Evan Longoria has signed on to be a spokesperson for FieldTurf…
FieldTurf and Tampa Bay Rays All-Star third-baseman Evan Longoria have signed a partnership agreement. The Tampa Bay Rays currently play on FieldTurf at Tropicana Field and initially began play on the world’s most trusted brand of artificial turf in 2000…As part of the partnership between FieldTurf and Longoria, the 2009 Gold Glove Award Winner will be the official “face” of FieldTurf’s baseball division. Presently, there are over 350 FieldTurf baseball fields, and that number is growing at a rapid pace – largely because of the consistent ball bounce and performance properties associated with the patented FieldTurf system.
But this endorsement deal has a twist. You see, this could be the last year the Rays play on FieldTurf.
As we reported last month, AstroTurf is now the official turf of Major League Baseball and the Rays are currently in negotiations that could lead to the team switching to AstroTurf in 2011.
So, can the Rays still switch to AstroTurf if the “face” of their franchise is also the “face” of FieldTurf? We have to believe that this partnership with Longoria was made at least in part as an effort to keep FieldTurf in The Trop and in the major leagues.
Here is an article describing the new AstroTurf at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, the only other big league park using turf.
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Didn't Longoria just last year echo Carl Crawford's sentiments about the FieldTurf being tough on the legs? I found that pretty curious at the time when you consider that, as a 3B, Longoria's work on the turf consists of running to and from his position between innings and walking from the on-deck circle to the batters box.
I find it even more curious now that he is the official face of Field Turf.
Astroturf would be just as hard--the turf doesn't make it hard, the concrete under the playing surface does.
The key to these surfaces is frequent replacement. The Rays field is embarassing in how bad shape it is in and the way the lights make it shine. I hope the new deal with MLB gets them a better looking field.
If they could put real grass in there (like the "tray" system the Arizona Cardinals use), then I think 75% of the complaints about the appearance about the Trop would be resolved.