or30 years, Bud Koehnke held onto Osceola County Stadium & Sports Complex his dream of making the majors. FSince he was 17 years old, when a minor league scout for the St. Louis Browns signed the adolescent pitcher dur- Koehnke Blends ing a tryout camp in his home town of Appleton, WI, Koehnke worked his way toward the Big Leagues. Experience And "I was a thrower, not a pitcher," Koehnke jokes today. After stints with the Browns and the in cities Innovation At such as Pittsburgh, KS, Wellsville, NY,Ab- erdeen, SO, and Knoxville, TN, his playing career ended. "Four years in the minors Astros Spring gave me some strong feelings about base- ball facilities," he adds. "I appreciate what ballplayers contend with and have been Training Center fortunate to be able to do something about it." Had Koehnke remained a player, he might not have been part of a major over- haul in spring baseball training facilities. His hard work for the at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimee, FL, has earned his facility the 1990 Baseball Diamond of the Year Award in the profes- 12 Golf& SportsTURF sional category, the closest thing baseball ida. We pulled up stakes and moved there mer player and pitching coach, liked his groundskeepers have to the Hall of Fame. in 1980." resolve. DeFlon found it a bit unsettling. Koehnke, in conjunction with HOK Upon arriving in Orlando, Koehnke Both are pleased today with the product Sports Facilities Group in Kansas City, MO, called , owner of the Twins at Koehnke has delivered to the Astros for the designed and built the stadium field and the time. Tinker Field had gone downhill. past eight years. four practice diamonds in 1984. Osceola Griffith invited him to bring the field back Actually, Koehnke is quite open-minded. County essentially upped the ante for com- to life. He is loyal to products that work for him, munities trying to attract professional base- "It was my first exposure to yet is willing to try new techniques. He ball clubs and their tourist fans. The 60-acre berrnudagrass and mole crickets," he ad- welcomes suggestions from his crew and site has enabled the Astros to consolidate mits. Koehnke credits much of his success his suppliers. When he tries something of both their Major and at Tinker to the assistance of Dr. Wayne new, he solicits comments from the players Minor League clubs, provided a home for a Mixson, manager of the O.M.Scotts South- and coaches on the results. In fact, he is single-A League farm team, and east Research and Development facility in constantly experimenting with new equip- served as a base for fall instructional Apopka, FL. "Dr. Mixson was a tremendous ment and chemicals. leagues. The facility is dedicated year-round help in building a fertility program, offering After all, if he was set in his ways, it's to player development and meets all the advice about overseeding, and making sug- doubtful that Osceola County Stadium & requirements of professional baseball. gestions on how to control mole crickets," Sports Complex would be what it is today, "Osceola started a trend in spring train- adds Koehnke. I'He gave me time to con- a model for many new spring training facil- ing facilities," states Rick deFlon, senior centrate on other problems like the infield ities from Arizona to Florida. HOK has vice president of HOK. "In 1983, when the dirt, compaction, thatch, and the playability since designed three more spring training Astros were in Coco [FL], half of their of the field. spring training games were rained out. "For example, if you're a pitcher, the They started looking at other facilities in mound is your office," he states. "If the Florida. Andy McPhail and Al Rosen [owner pitching rubber is off by four inches or the and general manager respectively] put to- landing area is too loose, the office is gether specific ideas based on what they wrong. I've seen cases where the bases saw and what they'd like if they could start were off by two feet and no one caught it. from scratch. Osceola had been talking with It's the groundskeeper's job to keep an eye the Cubs." on those things." The Astros and Osceola got together Inside of three years, Koehnke had Tin- and brought in the newly-formed Sports ker Field back to specs, had established Facilities Group of HOK to turn their ideas schedules for all maintenance practices, into reality. DeFlon was assigned the chal- and had added a number of extra tech- Stadium field at the Osceola Complex. lenge of creating a prototype for future niques that impressed the Twins' manage- spring training facilities. "It was one of ment. Rosen became aware of the complexes in Florida with features common HOK's first big ventures in sports facility improvement at Tinker Field under to Osceola: nearby Baseball City for the architecture," he adds. It was also one of Koehnke. Royals, the White Sox complex in Sarasota, times a stadium architectural firm