Could Yankee Stadium’s Field Cause Problems?

Throughout the week, there has been a little bit of concern over the playing condition of the field.  Problems with the turf often occur when baseball fields are transformed into football fields.  When Rutgers played Army earlier this year at Yankee Stadium, the field definitely affected the game.

The main problem areas are where the base path would usually be, the pitching mound, and the area around home plate.  The crew that is in charge of Yankee Stadium’s field lays natural turf over these areas.  The problem with the areas that are usually dirt is that they don’t drain well.  In the Rutgers-Army game, both teams were experiencing troubles near an endzone.  Large divots were occurring and players were kicking up large pieces of sod.

If the field gets torn up early, it could potentially be a huge disadvantage to the Cyclones.  A key for the Cyclones will be to establish a rushing game.  Rutgers is last in the Big East in rush defense.  I’m sure that Tom Herman’s gameplan includes a lot of running plays.  If the Cyclones can’t run the ball against a weak rushing defense because of poor field conditions, the Cyclones lose a huge advantage.

Good news for Iowa State fans, the Yankees have ordered some new turf.  The new turf is from Long Island and is thicker and heavier.  Also, a high school game was played earlier this month on the new turf and no problems occurred.

We’ll have to wait and see whether or not the turf will affect either team tomorrow.

Here is a picture from Dan Tracy of Iowa State Daily: