The Kansas City Royals are a team built on speed, defense and pitching. While the San Francisco Giants can’t do much to alter KC’s defense and pitching in the World Series, there is one thing they can do to reduce their opponent’s speed. And it looks like they did just that.
Several Royals said after Game 3 of the World Series on Friday that the AT&T Park grounds crew tried to make the field slower by watering it down and adding extra dirt.
From The Los Angeles Times’ Bill Shaikin:
“It was watered down. It was sandy out there,” Kansas City outfielder Jarrod Dyson said. “When I took off, I left a big divot in the ground. They’re just trying to slow our running game down. Typical move. We’re not surprised by it.”
Outfielder Lorenzo Cain said the infield had “a lot of sand” and called the surface “soft.”
Said Cain: “It didn’t affect us at all. It’s their field. They can do what they want.”
Dyson said the Detroit Tigers did the same thing at Comerica Park to try neutralizing the speedy Royals.
While this may come across as somewhat unsportsmanlike, this is one of the benefits of having a “homefield advantage.” You get to tailor your park towards your liking or, in this case, against your opponent’s.
Does it really matter? Though KC stole seven bases against the Oakland A’s in the wild-card playoff game and five in the ALDS against the Angels, they only had one in four games against the Orioles and none through three games against the Giants. They’re winning without needing that part of the game.
Forearm bash to Eye on Baseball
