The journey from turf to natural grass at Four Winds Field

ABC 57 is taking a closer look at the main stage of Opening Day, the field. It went from grass to turf and now, back to grass. Making that switch was not easy.

The head groundskeeper, Robert Sedlak, has a passion for working outside and for making the grass green.

Sedlak says there's a lot more to it than just making sure you drive the lawn mower in a straight line.

Sedlak has been around playing field all his life.
“I grew up playing baseball, basketball, and football but baseball was always my favorite,” says Sedlak.
His love for baseball is evident when you look at the work he did at Four Winds Field.

“There seems to be a lot of excitement about going back to natural grass here,” says Sedlak. He says it took three weeks, start to finish, to remove the old field and get the sod in. Sedlak believes this is exciting because for true baseball fans, the game should be played on natural grass.

“Everyone likes it and the players like it because natural grass is softer on their joints,” says Sedlak. This process is not as easy as just planting some seeds. “Fertilization, cultural practices, underneath the grass here we're not a native soil we're a sand-based soil,” says Sedlak.

Those words might make your head spin but in his eyes, it's a job worthwhile.