Snow-free field
Phillies’ taxi squad arriving to Lehigh Valley IronPigs’ spruced up Coca-Cola Park
The three-day snowstorm that ended Feb. 2 was the Lehigh Valley’s second biggest since 1944. It was part of the second snowiest February ever and the eighth snowiest winter on record.
Many people were happy to see a couple of unseasonably warm early March days melt most of that snow covering the ground since late January, but perhaps no one more than Lehigh Valley IronPigs field operations director Ryan Hills.
But Hills could not wait for Mother Nature to get rid of all the snow that blanketed Coca-Cola Park, the IronPigs’ home since 2008. He and his staff had to shovel the rest off the field — mostly in the right-field corner, an area often shaded until late spring.
“It was nice to see the snow get out of here,” Hills said. “It was here long enough. That [right-field area] is always last to melt when we’re trying to get ready in March.”
The IronPigs don’t begin their Triple-A season until May 4, but the Phillies’ taxi squad arrives Monday at Coca-Cola Park and begins workouts Wednesday.
Hills’ two seasonal full-time employees started March 1, and their work has been steady and swift since.
“All areas of the field have tasks to get ready for the year,” he said. “The mound, home plate, warning track, grass, bullpens. We started where we could and jumped around when conditions allowed.”
Work on the playing surface began in November with preventative grass treatment to avoid snow molds.
Hills spends time every winter detailing a plan for the upcoming season so once the weather allows, he can hit the ground running. When the roller coaster weather turns ugly — like it did with a soaking rain twice in the last week — he heads indoors to work on areas such as the batting tunnels, so no time is wasted.
No major projects are planned for this
spring or summer. Turf was replaced in high-traffic areas such as the left-field line, where pitchers have daily throwing sessions, and around home plate.
Hills and his staff start their preparation each season with the infield dirt, which must be pristine and provide true hops for the players.
“Getting our infield dirt grated is our first priority,” Hills said. “Once the snow melted, it was probably another week and a half until it dried out. You couldn’t even walk on it.”
Getting the pitcher’s mound and the bullpen mounds prepped is another project. Much of those areas use a hard packing clay called blue gumbo that can withstand repeated daily use and not have pitchers planting or landing in holes.
The clay must be applied with precision. Every foot forward from the front edge of the rubber must be 1 inch lower.
The same clay is used in the batter’s boxes. The pitching and batting areas are worked on every day after games or workouts to maintain exact levels of clay.
While the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the 2020 minor league season, Hills and his staff were busy preparing and maintaining Coca-Cola Park for the taxi squad.
“Since they were here for 2 ½ months,” Hills said, “it was used more heavily than ever in a short amount of time. It was an adjustment for us. But it was nice staying busy. Other groundskeepers didn’t have anything going on, were furloughed or laid off.”
Hills said this year’s IronPigs schedule, which features six-game homestands and every Monday as an off day, will be helpful in planning field maintenance and coordinating other events at Coca-Cola Park.
The Phillies’ taxi squad includes a host of top-level prospects. Among those expected to be coming to the Lehigh Valley are utilityman Scott Kingery, RHP Spencer Howard, INF Nick Maton, LHP JoJo Romero, RHP Adonis Medina, RHP Ramon Rosso, LHP Ranger Suarez, LHP David Parkinson, LHP Kyle Dohy, OF Mickey Moniak, LHP Bailey Falter, LHP Damon Jones, RHP Mauricio Llovera, RHP Francisco Morales, C Rafael Marchan and 1B Darick Hall.
There is no guarantee any of those well-known names will be in the Lehigh Valley when the IronPigs begin the 2021 season May 4 against the Rochester Red Wings, but the potential is there to have a stacked roster that will help sell tickets.
IronPigs General Manager Kurt Landes is not concerned about tickets sales as the season begins with stadium capacity capped at 50%. He also is not worried about Coca-Cola Park’s physical structure being ready for the taxi squad or the season opener.
It is the waiting for guidelines to be set by the state and Major League Baseball, which now has full control over Minor League Baseball, involving social distancing and other health measures.
“It’s extremely stressful,” he said. “COVID adds another layer, making it difficult to do things quickly. But there will be baseball. There will be players. There will be fans.”
Landes added that the organization has a baseline of expectations for the taxi squad after going through everything from health screening and hotels to transportation last season. But COVID challenges are every 6 feet in the stadium during IronPigs games.
He and his staff are trying to figure out how to maintain social distancing at the concession stands, in the kitchen, warehouse and clubhouse.
Seat pods must be created, too, which means some season ticket holders will not be in the same seats they have been in since 2008.
“We’re still trying to sell tickets and not frustrate the fans,” Landes said. “We’re trying to do the right thing. We’re adjusting the seating bowl based on the restrictions we have at the time. We can’t wait to see what happens on May 1, and say that will be what we do on May 4.”