The Astros deal with Osceola gave the and a brand new facility in Homestead. had addressed a spring training project. team input on construction and control From a design standpoint, the main fea- Meanwhile, Koehnke was renovating over maintenance. Rosen wanted his tures are a pinwheel-like arrangement of Tinker Field in nearby Orlando for the grounds keeper involved early in the project the four practice fields with a clubhouse in . Since leaving the player to work with the county, the contractors, the center and an adjacent stadium. Osce- ranks, he had spent most of his career as and HOK. The new facility was going to be ola added an AstroTurf half-field last season Recreation Director for Appleton. Good- extremely busy once it opened. There was with the old material from the . land Field in Appleton was a regular stop little room for mistakes, especially consid- All natural fields have bullpens. Two four- of the Midwest League and one of ering that the new design would be under station batting tunnels and an eight-pack, Koehnke's responsibilities. "I had Good- close scrutiny by other teams. eight side-by-side pitching positions, are land Field, all the parks, an 18-hole golf The good thing about Koehnke is he was tucked in around the practice fields. course, and four swimming pools to look right for the time. Management felt most The Tifway berrnudagrass fields are after," he recalls. "The people of Appleton comfortable with "old school" grounds- nearly as fast as the AstroTurf the team take pride in their athletic facilities. My son keepers who came up through the ranks plays on at the Astrodome. Bounces and Brandon used to help prep the stadium and were close to the game. Koehnke's rolls are true whether on the dirt or the before games, just like I had done when I background fit that mold. Twenty years as grass. All fields are lighted and fully-outfit- was a kid. It was sort of a family affair." a recreation director imparted other traits ted with warning tracks, fences, and score- Over the years, Koehnke met and built to his personality which make him confi- boards. relationships with many professional base- dent in his ability to build budgets, manage The trick is keeping all the fields and ball owners, managers, and players. "After people, and negotiate with vendors. grounds in shape more than ten months a 26 years in Wisconsin, I decided it was time Koehnke has the stern, focused expres- year. "That's the amazing part about the for a change," he reveals. "All three of my sion of a relief pitcher. If you don't know whole thing," comments Scotts' Mixson. children are athletes and I thought they him, you feel like a batter facing him in the "The fields take a beating almost year- would have more of an opportunity in Flor- late innings of a tight game. Rosen, a for- continued on page 14 March, 1990 13 Osceola World Series, the Roy Hobbs World Series continued from page 13 for players over 35, NCAAtournaments, the round with very little chance to rest and National Police Youth Tournament, soccer, recover. At the same time, the demand for high school football, flag football, and con- a quality playing surface has increased. It's certs. The Astros also added a winter pro- reached a point where the worst field today gram of three games a week this past year. would have been acceptable 25 years ago." "There's never a dull moment," adds Miers. "Baseball gets more like golf every "Building the fields has been a big help year," says Jim Griffith with Zaun, in maintaining them," says Koehnke. "The only major problem we had involved the Koehnke's Toro salesman. "If a piece of Sand Pros are used on base paths and warning equipment goes down, they need a replace- tracks. PVC pipe for the irrigation system. We've ment by the next day. Many of the features had to replace nearly all of it. Everything on greensmowers are becoming popular at rebuild the skinned areas, aerify, topdress, else has worked out great!" spring training facilities. Since many com- and get ready for spring training. That's the All fields are constructed of sand and are plexes don't have mechanics like golf time when Koehnke; Don Miers, stadium crowned on a line from home plate to courses, service becomes even more impor- operations manager; and facility coordina- center field. The drop from home to the tant." tor Michelle Link sit down and work out corner of left and right field is more than Koehnke and his experienced staff of six the schedule for the coming season. two feet. Koehnke went a step further for operate on a tight schedule year-round. In "Between the five fields, we had 979 the stadium field by installing a Cambridge November, when the training leagues end, events last year," Miers points out. The list System. This entails a network of sand-filled they have barely two months to overseed, of events includes the Senior Little League trenches spaced 15 feet apart. Small perfo- rated drain tubing sits in the bottom of each trench. Water removed by the system is pumped into a man-made lake behind the SPORTS TURF INSTITUTE AND outfield fence. GROUNDS OPERATIONS CONFERENCE "We keep the surface open throughout March 19, 1991 the year by slicing four times and shallow Expanded Educational Program aerifying twice every year," he explains. "In the winter we aerate the outfields down to NOW INCLUDES CROUNDS OPERAnONS AND IRRICA nON nearly eight inches with an Aerway. We

