Walking the field

[Steve M]

For high school or college ball, I walk the field before every game - or the first game of a double header.
For summer ball, I walk the field before my first game of the day.
For tournaments, I walk the field before my first game of the day.

There's too much grief that can be prevented from coming back to bite me for me not to walk the field. I'll sometimes find bottles or broken glass. I've had to get the grounds crew to fix a wrong length base setup. It also lets me check to see what shape a fence is in - if it's there.

And then at the pre-game, I do the ground rules, not the home coach.

Part of the reason is to prevent problems. Another large part of the reason is appearance - I want the coaches & players to know things will be done right.