Fenway Park: More infield grass in 2016

When Fenway Park opens Monday for its 105th season as the Boston Red Sox host the Orioles, careful observers may notice something different about the ancient ballpark’s infield turf. There will be more infield grass this year.

The grass between the pitcher’s mound and the basepaths, specifically the cutouts around the bases and home plate, has been extended. Additional grass on the infield can have effects on both offense and defense. Offensively it can slow some ground balls down, turning singles into outs. Defensively, it can give fielders better reads on groundballs. Grass is often more consistent than the dirt. So, an extra hop by a ball on grass can give a fielder more confidence in his approach to the ball.

But that wasn’t the primary reason to change the infield grass, said Red Sox president Sam Kennedy. And it’s not the first time they’ve given the playing surface a makeover.

Fenway hosted several events this winter, including high school football games, a Notre Dame-Boston College football game, and Big Air, a snowboarding and freeskiing competition.

“We put a lot of strain on the field through the offseason,” Kennedy said. “A couple of times,we’ve had the opportunity to resod the entire field. This year was one of those. So when we put the field in, we added, it’s a very small amount, but the cutouts around home plate, around first base, around second base, and around third base.”

The last time the Red Sox overhauled the playing surface was after the 2014 season and then after the 2012 season.

Major League Baseball does not have specific requirements for the mix of grass and dirt on the infield, Kennedy said, but there are recommendations.

The additional grass should bring Fenway more in line with other parks around the major leagues.

The change, however, comes in a season in which the Red Sox have two new infielders. Travis Shaw, who entered the season with just five major league starts at third base, beat out veteran Pablo Sandoval in spring training for the starting third base job, and Hanley Ramirez is playing first base for the first time in his 12-season career.

Uniformed personnel, including manager John Farrell and bench coach Torey Lovullo, were consulted about the changes. But the changes were not made to accommodate any specific player, Kennedy said.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2016/04/08/fenway-park-more-infield-grass-2016/82817628/