Every Major League Baseball field will be sporting a fresh haircut on opening day – crafted by its best barber, the head groundskeeper.
Last summer, while grounds crews sweated through early morning routines in America, the Premier League mowed down the hopes of artistic groundskeepers in Europe, a move which could eventually affect natural-grass based fields everywhere.
The league announced that “the playing surface must contain no markings other than traditional horizontal and white lines,” effectively banning any creativity across the grass.
The Premier League says the policy makes them consistent with the UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) club manual which states:
“The grass should be cut in straight lines, across the width of the pitch, perpendicular to the touch line. The bands should be of equal and regular width over the entire pitch. No other form of grass cutting (chequerboard, diagonal, circles, etc.) is recommended.”
The change was a direct shot at Leicester City and its ambitious and artistic grounds manager John Ledwidge, who drew international attention to King Power Stadium.
“I have seen [the job] evolve from the perception that it is one old man with a gammy leg pushing a mower and rolling mud,” he told the Leicester Mercury.
As the acclaimed Picasso of the pitch, he’s etched the club’s logo into midfield, and illustrated poppies on Remembrance Day. A few years ago, after Leicester City survived relegation and spit in the face of 5,000-to-1 odds to win their first-ever Premier League championship, Ledwidge put stars on the field to celebrate arguably the greatest run in professional sports history.
“We are part of an entertainment industry and there will be times where we need to adapt to change,” he told Turf Matters last year.
Ledwidge is proud of a couple things: first, that he’s generated interest and enthusiasm around groundskeeping, and second, that he’s helped raise the standards in Europe to rival those of the USA, where he’s got some tough competition. The scent and satisfaction of a fresh mow is about as American as hot dogs.
In St. Louis, the gigantic trademark arch in the outfield is the grass Mona Lisa. Head groundskeeper Bill Findley explained to Cardinals Insider that the process uses absolutely no paint, but a bit of illusion.
Giant rolling pins underneath the riding mowers lay the grass in different directions. Grass that appears with a light shade of green has been mowed away from your view, while dark-shaded grass has been mowed toward you.
It’s a simple principle, but forming the iconic Arch is not. It involves laying tape measures from first to third base and using string and markers to diagram the template. Findley and his crew just keep driving around the field until their patterns and designs are “burned in” enough to be seen.
West on I-70, it’s no easier in Kansas City. Royals head groundskeeper Trevor Vance explained to Sports Illustrated that their beautiful crown is constructed by laying ropes and hoses, and getting some guidance from somebody who stands in the upper deck.
Back in Leicester, before the UEFA cut down his fun, groundskeeper Ledwidge had imported an American tool to put himself ahead of almost everybody in the States.
He used the TurfPrinter system from New Ground Technology (NGT), a California company who invented Google Maps for lawnmowers. The technology, which attaches to a $7,000 mower called the CubCadet, isn’t actually cutting any grass to create the images. Its TurfPrinter system communicates with a GPS to precisely plot the exact locations on the field in which to print the design. Guided by GPS, the CubCadet uses streams of air to bend the blades of grass, much like the original roller process.
NGT says the process takes less than an hour – about the same amount of time as the traditional baseball mows.
Ledwidge’s time with NGT’s TurfPrinter technology was cut short. But stateside, the company has continued its MLB partnerships with an eye on golf.
Meanwhile, LCFC said farewell:
Pitch patterns… Fun while it lasted!
pic.twitter.com/6ZCNdMQlZ9
— Leicester City (@LCFC) August 3, 2017
Does It Really Change The Game?
The Premier League and UEFA may want to protect their brands’ images from possibly embarrassing or controversial designs before they happen, or prevent clubs from commercializing them with sponsorship. Soccer enthusiasts may think that the distracting lines and curves may hamper an assistant referee’s ability to make an accurate offside call.
“As a groundskeeper, the pattern is there for the fans and TV,” Vance said of his Kansas City masterpiece. “Players don’t see it or care. We want the field to shine, but not be bigger than the game.”
Findley, the Cardinals’ grass boss, warned shoddy cutting can lead to a baseball snaking around the outfield.
“Unfortunately when you’re mowing these patterns on a daily basis you can get to where you’re wearing groves in the grass, so that’s why we switch the patterns up quite a bit, so the grass doesn’t get used to each pattern.”
Fancy artwork aside, general grounds-keeping can still affect a game.
Ledwidge said LCFC former manager Claudio Ranieri preferred “a fast-paced passing game, and we can accommodate that by just cutting the pitch slightly shorter and applying more water just to give it a bit of zip.”
The Cardiff School of Sport even confirmed this thought process with a big scientific study. Not only did players have to physically work harder on softer playing surfaces, there were more headers and aerial challenges. Yet the researchers reported “no significant differences for any of the game events.”