I have waves forming on the infield dirt from dragging. Has anyone ever seen this? It did the same thing last year, I thought it might be the drag, might be too light or small or maybe the speed of the drag... any ideas?
Original Post
Replies sorted oldest to newest
What type of pattern do you use when you drag? The best way is to make the circles working from one side to the other. I'm sorry if that's a horrible description.
What I've seen work best is to have the players rake around the bases to make sure the dirt isn't piling up or trenches developing where they slide. Have the players rake the baseline next to the IF grass. Make sure they aren't pushing the dirt onto the grass because that will erode away the grass and / or create lips. After that then take the mat drag and just pull behind whatever vehicle you use to make the circles which smoothes it all out.
Every so often you will want to take a nail drag to get penetration into the soil and break up the dirt. This will probably be the most beneficial thing to help you keep the waves from developing. See where the low / high places are and use the nail drag to break up the soil. Have the players rake the high to the low and then mat drag to smooth it all out.
If you can describe how you maintain the field it may help us to determine how to help you.
What I've seen work best is to have the players rake around the bases to make sure the dirt isn't piling up or trenches developing where they slide. Have the players rake the baseline next to the IF grass. Make sure they aren't pushing the dirt onto the grass because that will erode away the grass and / or create lips. After that then take the mat drag and just pull behind whatever vehicle you use to make the circles which smoothes it all out.
Every so often you will want to take a nail drag to get penetration into the soil and break up the dirt. This will probably be the most beneficial thing to help you keep the waves from developing. See where the low / high places are and use the nail drag to break up the soil. Have the players rake the high to the low and then mat drag to smooth it all out.
If you can describe how you maintain the field it may help us to determine how to help you.
this usually comes from dragging too fast and/or having grass in the infield dirt.
thanks, i had a feeling it was from dragging too fast, my assistant coach feels like he is timed to get the field dragged ha! We'll try nail dragging it then slowing our drag down daily.
.
Waves in the infield...what a drag!
.
Waves in the infield...what a drag!
.
quote:Originally posted by runners15:
I have waves forming on the infield dirt from dragging. Has anyone ever seen this? It did the same thing last year, I thought it might be the drag, might be too light or small or maybe the speed of the drag... any ideas?
Actually its pretty common. The speed of the drag CAN be a factor, but there are other things to check for. FI, let’s say you’re dragging a standard 60/90 field’s infield dirt between 1st and 3rd bases. While any drag WILL work, some are better than others. Typically on a big field, a 6x6 drag is the smallest that should ever be used. Its not that the others don’t do a nice job, but they take longer to do it.
There are places that use drags that are wider than longer though, and that can definitely cause waves if either the drag is pulled too fast, or not pulled at a constant speed, like players pulling it. Each time the drag slows in the slightest then is sped up again, there will be a wave. That could be mitigated though, by using a drag that was longer. It has to do with where the greatest buildup of dirt is in the drag.
Another thing people don’t realize is, the drags are made to have their entire length and width on the ground. When being pulled by players or adults, that front part closest to the rope is often off the ground. Just making the pull rope longer will make a tremendous difference.
Unfortunately, the same thing can happen when using a cart or a tractor to pull the drag, where the rope is so short, when its hooked up, the front of the drag is raised. But, adding length to the pull rope should be done with care. He reason is, the drag is longer, and that additional length can cause other problems, especially if you have a wild man trying to get done as quickly as possible. The trouble is, as turns are made, the drag has a whip action and can either get up on the grass, or will kick small amounts of dirt into the grass. That’s how those nasty lips form!
The best answer is to make sure whoever drags the field just takes their time and allows the equipment to work as designed.
quote:Originally posted by Stats4Gnats:quote:Originally posted by runners15:
I have waves forming on the infield dirt from dragging. Has anyone ever seen this? It did the same thing last year, I thought it might be the drag, might be too light or small or maybe the speed of the drag... any ideas?
Actually its pretty common. The speed of the drag CAN be a factor, but there are other things to check for. FI, let’s say you’re dragging a standard 60/90 field’s infield dirt between 1st and 3rd bases. While any drag WILL work, some are better than others. Typically on a big field, a 6x6 drag is the smallest that should ever be used. Its not that the others don’t do a nice job, but they take longer to do it.
There are places that use drags that are wider than longer though, and that can definitely cause waves if either the drag is pulled too fast, or not pulled at a constant speed, like players pulling it. Each time the drag slows in the slightest then is sped up again, there will be a wave. Also, if the drag is being pulled too fast, the very back of it will bounce, and that will cause waves. Both could be mitigated though, by using a drag that was longer. It has to do with where the greatest buildup of dirt is in the drag.
Another thing people don’t realize is, the drags are made to have their entire length and width on the ground. When being pulled by players or adults, that front part closest to the rope is often off the ground. Just making the pull rope longer will make a tremendous difference.
Unfortunately, the same thing can happen when using a cart or a tractor to pull the drag, where the rope is so short, when its hooked up, the front of the drag is raised. But, adding length to the pull rope should be done with care. He reason is, the drag is longer, and that additional length can cause other problems, especially if you have a wild man trying to get done as quickly as possible. The trouble is, as turns are made, the drag has a whip action and can either get up on the grass, or will kick small amounts of dirt into the grass. That’s how those nasty lips form!
The best answer is to make sure whoever drags the field just takes their time and allows the equipment to work as designed.
Groundskeeper at CWS says drag "at walking speed"
I have also encountered waves; it can result from the way the water runs on or off your infield to or from your outfield. Deep nail drag if you can and change your dragging pattern should help.
I have also encountered waves; it can result from the way the water runs on or off your infield to or from your outfield. Deep nail drag if you can and change your dragging pattern should help.
I've had this same problem, so this information is very helpful. I've always used an interlocking circular pattern while dragging, but perhaps I've been going too fast. I've started keeping the drag further away from the front and back of the skinned portions, and that seems to help.
All good ideas...also alternate between circles and straight back and forth when dragging....some days we circle drag with the nail drag and then back and forth with the mat drag or vice versa