By Blaidd Drwg
I was looking at the baseball standings today and I noticed that there are currently only 2 teams in baseball who play their home games on a turf field – the Rays and the Blue Jays. It got me thinking about growing up in the era of turf fields and cookie cutter ballparks. If you turn back the clock 20 years, you can see how the game has changed:
• There were only 26 teams – the Rays, Dbacks, Rockies and Marlins did not exist at that point, and one of those teams played in a different country under a different name (Nationals/Expos).
• Of those 26 teams, 12 of them played their home games on artificial turf.
• There were 4 teams playing in true domed stadiums (i.e. non-retractable roofs) 20 years ago. There is only currently 1 dome left in baseball and that one was not in use in 1991 (Tampa Bay).
• Since 1991, 19 of the 26 teams in the league have opened new parks and one went through a complete remodel (Kansas City). On the down side, we lost such old timers as Yankee Stadium, Comiskey Park, Tigers Stadium, the Astrodome and Cleveland Stadium. On the upside, we lost at least 9 relics from the early 70’s cookie cutter era.
• In 1991, there were 8 stadiums built prior to 1960. Currently, there are only 2 – Fenway and Wrigley. Dodger Stadium is the 3rd oldest in baseball at 49 years (opened in 1962). To put that in perspective – Vin Scully has been broadcasting Dodgers games longer than they have been in their current home.
FlatbreadGarden 
I think free agency had a big impact on the vanishing of astroturf. Nobody wants to play on it, given the choice.
Speaking of the Dodgers (and Vin Scully), check this out – (google “Vin Scully” and “survey”, the top result is from Atascadero News, who I’m assuming are a real news organization, referencing a story from the LA Times):
“If you’re the Dodgers, you don’t send season-ticket holders a survey asking to rate the team’s announcers, including Vin Scully, in eight different categories.
Scully has been behind the microphone since 1950 for the Dodgers. This is his 62nd year. The guy who owns the Dodgers for now, Frank McCourt, was born in 1953, meaning Scully has been with the Dodgers longer than the owner has been alive.
The dude’s a legend. He’s pretty much the only one who could call a game solo, tell stories about the team from decades ago or up to the current game, while giving the right calls, knowing when to add commentary and when to shut up for a moment.
But, as reported in the Los Angeles Times, season-ticket holders were sent a survey asking them to rate the team’s announcers in eight categories: 1. Knowledge of baseball; 2. Knowledge of Dodgers organization; 3. Objectivity; 4. Accuracy of calls; 5. Storytelling ability; 6. Focus on the game; 7. Style; 8. Overall performance.”
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I can understand the survey – it isn’t just limited to Scully. They do have additional announcers for both TV and radio (Scully no longer travels with the team on road trips) so it was probably a more generic question in someone’s head than a criticism of Vin Scully. I hadn’t even considered that Scully has been calling games longer than Frank McCourt has been alive. That is a very long time to be doing one job.
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