The Arkansas Razorbacks Athletic program has had it’s ups and downs. They have had their fair share of good athletes and superstar athletes. When it comes to baseball, it’s no different. In fact, the Razorbacks baseball program is arguably one of the best in the nation. Led by Dave Van Horn, one of the nation’s best college coaches, the Hogs have been to the post season for 14 straight years and the College World Series three times in the last 6 seasons. Between the coach, the players and the venue, the Hogs are a baseball force to be reckoned with so it should come as no surprise that they are home to one of the countries top college groundskeepers, Blake Anderson.
Anderson, Assistant Director of Sports Turf Operations at the University of Arkansas, won the third annual “Mowing Patterns Contest” held by Sports Turf Managers Association. The STMA is a professional organization for 2,600 men and women who manage sports fields worldwide. Anderson’s winning photo (seen above) was voted on Facebook from October 21-Novermber 20. He credits the fans who poured in the votes for helping him seal the honor.
“I believe our fan base is very good for college baseball,” Assistant Director of Sports Turf Operations Blake Anderson said. “This year we put in a little more effort to get the information out there for people to vote. I think we ended up with 180-something votes and that’s what won it for us.”
Just like in sports, Anderson had to move his way up to make it to Baum Stadium. He is originally from Illinois and has worked with the Atlanta Braves and the Kansas City Royals Single-A affiliate, Lexington Legends. It was a no-brainer for him when the job became available.
“This job was definitely an upgrade for me,” Anderson said. “It’s probably considered one of the top five turf jobs, especially in the SEC. Baseball requires a lot of work and is harder than other turf jobs with the edges, the dirt, the warning track, and pitchers mound. It’s really a 24/7 job.”
Anderson’s designs are great. If you’ve been to Baum stadium then you know the type of quality that Anderson and his team put into their work. Sometimes looking at the field, it’s hard not to ask just how in the world do they get it to look like that? The answer is a little more simple than you might think.
“It’s just the way the grass lays over and how the sun hits it,” Anderson said. “If the sun is out, it makes the patter pop a little more because of the reflections of the grass. Basically, if you’re looking at the pattern and if you’re mowing away, that’s going to be the light pattern. The dark patter would be coming back, almost like the shadow of the grass. Our mowers have heavy rollers on the back that push the grass down. We’ll mow the pattern at least three times to make it really pop.”
Think of it like vacuuming at home. Its the same effect. For Anderson, he loves to see a nice straight pattern, no circles or squiggles. When he can show his work off to the fans or get compliments from players, home or away, it puts a smile on his face.
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“It’s definitely a good feeling when people give you compliments,” Anderson said. “We host high school tournaments here and always recieve high praise. Last year, visiting teams gave us really high praise for our dirt– how it plays, if the ball bounces true. We we’ve been told it’s top-notch, MLB quality dirt. We like to hear that.”
It’s all in a days work for Anderson, who will be featured in SportsTurf, STMA’s monthly publication. If you make it out to Baum this year, show some support for the turf team now that you know the man behind the design.
Check out more of his work below. Woo Pig.
