ASK the
EXPERTS
WILLIAM CHAFFE,
President of Paragon Sports
Constructors, LLC
“Shaw’s commitment to research and
development have been second-
to-none,” said Matwick. “However,
its engagement with the study at
Auburn demonstrated to our staff
that Shaw was just as concerned
about player safety as we were.”
Jamie Reed, who is the Rangers’
senior director of medical operations
and sports science, has been heavily
involved in the turf studies at
Auburn University and has been the
Rangers’ primary point person on the
safely and performance aspects of
researching playing surfaces. This has
included site visits and testing with
minor league players on turf surfaces.
“During thirty seven years in
professional baseball, my emphasis
has been on player safety and the
prevention of injuries,” Reed said. “As
we did the research and studies on
determining our new field surface,
these goals have been the main
priority from the start. I am very
confident that this is going to be a
great product that no player has ever
experienced in his career.”
By using the data analysis tool,
the system can be tuned to meet
the playability characteristics that
matter most to the team. The system
provided to the Rangers will be
specific to their needs and unique
to Globe Life Field. The Rangers
will opt for the B1K natural system,
which employs a natural, sustainable
infill called Geofill. The system
results in excellent ball-surface
and player-surface interaction.
The ball bounce will be in line with
bounce trajectories on natural grass.
Improved player-surface interaction
results in fewer instances of lower-
extremity fatigue and true reaction
times. Player safety and performance
played a major role in the Rangers'
decision.
The City of Arlington’s Office of
Communication recently talked to
William Chaffe, president of Paragon
Sports Constructors, LLC, a sports
construction company that specializes
in the construction of synthetic grass
sports fields and running tracks.
“We are a North Texas company. We’re
located 20 minutes down the road,”
Chaffe said. “We have employees
who live in Arlington and we have
employees who send their kids to
Arlington schools. The pride that we
will have in this field because of our
connections to Arlington is really going
to be very special.”
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