The Dirt On The Dirt: Kingdome Field Was Model
VANCOUVER, B.C. - The dirt that cost the Seattle Mariners the services of third baseman Edgar Martinez was supposed to be the same as that in the Kingdome infield.
Groundskeepers who installed the field for the four-game Baseball Classic in domed B.C. Place visited the Seattle stadium several times in the past month and took samples of the dirt for their own infield.
The Canadians also consulted with Wilbur Loo, the Kingdome's head groundskeeper.
"They said they used the same mixture, including clay," said Tony Pereira, the Mariners' director of stadium operations for the Kingdome. "The problem was the time, not the composition of the dirt. It has to be watered a lot to make it compact. The dirt mix was dried out."
Pereira watched the Canadian crew install the field, for which they had only two days after a Guns N' Roses concert Wednesday night.
Groundskeepers who commented Saturday said they had been told not to talk to reporters yesterday.
B.C. Place officials issued a news release, citing the time crunch and the fact that a brand new turf surface was installed.
"The turf took two days to cut and shape," John Sutherland, director of operations for the stadium, said in the release. "By the time it was ready, the crew had little opportunity to prepare the mounds and bases the way we wanted to."
The grounds crew mixed more clay in the dirt after Saturday's first game between Seattle and Milwaukee. No one was injured in the second game, in which Toronto beat Detroit.
"But the dirt was still bad," said Detroit pitcher Mike Moore, a former Mariner. "