Visiting teams rip Wrigley's 'unsafe' outfield
'It looks like they had a monster truck rally,' one player says of grass
 | Video: Baseball from NBC Sports |
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CHICAGO - It’s been likened to a pasture and a parking lot. The outfield surface at Wrigley Field has been taking hits from opposing players because of its rough patches, small holes and uneven terrain.
The Cubs plan to redo the playing surface in the offseason, but should they get into the playoffs, there could be questions about safety in the outfield.
“There’s nothing you can do since they had that — what do you call it? — concert. Since they had the concert, it’s been a little rough out there,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said Saturday.
The outfield grass was beaten down when two Police concerts were held in early July at the second oldest ballpark in the majors.
“I’m surprised more people don’t get injured out there. It’s as bad as there is,” Reds’ left fielder Adam Dunn said earlier this week. “It’s worse than playing in a parking lot. It looks like they had a monster truck rally. It’s terrible. There’s potholes. It’s bad. It’s unsafe.”
And the Pittsburgh Pirates had similar complaints after Friday’s game.
“It’s rock hard, it’s as fast as turf, but it looks like there’s been a dozen cows out there grazing this week,” Pirates left fielder Nate McLouth said.
Pittsburgh manager Jim Tracy characterized the outfield as “horrendous,” said it was not of major league caliber and was as bad as he’d ever seen in the big leagues.
Tracy said it’s nearly impossible for an outfielder to set his feet to make a throw because it’s so difficult to corral the ball.
“There’s undulations. The ball’s changing directions as it’s rolling to you. It’s bouncing all over the place,” he said Saturday.
“If the ball is hit sharply through the infield, it’s like walking out there on Sheffield or Waveland Avenue and hitting a baseball out in the middle of the street,” Tracy said. “That’s how quickly the ball is moving out there. I don’t know what they’re going to do.”
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He said it’s not dangerous, just tricky.
“It’s not comfortable,” Soriano said Saturday. “There are like a lot of little holes, you know what I mean. Sometimes when they hit a ground ball, you have to be careful. ... I’m just more worried when the ball is coming, I’m not worried about my legs because it’s not that bad. I’m more worried about the holes. They can give you a tricky bounce.”
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General manager Jim Hendry said Saturday that president John McDonough has been working on a plan to resurface the field.
“Shortly after the season is over, it will be addressed, but right now we hope there are a lot more games played on this surface next month,” Hendry said.
Hendry said none of the Cubs played had come to him with safety concerns.
“It’s unfortunate that other people feel that way, but we’re certainly in the process of looking into it. ... We’ll do our best, but there is not much you can do about it now. I don’t look at it as we’ve lost some games because the ball took a bad hop or got to the wall faster than it did five years ago. You wouldn’t hear that from me. You got to play the baseball games and you play under the elements you’re at.”
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