The Rangers believe the product, marketed as "B1K," will create a safer, more reliable playing fieldGETTY IMAGES
The MLB Rangers will open Globe Life Field in '20 with an "artificial playing surface," something that "no MLB team has done in the last 30 years," according to Evan Grant of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. The synthetic turf will be "manufactured by Shaw SportsTurf." The last venue "opened primarily for baseball with an artificial turf was Toronto's Rogers Centre," which opened in '89. The Rangers "believe the product, marketed as 'B1K' will create a safer, more reliable playing field than if they tried to maintain grass" in their new retractable-roof ballpark. Nobody, however, is "saying it will make it more popular than grass." The Rangers have "invested significant resources into researching the safety and playability of turf," as has Shaw SportsTurf. The D-backs are "installing B1K" for the '19 season. The Rangers and Shaw will "have the benefit of watching a season play out on the new surface to see if any tweaks are necessary" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 2/1). In Dallas, Kevin Sherrington writes the artificial turf "will be a tough sell on players who, after all, have to make a living on it." Baseball players "don't typically like fake grass because it's hard on the knees and joints." It will "likely take years to convince players that their knees won't eventually explode" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 2/1).
IS GRASS ALWAYS GREENER? In Ft. Worth, Mac Engel writes the "priority here is a controlled cost." A business exists to "make a profit." This move is "about concerts" and "high school football games." It is about "college bowl games" and "making it as easy, and cheap, as possible to have this new stadium open when the Rangers are not at home." Any member of the local media who "espouses this move is too close to the team to offer any assessment other than this move is entirely about green cash, not green grass" (Ft. Worth STAR-TELEGRAM, 2/1).