*Trade Show & Equipment Demonstrations "Sports Turf Management Techniques have base and mound tarps for the practice *New Grounds Operations Program fields and a two-piece infield tarp for the

FOR MORE INFORMATION stadium." CALL (714)869-2219 The Toro irrigation system is fed by a well on site. Each field has its own control- DEPARTMENT OF HORTICULTURE, CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY ler. A sixth clock controls the rest of the 3801 West Temple Avenue, Pomona, CA 91768 property. Alldirt areas are watered by hand. "We may be switching over to reclaimed water from Kissimmee," says Koehnke. "That might add a new twist to our fertil- ization program." PARTAC® The soil on all fields is tested every year. SOIL CONDITIONER & DRYING AGENT COLFCOURSE "We take two sets of samples and send "SUPER-RED" FOR INFIELDS TOP-DRESSING -"SUPER-GREEN" FOR TURF them to different labs for comparison. MORECOLORFUL,LESS DUSTY IMPROVESAERATION& DRAINAGE Scotts also runs its own tests for us. They yET RETAINSNUTRIENTS& MOISTURE! use the results to adjust our program.t'Jim Boesch is Osceola's representative from THE PROFESSIONAL'S CHOICE Scotts. He is one of nine tech reps the ... SINCE 1922 company added two years ago to serve the ~~~)M~~~ 1 f Y/lA\qfff#lYJ~'Qf THE BASEBALL DIAMOND MIXES special needs of schools and sports fields. USED BY OVER 50 PROFESSIONAL The Ultimate Solution to Unsightly AMERICA'S PREMIUM TEAMS PLUS TOWNS AND Divots at Televised Golf Tournaments HEAT TREATED "I test the soil in December and then meet SCHOOLS ACROSS THE U.S.A. AND and other Sports Events! CANADA. SPECIAL MIXES FOR TOP-DRESSINGS with Bud in January to put a program INFIELDS, PITCHER'S MOUNDS, AVAILABLE NATIONWIDE PLUS CONSTRUCTION, HOMEPLATE AREAS & CART PATH, AND together for the coming year. By adjusting RED WARNING TRACKS. 1-800-247-2326 DIVOT REPAIR MIXES the analysis of the fertilizers and using a IN N.J. 908-637-4191 few amendments we've gotten the pH down to normal and solved manganese and potas- sium deficiencies typical for central Flor- ida," he says. Koehnke applies all chemicals. "We use fertilizer combination products as much as possible," he states. "Our big problems are

14 Golf & Sports TURF Circle 110 on Postage Free Card mole crickets and bahiagrass invading the on one practice infield with Kentucky blue- bermuda. If I could do one thing over again, grass. "I'm very happy with the color," he it would be to have planted bermuda be- remarks. "The rye has been hanging on tween the fields instead of bahia. We are longer and longer. I'm hoping the blue- trying a new selective herbicide from Scotts grass will burn out earlier than the rye. It's for the bahia. The mole crickets seem to be an alternative to increasing the rate on the having more generations than the experts ryegrass to get density." predict. They start in late February and Another key to baseball diamond man- hang around into September. The lights agement is keeping the turf and the dirt must attract them. I alternate Orthene and where they belong. Each day the mounds Mocap to avoid resistance. The Mocap may and batters' boxes are packed and covered. also be helping us with a nematode problem The basepaths are spiked and dragged with Osceola is trying a Toro 223-D for the outfields a Toro Sand Pro and moistened. If needed, we had on one field. Fortunately, we've had and foul areas. hardly any problems with diseases." infield mix is added and packed to the Fire ants have not been a problem be- set the reels to recut the clippings. You turns. Every two weeks the diamonds are cause the fields and grounds are mowed basically have a five-gang greensmower." edged to control encroachment and any lips frequently. Infields are mowed daily at 5/8- Koehnke wants to try a walk-behind are raked out. inch with triplex greensmowers. The out- greensmower on the stadium infield. "You "We do all we can to keep clay off the fields are mowed every other day at the need to baby the area in front of the plate," turf," states Koehnke. "The clay changes same height. At Griffith's suggestion, he advises. "We cover that area with Turf the way the sand holds water and nutrients. Koehnke is trying a Toro 223-0 five-gang Saver mats during batting practice. They It also can lead to compaction problems in out-front reel mower for the outfields in look like ping pong netting and you can the areas most likely to get