We’ve come to the time of year where your fields have seen quite a bit of wear and tear. There are a couple things that we feel are important to think about this time of year: In this article, we’ll be discussing our Do’s and Don’ts for field care. Pregame Do’s Post-Game Do’s Field Maintenance…
DuraEdge becomes an Official Partner of Minor League Baseball
DuraEdge today announced a partnership with Minor League Baseball (“MiLB”) that will make DuraEdge the “Official Infield Mix, Mound Clay, Topdressing and Warning Track materials of MiLB.” With 120 teams across the United States. and Canada, Minor League Baseball’s partnering with DuraEdge, the premier supplier of infield products in North America, was a natural fit…
The History and Best Practices for Infield Topdressings
Written By: Luke Yoder and Paul Zwaska Back in the 1960’s, groundskeepers began incorporating different products into their infield skins to try to improve playability. These products were initially produced for the golf and automotive industries and consisted of diatomaceous earth, porous ceramics, and even crushed corn cobs. They were referred to as amendments or…
DuraEdge Partners with One of the Biggest Amateur Baseball Associations in the Country
DuraEdge has partnered with the Minnesota Baseball Association to become the Official Infield Material Experts for the 2023 season. Paul Zwaska, former MLB Head Groundskeeper with the Baltimore Orioles, current DuraEdge Business Development Specialist in the Midwest discusses the partnership and how it materialized: Coby (Schmucker), the DuraEdge National Bulk Sales Manager, brought this to…
A Day in The Life with Chris May at Russ Chandler Stadium
Have you ever wondered what it was like to work on a big time Division 1 baseball field? We had the pleasure of visiting Chris May, Director of Athletic Grounds at Georgia Tech to see just that. We followed Chris and his crew around to see what a typical day taking care of Russ Chandler Stadium was like.
A Fresh New Look for the Upcoming Season
The DuraEdge calcined clay line is changing. We’ve listened to our customers and helped to streamline our calcined clay offerings with a fresh new look and new features.
2023 MiLB Symposium Recap and History
In the fall of 2015, Tom Burns and Luke Yoder began discussions with a small group of seasoned MiLB groundskeepers to gauge their interest in an annual Symposium that would provide them the opportunity to gather as a group. Tom attended the first MLB Symposium in the year 2000 and every one after that until the year 2006, when he was with the Texas Rangers. Luke attended his first MLB Symposium in 2001 representing the Pittsburgh Pirates and every one after that through 2015, ending while he was with the Padres. Tom and Paul Zwaska (formerly with the Orioles) helped coordinate that first Symposium. Luke eventually took the lead and coordinated successive ones for several years following Bob Christofferson’s (retired from Seattle Mariners) lead and then passing it onto Bill Deacon (New York Mets). Attending those meetings provided valuable insights on many aspects of professional development and groundskeeping. It also provided the opportunity to strengthen existing relationships and develop new ones that would last a lifetime.
SFMA Field of The Year Clean Sweep
Every season, the Sports Field Managers Association (SFMA) organization, awards Field of the Year honors. For the awards, it includes not only baseball and softball fields from various levels, but also soccer and football fields as well. Within the baseball and softball communities, there is a Professional Field of the Year, a College Field of…
Spotlight Install: The University of North Florida
This time of year, baseball and softball are usually on the backburner. However, in warm climates things are starting to ramp up in preparations for the upcoming seasons. Our Homefield crews are spread out across the Southern and Western U.S. getting fields ready to play. One of our crews are currently down in the Sunshine State, working to help get these fields ready for the fast-approaching season. Most recently, they just finished up an overhaul at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. Their Superintendent of Athletic Grounds, Corey Levine, shares his experience:
Restoring a Piece of Baseball History
Every infield project we work on is unique. Whether it’s the people you get to work with, the location, the logistics, there’s always something special and distinctive about the projects we take on. One renovation we worked on recently outside of Detroit in Hamtramck, MI was particularly special. Hamtramck Stadium is a historic Negro League ballpark that…
Tips & Tricks for Midseason Maintenance
We hope your season is off to a great start! Even if you came out of the gate strong with a high-performing infield, it is always a good idea to take stock of how your infield is performing midway through the season. Former MLB Groundskeeper and one of our resident DuraEdge Field Experts, Luke Yoder,…
A Former Groundskeeper’s Guide to Building a Quality Infield
BY LUKE YODER Fewer rainouts, reduced injuries, reliable hops, less maintenance are all achievable in your current venue. It won’t happen overnight, but improved consistency in your field quality is possible in the near term. Getting there means getting real about what’s being done to your field by nature and your grounds crew. The next…
How to Protect A Baseball Infield Over Winter
Winter is right around the corner, and to those who reside where snow cover is a fairly regular occurrence, its doing your infield a favor. If you are above the thick red line on this map, rest at ease because you commonly experience 75 days or more of snow cover on your field, protecting your infield topdressing from being displaced.
What Infield Material You Should Use For Your Ballfield
WRITTEN BY: Luke Yoder When DuraEdge Engineered Infield Mix is properly installed it has been proven to improve safety, consistency, playability, and help to mitigate costly rainouts. It will also decrease maintenance moving forward because of its ability to eliminate migration and deliver quicker re-entry following rain events with less conditioner required. Traditional infield…
5 Tips to Prepare a Baseball Field for Winter
Your baseball or softball season is over—so do you just walk away until next spring? That would be a mistake. Successful baseball and softball field maintenance means always looking ahead, even into the off-season, and having a plan to protect your infield for next year. The late summer and fall months, typically drier across much…
How to Budget a Youth Baseball Organization – Pt.2
Written By: Paul Zwaska Managing an organization’s financials is a lot like managing a business. And it is exactly how those who run an organization should look upon that duty. Businesses and organizations are always looking for ways to grow. In most cases, that growth cannot occur without money to carry it forward and a…
How To Budget A Youth Baseball Organization -Pt.1
Budgeting… To some people, just the mention of this exercise can cause waves of panic and apprehension. But organizationally, it’s hard to be successful without one, especially if the organization manages and maintains its own ballfield facilities.
DuraEdge’s Impact on This Year’s American Legion World Series
Veterans Field at Keeter Stadium was the recipient of a new DuraEdge infield this past spring. Why is this significant? Veterans Field, in Shelby, NC, is the home to the American Legion World Series which wrapped up this past month. Recently, we caught up with Leif Hamrick, owner of Foothills Sportsturf, Inc. Leif was hired…
DuraEdge and Professional Outdoor Solutions Team Up to Fix a Field at Rotary Park (Decatur, IL)
We recently caught up with Tony Albertina, Recreation Supervisor for the Decatur Park District (in Illinois) and Andy Ommen of Professional Outdoor Solutions. Tony oversees a complex, Rotary Park, that is home to five ballfields. They were having playability issues, especially with the amount of games they play from May-July. Tony knew they needed to…
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