It seems that every town in America has a baseball diamond, and these diamonds require maintenance. From mowing the fields, to dragging the skinned areas to keeping the soil moist, maintaining a baseball field can be a lot of work. In professional baseball, the techniques used by the field manager can be a big impact on the game. The following are interesting tidbits about the process of keeping a Major League Baseball field in tip-top shape.

• An average, annual field maintenance budget for the Major Leagues can range from $50,000 to $200,000.
• During the season, groundskeepers for Major League Baseball stadiums usually work anywhere from 65 to 100+ hours per week. Preparation of most parks begins in March and doesn't end until the season is over.
• Not a lot is known about the appropriate water quantities for skinned surfaces in baseball; however, research is being conducted throughout the country to find out more.
• The number of times per week the field is mowed depends on the weather and fertility program. Baseball fields are mowed everyday to once a week, depending on the specific needs of the facility.
• Tarpaulins (Tarps) are used for several purposes — to protect the field from rain and to retain moisture in the mound and home plate areas when the field is not in use. In the event of rain, the mound and home plate areas are covered as quickly as possible. The tarps must be as heavy as possible to keep it on the ground during high winds.

Inside info from the head groundskeeper for the Detroit Tigers' Comerica Park:

• The weather for the 2006 World Series was quite rainy. The field had to be covered more often and monitored for moisture.
• The field was top dressed before one of the games to control the moisture. Between games the field had to be monitored to make sure it was moist but not slippery.
• While mowing during the months of September and October, clippings are collected because they take longer to decompose in the fall. Removing them helps to prevent a slime layer that can add slickness to the turf.

Sources: MLB.com; GreenMediaOnline.com