Twins getting turfed
Don?t mess with Mother Nature.
Just about every sport reflects the struggle of the athlete against his or her environment; for example, Rafael Nadal is a better tennis player on clay than on the hardcourt, and American golfers generally have more difficulty on the links-style courses prevalent across the pond. But baseball is unique among the major team sports in the amount of attention handicappers pay to field conditions.
Basketball and hockey are played in cookie-cutter arenas, while the variables in football stadia are usually limited to grass/turf and indoor/outdoor. Nearly every ballpark, though, is different, which means every game is impacted differently by its environment. Statistics on park factors are widely available on the Internet; these deal primarily with the effects each stadium has on balls put in play. Maybe we need more stats on the effects on the athletes themselves.
Luis Castillo could certainly benefit from those studies. The Minnesota Twins second-baseman is enjoying something of a revival since coming over from the Florida Marlins. After 19 games, Castillo had a career-best .436 on-base percentage. But he also missed five games due to assorted lower-body injuries, and the Twins lost all five as part of their horrible 9-15 start to the 2006 campaign. Minnesota supporters are nearly six units in the red as a result.
The fine folks at Baseball Prospectus pointed out this past weekend that Castillo will probably continue to miss games to accumulated injuries, thanks to the FieldTurf at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. It?s long been known that artificial turf is hazardous for an athlete?s health ? just ask anyone who wrecked his knees at Philadelphia?s old Veterans Stadium ? but recent technological improvements have given the sports world far better alternatives than the infamous Astroturf. Although these surfaces haven?t been around long enough for definitive studies, there seems to be a trend toward FieldTurf causing more of the ?nagging? variety of injury that Castillo deals with on a daily basis.
One study cited by Craig Angle of The Athlete Project looked at the incidence of injuries over the course of five years to a group of Texas high-school football players. There was a slightly higher rate of injury (1.52 per game) on FieldTurf than on natural grass (1.39), but the nature of the injuries was significantly different. FieldTurf generated more muscle strains and spasms, while grass saw more torn ligaments. Other studies have at the very least shown a similar difference in the nature of injuries among different surfaces.
We?re not sure yet what it is specifically about FieldTurf that is generating these injuries. Speculation is that the turf simply allows athletes to run more quickly than on grass, which results in more muscle fatigue and an increased likelihood of trauma. From a handicapping perspective, it?s immaterial; what matters is that a pattern of expected performance is emerging.
The Metrodome has seen three different playing surfaces since it opened for the 1982 season: SporTurf (1982-1986), Astroturf (1987-2003), and FieldTurf (since 2004). The Tampa Bay Devil Rays were the first MLB team to install FieldTurf in 2000, and the Toronto Blue Jays joined the party for the 2005 season. The Montreal Expos also had FieldTurf installed at both Olympic Stadium and Hiram Bithorn in San Juan for the 2004 season; Castillo told reporters earlier this month that, in the past, he would only play two of a three-game series whenever the Marlins (who play on natural grass) visited the Expos who have since moved to Washington. Castillo also expressed concern before Minnesota?s season-opening series against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
Castillo has every reason to be concerned. Star outfielder Torii Hunter strained his hamstring in the opening month of the 2004 season, blaming it on the newly installed FieldTurf. Company representatives said the Twins only gave two weeks for the surface to settle before using it rather than the recommended month. Although Hunter would eventually provide a testimonial for the company, he told reporters in Dec. 2004 that the Twins needed a new stadium so he can play on grass. Fellow outfielder Shannon Stewart has also pointed to the turf as a contributing factor to his hamstring injuries.
Now Hunter is off to a slow start to the 2006 season after breaking his left ankle last July. He had a very poor .245 OBP heading into Monday?s action, riding a 1-for-20 slump to close out the month of April. Twelve of Minnesota?s first 15 games of the season were played on FieldTurf. ?This stuff is going to beat you up a little bit,? manager Ron Gardenhire told reporters, ?but it?s soft enough. This is not like the old field. This is better, but sure, the turf still wears you down.? Expect Twins supporters to see their bankrolls worn down, as well.
