The Tennessee Smokies (Class AA; Southern League) are recipients of the Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) 2020 Field of the Year honors in the professional sports category.
Eric Taylor, Smokies Head Groundskeeper, has previously won three straight Tennessee Turfgrass Association Professional Sports ‘Field of the Year’ awards.
“Every year I strive to keep the field in its best condition possible. This year reaching another goal, has been a great feeling. Although no Minor League Baseball was played inside Smokies Stadium in 2020, we still had over 300 events and games taking place on the field,” Taylor said via press release.
Taylor is one (1) of 2,700 members of STMA, a professional association for men and women who manage sports fields worldwide. A panel of 14 judges independently scored entries based on playability, appearance of surface, effective use of budgets and more. Taylor will be recognized at this year’s virtual STMA annual awards banquet.