This is why the outfield grass at Kauffman Stadium looked different on Tuesday
As he’s done before each game since joining the Royals, rookie Jac Caglianone got in extra defensive work in the outfield Tuesday before facing the Yankees.
It was Caglianone’s first game at Kauffman Stadium, but there was something new about the outfield that even his veteran teammates experienced for the first time.
The playing surface.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro said new sod was installed in the outfield last week while the team was on a two-city road trip.
“They took out the old outfield, just like we did in the infield last year, about this time. Took out the old outfield grass and put in Bermuda grass,” Quatraro said. “That is what the infield is now. So the whole field will be the same.”
The calendar dictated the change in the grass.
“It plays really well in the hot weather,” Quatraro said. “It’s exactly the same field St Louis has, it’s the same field that the Dodgers have, so it’s very, very smooth and plays very true when it’s up and running.”
The grass hasn’t matured, and the severe weather that pounded Kauffman Stadium last week likely didn’t help the growing process. On Tuesday, the turf appeared to be a duller shade of green during the Royals’ loss to the Yankees.
Following Tuesday’s game, one Royals player said he could tell a difference in how the field felt, but he said there were no issues with how it played.
This story was originally published June 11, 2025 at 10:31 AM.
