What You Need To Do Now To Start Getting Your Baseball Field Prepared For Spring

All across the country, as the temperatures are dropping, baseball fields are clearing out for the winter. It’s the offseason, and for the next few months, players will hang up their cleats until spring comes around. However, while this might be the offseason for the players, the reality is there is no offseason for field managers. Beautiful spring baseball fields are often the result of careful maintenance during the winter.

It’s never too early to start preparing your field for baseball season. Turfgrass maintenance is a year-round job, and there are specific steps you need to take during the winter to protect your grass and ensure its health come baseball season.

Here are a few key steps you can take to start prepping your baseball field for next season.

• Roll your field: Winter frost and the constant cycle of wetting, freezing and thawing of the field can create uneven playing surfaces on your baseball field. Leading up to the season, it may be necessary to use a heavy roller to smooth the soil surface and create a better quality playing field. Ideally, you want to roll the field when it is only slightly moist, not completely saturated — as this can cause even more damage to the field.

• Address areas with excessive wear and tear: During the offseason, it’s important to focus on restoring and renovating the parts of the baseball field that suffered serious wear and tear throughout the season. Typically, the areas in front of the pitcher’s mound, along the baselines and around the arc have suffered the most wear and tear. You may need to remove worn turf and lip building in these areas, level them out and install new sod as needed.

• Use turf blankets for dual benefits: Dual-purpose winter turf blankets/growth covers offer powerful field maintenance benefits. When the temperatures drop, turf blankets help protect the turf against frost, ice, snow, wind and all elements. They can also protect the grass against damage from pests and unwanted foot traffic. Leading up to spring, growth covers can warm the soil and allow light to pass through to promote faster growth and green-up. That means your field will be in better playing condition for the new season.

Baseball season may still be a few months away, but now is the perfect time to get a head start on prepping your field for the new season ahead.