On March 8, after a 4-3 win against Texas Christian to wrap his team’s time in the Southern California College Baseball Classic in Los Angeles, Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin was recounting some of the positives he took away from the weekend, a frustrating 1-2 showing for a Commodores team that still hadn’t quite found its footing.
One was that his team played some quality competition on the road on a natural grass surface, and if that last detail sounds trivial, consider that the Commodores play all of their home games on a very fast turf surface, and to that point, they had played all but three of their games at home.
“There’s so much value to going on the road,” Corbin said. “Getting out of your comfort zone, playing on grass and dirt . . . and playing good opponents. We need that.”
While grass is the default in pro ball, playing surfaces can vary widely from game to game in college. Over the course of a 56-game regular season, a team will likely play on not only turf and natural grass, but various versions of both.
There is fast turf and slower turf—to say nothing of turf that plays like a slip and slide after a good rain—natural grass that plays more like turf, natural grass more fitting of a high school facility, and on bad weather days, natural grass pocked with divots and puddles.
In a vacuum, playing infield defense on turf is easier. The bounces are predictable and true, so players don’t have to worry about gauging hops to determine when to attack the baseball, and at least in most cases, they can play deeper at their positions, giving them more time to react to a ball hit their way.
ãã®èšäºã¯ Baseball America ã® July 2020 çã«æ²èŒãããŠããŸãã
7 æ¥éã® Magzter GOLD ç¡æãã©ã€ã¢ã«ãéå§ããŠãäœåãã®å³éžããããã¬ãã¢ã ã¹ããŒãªãŒã8,500 以äžã®éèªãæ°èã«ã¢ã¯ã»ã¹ããŠãã ããã
ãã§ã«è³Œèªè ã§ã ?  ãµã€ã³ã€ã³
ãã®èšäºã¯ Baseball America ã® July 2020 çã«æ²èŒãããŠããŸãã
7 æ¥éã® Magzter GOLD ç¡æãã©ã€ã¢ã«ãéå§ããŠãäœåãã®å³éžããããã¬ãã¢ã ã¹ããŒãªãŒã8,500 以äžã®éèªãæ°èã«ã¢ã¯ã»ã¹ããŠãã ããã
ãã§ã«è³Œèªè ã§ã? ãµã€ã³ã€ã³
NOBODY'S PERFECT
No. 1 prospect Jackson Holliday has one flaw in an otherwise airtight profile
ORGANIZATION REPORTS
At nearly every level of his professional career, outfielder Colton Cowser has taken time to acclimate. His major league debut last season was no different.
ORGANIZATION TALENT RANKINGS
For the second consecutive year, the Orioles enter the season with the best farm system in baseball.
WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN WITH NEW ROSTER LIMITS
No one can fully predict what will happen with the reduced 165-player minor league roster limits, but baseball officials weighed in with predictions for 2024, some of which we heard repeatedly.
NO MORE SLACK IN THE SYSTEM
The in domestic minor leagues creates consternation for farm directors
INTERNATIONAL TREASURES
Why MLB teams value foreign professionals more than ever
HIGH-FLYING BIRDS
Learning from past success and failure in Houston, Mike Elias and his united front office remade the Orioles into winnersâ and they got there ahead of schedule
ARIZONA COMPLEX LEAGUE TOP 10
Early promotions of star prospects led to a bit of a down season for the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League.
FLORIDA COMPLEX LEAGUE TOP 10
Even before the Rookie-level Florida Complex League season began, scouts who saw extended spring training gushed over the Yankees' talent, starting with shortstop Roderick Arias and 6-foot7 pitchers Henry Lalane and Carlos Lagrange. Outfielder John Cruz mashed 10 home runs as a 17-year-old.
SALAS COULD BE SPECIAL
When Ethan Salas arrived in the California League on May 30, he immediately displayed talent well beyond his years.