compacted. On place of tractor-drawn reel gangs. leave them down except for games." He the other hand, you need a certain amount "The 223 is very similar to a also topdresses the infields with mason of calcined clay on top of the dirt to hold greensmower," Griffith states. "By setting sand periodically in addition to spiking. moisture to make sure the ball rolls instead the speed of the eight-bladed reels to fit the In December, Koehnke overseeds the of bounces." forward speed of the mower you get a tight infields with eight pounds per 1,000 square The warning tracks and basepaths have cut like a greensmower with a variable- feet of perennial ryegrass from SunBelt a twelve-inch foundation of local clay. speed kit. You can see the difference when Seed. The rate is slightly lighter for the Koehnke surfaces the hard, baked warning you mow as low as a half inch. You can also outfields. This past winter he experimented continued on page 16

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Circle 133 on Postage Free Card March, 1990 15 The Osceola grounds crew (I. to r. ) Kirk Jones, Mike Dellafano, Bud Koehnke, Matt Kutik, Rick �/ -~- Raasch, Bob Heller, and Greg Kaufmann. Osceola ball for a year and helped me here until he DmAMONDsDI~ continued from page 15 went to Atlanta." CALL TOLL FREE: tracks with a red brick aggregate called "It's refreshing to have someone with a 1-800-247-2326 SportTrack from Florida Brick and Clay Co. lot of experience who is still receptive to NAnONALD~TmBUTO~ "The brick absorbs some moisture, re- new ideas," says Boesch, the Scotts rep. PARTAC PEAT CORPORATION sponds nicely to dragging, and makes the "But it's even more refreshing to have an Kelsey Park, Great Meadows, N.J. 07838 experienced groundskeeper be so willing to IN N.J. 908-637-4191 ball roll instead of bounce," he states. "It also provides a nice contrast with the turf." share his knowledge. I've passed a lot of Circle 111 on Postage Free Card For extra contrast on the stadium warning Bud's advice on to high schools, parks, and track he uses a special red mix from Beam colleges." Clay. Mixson credits Koehnke with causing The base paths are rototilled in Novem- him to urge the ProTurf Division to create FOUNDI ber and amended with either Turface or a group specifically to serve athletic fields Terragreen. Throughout the year the and schools. "The interest in quality play- The solution to your grass base paths are spiked and dragged on a ing surfaces has come to the forefront," clipping disposal problem. daily basis. To firm up the turns, Koehnke says Mixson. "Croundskeepers need more works in mound or home plate mix before than products, they need service. But they topping the area with his normal base path also need to know more than turf manage- mix. Every two weeks the edges are recut ment. That's where people like Bud and to contain the bermuda. Brandon have been so much help." The bullpens and other practice pitching "Osceola is what it is today because the areas are maintained exactly like the rest of owners and managers of the Astros want it the mounds. Koehnke is especially con- to be the best," adds Koehnke. "Dr. John cerned that the minor league players have McMullen [owner], Bill Wood [general man- Join the growing number ot golf cours- es that own a Millcreek TOspreader, the same quality of facilities as the majors. ager], Fred Nelson [farm director], Jimmy with a grass spreading attachment. "In some ways I'm closer to the farm system Johnson [field coordinator], and Don Miers The easy economical way to dis- pose ot your grass clippings. players," he remarks. "Having been in their [stadium general manager] always make Also designed and used to spread shoes, I try to do everything possible to help sure the crew has what it needs. That kind top dressing and compost products to an adjustable width of 3' to 8'. their careers. They deserve every chance of support makes my job rewarding and An optional 12V cylinder operated they can get to show their stuff." fun." adjustable endgate. to meter the now The '90s will be a decade of change for of material, Isalso available. Not only has the Osceola sports complex been a model for many other major league professional baseball.Two new Major spring training facilities, Koehnke has also League teams, rising player salaries, helped train a number of visiting grounds- planned improvements in the minor league keepers. His favorite pupil was his son, system, and rapidly improving standards Brandon, who was head groundskeeper for for baseball stadiums and training centers ~!~~~~~:~KNew Holland. PA 17557 the Atlanta Braves last year. "Brandon is will affect hundreds of groundskeepers, It's 717-355-2446 great at coming up with new ideas," says reassuring that veterans like Koehnke not the proud father. "He played professional only keep pace, but actually set it. ~ Circle 112 on Postage Free Card 16 Golf & Sports TURF