Do you think Busch Stadium is looking good this season? Thank 10th-year head groundskeeper and O'Fallon resident Bill Findley.
He and his 17-man crew have successfully navigated through a cold and wet spring, but their work never stops. The dry and humid summer months are approaching, meaning there's no time to pat themselves on the back.
Findley, 36, who became head groundskeeper in 1999 at old Busch Stadium and is in his 13th year overall with the Cardinals, visited with News-Democrat reporter David Wilhelm about the challenges of keeping the ballpark up to speed.
Q: Is this the best the new stadium has looked?
A: I would have to say yes. It's definitely doing a lot better than it did the first couple of years. The first couple of years, we were fighting the fact that we had to do such a rush job to get it in, with the short time frame we had. There were some issues we had to go and correct over the offseason. It's been night and day since we've made those changes.
Q: What kind of problems has the weather caused?
A: It's been a good test for the new system (thinner sod, thicker base of sand underneath) to see how well it really took. With all the rain, you want to make sure it drains well, of course. That's the main thing. Also, that the guys are able to keep their footing with all that kind of weather we've had. We haven't had any problems with stability. You might see a few little divots from guys when they dive for a ball or something like that, but with that much moisture, you're bound to see that kind of thing. But we're not seeing anything like we saw last year, where guys are trying to plant to stop and the turf's coming out from under their feet.
Q: How often do you have players complain about the surface?
A: Most of the time, they don't have to tell me. I see when there's an issue. They don't get on me too bad because they know I know what I'm doing. They know if I see a problem, I'm going to do my best to fix it. But they have been very complimentary this year. They've come up to me quite a bit and told me how much better it is this year and that we did a heck of a job over the winter. I take the compliments when I can get them.
Q: Bench coach Joe Pettini said recently that he hasn't seen one bad hop on the field. Is that the ultimate compliment?
A: Absolutely. When you hear a coach say that, that's a good thing because they're really watching. He's the one that's out hitting these guys ground balls every day during BP, so when he's saying that, you're doing something right.
Q: Does the challenge of a head groundskeeper in St. Louis come in June, July and August when it's hot and humid?
A: With St. Louis weather, every month is a challenge. In July and August, the heat and humidity are definitely the biggest factors. This time of year, it's the storms and the rain. Early in March when we're trying to get the field ready for baseball in April, we've got to deal with cold weather and sometimes snow. It's a little bit of everything here in St. Louis. We're pretty versatile as far as dealing with the weather. We like to joke every time people ask us how we grow grass here. We're like, "If you're able to grow grass in St. Louis, you can grow it on the moon." We put up with just about everything here. You can see three seasons in one day here. But July and August are our biggest headaches. The heat just cooks the stuff. Luckily, here in the new park, we've got a lot more open space. That allows a little bit more air flow, so you don't get as stale or stagnant. That helps the grass. When we were at the old place, we didn't get any air flow and it would basically choke.
Q: So old Busch Stadium was more difficult to maintain?
A: It was a pain because of the shade line, with the round stadium like it was. In the winter months, when you really need the sun, you didn't get it. It would cause the Bermuda (grass) to die out. Not having that now really helps a lot. This stuff (bluegrass) is grown in Colorado at the best sod farm I've ever seen. They mow their grass at the farm at five-eighths of an inch. That's just unheard of. And this is a cool-weather grass. Growing cool-weather grass in St. Louis is a little bit of a nerve-wracking experience, but it's done well the last few years. We had Bermuda at the old place. We did away with the Bermuda because we were having that problem where a shade line was causing us to have winter kill.
Q: Do other stadiums have bluegrass?
A: Several teams use it. We have it, the Kansas City Royals have it, the Colorado Rockies use it. Wrigley Field (in Chicago) redid their field this off-season and they're using it. It's a really nice turf.
Q: When people hear you're the Cardinals' head groundskeeper, do they ask you for advice or try to hire you to help their yard?
A: A lot of people ask me what my yard looks like at home. I'm like, "I pay somebody to do my yard." The last thing I want to do is go home and mow grass. It's just like a guy who paints for a living doesn't want to go home and paint his own house. I get questions from time to time. I love answering questions; I don't have any problem with that. But I don't always know what I'm talking about. With this weather around here, you're guessing most of the time.
Q: How does one get to be a head groundskeeper?
A: When I first started doing this, I was working in the minor leagues in Spartanburg, N.C. It was just something I was doing with a friend of mine. I didn't know this was the career I was going to have. I planned on going back to school when I got out of the military. I started working with him, and once you start doing this, it just gets in you. When you really enjoy doing something that's in your blood, you just can't quit doing it. I love being outside. I love being able to come here in the morning and seeing something take shape. You start fixing the mound and home plate, you mow the grass and by the end of the day, it's perfect and you're ready to play ball.
Q: How important is your crew?
A: I love my guys. The good thing about them is they've been with me for a long time. There's a couple of guys on my crew that have been here as long as I have (13 years). Some of them have been here longer; a couple of them have been here since the '80s. It's good to have that knowledge and experience behind you. You know they know what they're doing, so it makes my job that much easier. I'm only as good as the guys that work with me. I can tell them to do something, but if they don't know what they're doing, I've got to go back and check behind them. I don't have to do that with any of my guys.
