ironman" Cal Ripken Jr., who's poised to pass the 3,000 hit mark.

	ALSO
Baseball - Team Schedules

But there's one important part of the game that fans may not be thinking about at all: Dirt. When Ripken, Sosa, McGwire and the other players run the bases, the dirt has to be just right, or the simplest play of the game can easily become the most crucial error of the season.

If the dirt isn't packed correctly -- if it's too loose for example -- a player can slip and fall, just as the New York Mets' Robin Ventura did last week in Japan. He slipped on the soil near home plate and injured his ankle.

'Everybody likes it different'

"Everybody likes it different," said Pete Flynn, head groundskeeper at New York's Shea Stadium. "Some like it soft. Some like it firm. Some like it wet. Some like it dry. So it's, you know, you try and satisfy everybody."

The groundskeeper's name is "Mud" to players if the dirt isn't up to snuff.

The pitching mound soil is most important to Mets pitcher Al Leiter. "You just want to be able for the mound to not kick out," said Leiter, "and make big holes, but yet for it not to get too hard, too."

'Fans want to see what's going on'

Fans may not realize it, but they -- as well as the players -- have a stake in high quality baseball dirt.

"Well, the fans want to see what's going on when a guy slides into second or third," said Flynn. "You don't want to see a cloud of dust and then you can't see what's happening."

Right down to the dirt, baseball's a complex game.

National Correspondent Gary Tuchman and Correspondent Frank Buckley contributed to this report.

For more US news, myCNN.com will bring you news from the areas and subjects you select.

CNNSI.com - MLB Baseball
The Official Site of Major League Baseball

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.