MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL regular basis with the MiLB committee to come up with the agenda and speakers , and served as a liaison to MLB for transparency and support .
Nick Riek from Rawlings , the new official provider of bases for MLB and MiLB , joined Kevin Ma , medical administration senior coordinator from MLB , to explain the new bases , location and layout , as well as to answer any questions . It seemed like the main reason they decided to enlarge the bases was related to safety and reducing close contact or collisions at the bag between fielders and runners . Mike LaCassa , director of player development from MLB , followed their talk and discussed the PDL related to the field , communication protocol from clubs to the MLB related to the PDL , and some adjustments to the way fields are scored throughout the year to improve upon things . For example , umpires are no longer evaluating various things that were complained about , such as batting practice set up , bullpens , etc . There were also talks on technology in equipment such as field sensors , robotic mowers , etc .
There was a presentation about weather by Brad Jakubowski of Penn State University , who shared great insights . To date , there is no lighting policy at any ballpark . Keith Johnson , manager of the Salt Lake Bees , spoke with Bees Head Groundskeeper Brian Soukup in an open forum that led to some great discussions on communication between coaches , players and groundskeepers .
Winter had a discussion with the MLB regarding next season . One initiative proposed is to get the MLB
to highly recommend to all 120 PDL teams to send their groundskeepers to the symposium . They seemed to be receptive to this and will revisit after the 2023 season . Lisa Goatley , a licensed professional counselor , presented on the topic of workplace mental health .
Current MLB head groundskeepers John Turnour ( Washington Nationals ) and Larry DiVito ( Minnesota Twins ) participated in an open forum for the group . There were some good questions and productive dialogue from the MiLB attendees . Since there are only requirements for PDL Field Guidelines in the MiLB , not the MLB , Turnour and DiVito were interested to hear from the MiLB group on the guidelines and what it takes to get their fields into compliance . Overall , there were a total of 65 attendees from MiLB teams at this year ’ s symposium .
“ In terms of content and participation , it was the best symposium yet ,” said Winter . “ The continued support of our sponsors not only helps it grow , but has also helped us develop a reputation within the minor leagues and now major leagues , that this is an event to be at if you want to grow and develop in this industry .” sportsfieldmanagementonline . com March 2023 | SportsField Management
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