Field maintenance part of job for prep baseball coaches

By: JOHN MAFFEI - Staff Writer | Tuesday, May 8, 2007 12:50 AM PDT ∞

He is the God of Sod, the Sultan of Seed, the Titan of Turf.

And there was a time when Ralph Cripe worked exclusively at Carlsbad High on a baseball infield that rivaled the greens at Augusta National.

But Cripe had a falling out with the administration at Carlsbad in 2001. While the ballpark, with its purple flower beds, is still nice, the infield has slipped to only good.

Cripe now works as a consultant, helping out at Escondido, Oceanside, Vista, San Pasqual, Orange Glen and back at Carlsbad. He also assists on Little League fields in Vista and the city's Boys and Girls Clubs.

But the once great Lancers' ballpark has been replaced as the best in North County. That honor now belongs to Poway.

"That Carlsbad field was perfect," said Bob Parry, who played on Carlsbad's diamond when he was an outfielder at Mt. Carmel and is now the head baseball coach at Poway. "We were all scared of the guy.

"If you played catch too close to the infield, he'd tell you to back up. And you didn't dare spit sunflower seeds on his infield.

"He attacked weeds on his hands and knees. Weeds were his enemy.

"Carlsbad was immaculate."

Now Parry finds himself in charge of the best baseball field in North County -- if not all of San Diego.

And his observations of Cripe's work certainly come in handy. Because though Parry has plenty of help from the school district and the school's grounds crew, he and baseball coaches everywhere, do a lot of their own field maintenance.

Parry was watering his infield recently when girls basketball coach Jay Trousdale wandered by, and the kidding started.

"He was yelling at me about working on the field," Parry said. "So I barked back.

"How much work does a basketball coach do on his court? A tough day of getting the place ready is finding the right key to open the gym."

Soccer coaches might roll out the nets. The same goes for field hockey and water polo. Swimming coaches might even attach the lane markers. Basketball coaches might sweep the floor, but only if the manager is sick.

You'll never catch a football coach lining his field.

But baseball coaches regularly drag, water, mow, edge and line their fields.

And players prepare the batter's box and tamp down the pitcher's mound.

"I played for Jim Dietz at San Diego State, and you learned to do everything," Parry said. "Certainly, we learned how to play the game, but Coach Dietz taught us how to prepare a field, rake, drag, line and dry it out after a rainstorm -- even if it meant setting the infield dirt on fire."

Dietz, who built a field at San Diego State from scratch before there was a Tony Gwynn Stadium, had a motto -- "When in doubt, water." So, like Dietz, you'll catch Parry watering when he has lineup decisions to make.

"Most of the responsibility of keeping up a baseball field falls to the coaches," Cripe said.

"Every field is different. How the aprons, the arcs and cutouts are prepared depends on the coach.

"The best piece of equipment a coach can give his players is a good playing surface -- more than a $300 bat, fancy uniforms or gloves. If a ball takes a bad hop, bingo, it could cost you a ballgame.

"Most of the programs now get the players involved in keeping the field groomed. And that's great. Not only does it give the players a sense of responsibility, it gives them a sense of ownership.

"Most high school districts pay to have the football field maintained. In baseball, that falls to the coach and his players."

-- Contact staff writer John Maffei at (760) 740-3547 or jmaffei@nctimes.com.