---Perry
BetWWTS.com
Don?t mess with Mother Nature.
Just about every sport reflects the struggle of the athlete against his or her environment; for example, Rafael Nadal is a better tennis player on clay than on the hardcourt, and American golfers generally have more difficulty on the links-style courses prevalent across the pond. But baseball is unique among the major team sports in the amount of attention handicappers pay to field conditions.
Basketball and hockey are played in cookie-cutter arenas, while the variables in football stadia are usually limited to grass/turf and indoor/outdoor. Nearly every ballpark, though, is different, which means every game is impacted differently by its environment. Statistics on park factors are widely available on the Internet; these deal primarily with the effects each stadium has on balls put in play. Maybe we need more stats on the effects on the athletes themselves.
Luis Castillo could certainly benefit from those studies. The Minnesota Twins second-baseman is enjoying something of a revival since coming over from the Florida Marlins. After 19 games, Castillo had a career-best .436 on-base percentage. But he also missed five games due to assorted lower-body injuries, and the Twins lost all five as part of their horrible 9-15 start to the 2006 campaign. Minnesota supporters are nearly six units in the red as a result.
The fine folks at Baseball Prospectus pointed out this past weekend that Castillo will probably continue to miss games to accumulated injuries, thanks to the FieldTurf at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. It?s long been known that artificial turf is hazardous for an athlete?s health ? just ask anyone who wrecked his knees at Philadelphia?s old Veterans Stadium ? but recent technological improvements have given the sports world far better alternatives than the infamous Astroturf. Although these surfaces haven?t been around long enough for definitive studies, there seems to be a trend toward FieldTurf causing more of the ?nagging? variety of injury that Castillo deals with on a daily basis.
One study cited by Craig Angle of The Athlete Project looked at the incidence of injuries over the course of five years to a group of Texas high-school football players. There was a slightly higher rate of injury (1.52 per game) on FieldTurf than on natural grass (1.39), but the nature of the injuries was significantly different. FieldTurf generated more muscle strains and spasms, while grass saw more torn ligaments. Other studies have at the very least shown a similar difference in the nature of injuries among different surfaces.
We?re not sure yet what it is specifically about FieldTurf that is generating these injuries. Speculation is that the turf simply allows athletes to run more quickly than on grass, which results in more muscle fatigue and an increased likelihood of trauma. From a handicapping perspective, it?s immaterial; what matters is that a pattern of expected performance is emerging.
The Metrodome has seen three different playing surfaces since it opened for the 1982 season: SporTurf (1982-1986), Astroturf (1987-2003), and FieldTurf (since 2004). The Tampa Bay Devil Rays were the first MLB team to install FieldTurf in 2000, and the Toronto Blue Jays joined the party for the 2005 season. The Montreal Expos also had FieldTurf installed at both Olympic Stadium and Hiram Bithorn in San Juan for the 2004 season; Castillo told reporters earlier this month that, in the past, he would only play two of a three-game series whenever the Marlins (who play on natural grass) visited the Expos who have since moved to Washington. Castillo also expressed concern before Minnesota?s season-opening series against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
Castillo has every reason to be concerned. Star outfielder Torii Hunter strained his hamstring in the opening month of the 2004 season, blaming it on the newly installed FieldTurf. Company representatives said the Twins only gave two weeks for the surface to settle before using it rather than the recommended month. Although Hunter would eventually provide a testimonial for the company, he told reporters in Dec. 2004 that the Twins needed a new stadium so he can play on grass. Fellow outfielder Shannon Stewart has also pointed to the turf as a contributing factor to his hamstring injuries.
Now Hunter is off to a slow start to the 2006 season after breaking his left ankle last July. He had a very poor .245 OBP heading into Monday?s action, riding a 1-for-20 slump to close out the month of April. Twelve of Minnesota?s first 15 games of the season were played on FieldTurf. ?This stuff is going to beat you up a little bit,? manager Ron Gardenhire told reporters, ?but it?s soft enough. This is not like the old field. This is better, but sure, the turf still wears you down.? Expect Twins supporters to see their bankrolls worn down, as well.
---Perry
BetWWTS.com
