February 9, 2008

On a beautiful Saturday morning, 16 chapter members gathered in the press box at Tempe Diablo Stadium, the spring home of the Los Angeles Angels. Prior to the business portion of the meeting the group heard from Grant Trenbeath, the head groundskeeper at Chase Field and Jack Magruder, the Diamondbacks beat writer for the East Valley Tribune.

Trenbeath explained the day-by-day routines of the groundskeeping crew and told stories about the evolution of the field at Bank One Ballpark/Chase Field. It seems a bet on the 2001 Fiesta Bowl game between Notre Dame and Oregon State decided the fate of the grass strip that separated the back of the warning track from the outfield fences. The hard to care for feature was added by original GM Joe Garagiola Jr. when the park opened in 1998. Trenbeath wanted to do away with the thing grass strip because it was hard to water and mow. Garagiola, a Notre Dame alum made a wager with Trenbeath the winter after the 2000 baseball season. With a Notre Dame win, the groundskeeper would never ask about the eliminating the grass strip again. If Oregon State won, the strip was gone. Well, the Beavers trampled the Irish 41-9 and the strip disappeared forever.

Jack Magruder discussed the Diamondbacks off-season moves and their chances of repeating as National League Western Division champs. He thinks that the D’Backs have as good as chance as any team in the division of repeating. An improved starting pitching staff and development of their young players are the keys for the club’s success. Magruder thinks that the loss of clubhouse leader Tony Clark could hurt the team. He says that he’s interested to see how that move plays out.

In the business portion of the meeting, the group elected new officers;

• President: Rodney Johnson
• Vice President: Bob Vostry
• Activities Vice President: Ryan Taylor
• Treasurer: Bill Suphan
• Secretary: David Schollmeyer