Field Conditions Question
 

I worked on a Town field today that was nearly perfect in all respects. It was entirely field-turf with Painted lines to the poles with fences all the way out both lines. Its typically a "majors" baseball field and even had a removeable pitchers mound.

There was only one issue. When bases need to be moved to the 65' you had holes that needed to be covered. The covers were METAL and had Fieldturf glued on top!! There were only 2 covers for 3 spots. So, in the GR it was determined that the covers were to be placed over 1B and 2B leaving an exposed peg-hole behind 3B. All teams figured that this was the least likely spot for an injury to occur.

My concern lays in the fact that the darn things were metal and although they may have sat just shy of flush to the ground, the covers were a hazard on the playing field and someone could get hurt (thankfully no one did). The alternatives of leaving the spaces exposed was not an option. Addtionally, lets say there was a popup to 3rd. .. I had an exposed area the size of the base with a hole in it just waiting to eat up an ankle or a knee.

Has anyone experienced this and seeming that eveything above was mentioned in the gruond rules, if something were to happen, wouldnt it be the Towns issue?

Well, I'd say it's definitely the town's issue. However, many towns with local leagues have a little form for the field supervisors to fill out at the end of the night. One typical question is: was the field fit to play? To protect yourself, I would inform the supervisor that you'd like to add a few things to the form, and I would specifically mention the pegs and the open 3B issue. Mention that it is a liability that could result in serious injury. If someone gets injured later on, I'd say that in a courtroom, you would be covered, as you had informed them in writing that this is an issue. Their failure to remedy the situation before the next night would put them in the wrong.

However, what to do about it on the first night you encounter this? That's a darned good question. I'd go straight to the field supervisor for sure, and I'd raise hell that the exposed 3B hole on the field is unsafe. Those metal plugs, while lame, I suppose are good enough. Caution both teams during the pre-game meeting, if you have one.

Would I suspend play after the first pitch? That's a tough one. I'm fortunate enough to have field supervisors who have access to all the field equipment, including the Pro Choice field-drying stuff, base plugs, safety bags for 1B, etc. Any issues like you mentioned would be quickly remedied by me saying, "hey, guys... can you take care of this before gametime? Thanks!"

If you answer "no", the next question I would have is "then why did you start the game?"

This may sound stupid to those knowing the field issues, but why couldn't you/they just scratch up enough dirt to cover this and make it flush??

If that meant they had to dig it back out the next day, that wouldn't be my first concern.

I definitely have to pipe in on this one...

For a college summer back in '99, I used to maintain three fields every day for a local league. It was a GREAT summer job to have: getting some sun, listening to tunes, drinking some cold Cokes on a little John Deere, playing with dirt. Later that night, I'd call the games on one of the fields. What a blast for a college kid!

However, I got paid to do a job, and if this happened on one of my fields, I'd say that the town would have been throwing away its money on me. If I had seen something like this, it should have been the first thing I'd tend to. If the plugs aren't really "safe," I would take absolutely no offense if the players kind of "filled it in" for the games.

There's no excuse for poor workmanship. Improperly-maintained fields are the cause of a lot of the injuries we see, as well as a lot of rain-outs.

Speaking as a former field crew guy, if you spot these kinds of things, screw the crew. Have it fixed as you see fit. If there's an open plug, go ahead and fill it. Let the crew dig it out with a screwdriver in the morning. Serves 'em right. I've certainly done it, and I have no pity.

When in doubt of the safety of the players, DO NOT PLAY!

Would you let the players play during a moderate thunderstorm? Would you let them play with rattlesnakes on the field (no joke - seen it happen in southern CA)?

You have to think of it from a standpoint of liability. If you allow players to play in conditions where either you, the ASA or whatever association you're umping for can be held liable for injury/death/dismemberment/snakebite (as there are rules in place which allow you to stop game play), and that's something you do not want to do (and if you do...you should stop umpiring or field managing immediately).

Well, there are some that I wouldn't mind throwing out into a field of rattlesnakes, but they would have nothing to worry about. Snakes don't bite their own, do they?

They do on the ballfield!

If a rattlesnake bites Mr. B-itchy Batter, and the snake dies, are we still liable?

We had some city fields where on one of the fields the home plate was below the surface of the dirt by a good 2 inches. We played the game, but on the next business day, I called the city's park and rec department and asked to speak with the head of the department. I identified myself, stated that I was an umpire, and that I considered the condition of the field (that is, the below-level home plate) to be a potential safety hazard for young kids and requested that they do something about it.

I was corrected by my next game on that field (about a week later).

I figured that they decided that if a player was injured, they wouldn't want a game official testifying for the plaintiffs that he had warned the city of the hazard.

Was the snake on the ASA Non-Approved Snake list?

Did it pass through the bat ring? As long as it's less than 38" and weighs less than 2 lbs, 4 oz, you're fine.

Don't ask about the safety knob. Just... don't ask.

You're quoting bat standards, not snake standards. Keep reading, it's somewhere in either Rule 3 or Rule 4...


;)

Thanks all. .. .I appreciate it. .. .especially the snake humor. . . .

I must've skipped over that part. Hang on, let me whip my book out.