For Better or Worse : Artificial Turf Was Introduced to Baseball 25 Years Ago and Has Taken Root in the National Pastime. Reviews Are Still Mixed.

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the introduction of artificial turf to major league sports. Because of the inability to maintain a grass field in Houston’s Astrodome, the Monsanto Company’s synthetic playing surface--dubbed AstroTurf--became part of the sports landscape.

For better or worse, artificial turf has altered baseball, at least in the carpeted stadiums, by making it more a one-base-at-a-time game of speed and defense and by introducing the Zamboni machine, rug burn, turf toe and the kangaroo hop to the national pastime.

A brief history of AstroTurf: In the early 1960s, the Ford Foundation commissioned Monsanto to develop an artificial playing surface that would have the look and general feel of grass while providing some cushioning and the ability to remain playable in wet weather.

The result was an artificial surface that was installed at the Moses Brown Boys School in Providence, R.I., in 1964. Two years later, a similar surface was installed in the Astrodome, after the dome had been painted and the natural grass had begun dying in the diminished sunlight. The new rug, AstroTurf, was laid over the Dome’s dirt foundation, and the first game was played on April 18, 1966, the Dodgers defeating the Houston Astros, 6-3.

Playing their home games on the turf, the Astros nonetheless finishing last in the National League in fielding that season.

More recent versions are laid over porous asphalt containing plastic drainpipes, a system originally tried in European soccer stadiums subject to rainy weather.

Artificial turf holds the heat well, as Casey Stengel once wryly noted. Its melting point is 490 degrees Fahrenheit.

The turf has been an attendance boon to such teams as the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals, who draw from several states and now rarely suffer rainouts. Even long rain delays don’t make much difference. A version of the Zamboni machine--familiar for its use in resurfacing ice rinks at hockey games--vacuums much of the moisture, and the field is again playable in minutes.

Of course, the new surface took some adjustment. Baseball players tailored their swings to become “turf hitters.” Football players who skinned exposed parts of their bodies on the new surface developed staph infections, and elbow pads and gloves became standard equipment.

Some players who chew tobacco found themselves facing an uncomfortable dilemma. “The first time I saw turf was in New Orleans. I was playing for the Iowa Oaks,” recalls former Angel pitcher John Verhoeven, now pitching coach at Cal State Dominguez Hills. “I used to chew tobacco then. I walked on the carpet and started to spit, then I looked down and thought, ‘I better not spit on this stuff.’ ” Verhoeven managed not to soil the carpet, waiting until he got to the dirt part of the infield.

Management might like the predictability of attendance with synthetic turf, but many who play on it have a different view.

“If a horse can’t eat it, I don’t want to play on it,” former slugger Dick Allen said when the new surface was introduced.

Outfielder Andre Dawson of the Chicago Cubs rejuvenated his career when he took his tender knees from Montreal’s turf to the natural grass of Wrigley Field. The Reds’ Eric Davis has spent much of his career nursing injuries he blames on Cincinnati’s turf.

Angel Manager Doug Rader, now 46, became Houston’s full-time third baseman in 1968 and has the scars to prove it. He winces at the word AstroTurf .

Said Rader: “When I was young, my walk was a little more fluid than the present one. The only thing I can say about this is that I have not always walked the way I walk. How can I phrase it--I have refined orthopedics. My joints don’t work the same way they used to, and it’s not because of old age. They started getting bad when I was 29 years old. It’s just from playing on that stuff.

“It really was devastating on my legs. I don’t think there’s anybody who will differ with the statement that early AstroTurf was very hard on you, especially when you spend as much time diving on it as I did. These scars (on both elbows) are from that.”

Technology has improved. New carpets have been installed recently in the Astrodome, Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati and Olympic Stadium in Montreal with superior drainage and shock absorption. Scientists claim synthetic surfaces are easier on athletes’ legs than grass. The Astrodome renovated its surface a few years ago, installing separate rugs for baseball and football.

The new turf “is 1,000% better,” Rader admitted.

How much does turf affect the game, and how much do teams tailor their talent to fit?

Outfielder Len Dykstra, a career .268 hitter going into last season, became more of a contact hitter in his first full season with the Philadelphia Phillies and batted .325 on artificial surface.

Last year in the National League, five of the top six base stealers played their home games on artificial surfaces, as did both league batting champions, Willie McGee of the Cardinals and George Brett of the Kansas City Royals, and both league leaders in triples, Mariano Duncan of the Reds and Tony Fernandez of the Toronto Blue Jays. Three players had hitting streaks of more than 20 games, and all played the majority of their games on turf--the Minnesota Twins’ Brian Harper, with 25 in a row; Dykstra with 23, and McGee with 22.

The increase in artificial surfaces in baseball--six of 12 stadiums in the National League and four of 14 in the American League--has created a new set of adjustments for the players and, in some cases, unexpected adventures. The Cardinals’ automated rollaway tarpaulin, stored underneath the playing surface, nearly swallowed Vince Coleman during the 1985 NL playoffs against the Dodgers. Hearing his screams during warmups, players turned to see the tarp making its way up one of Coleman’s legs. He missed the rest of the playoffs and the all-turf World Series against the Royals.

“It’s real different stuff--every place that has it is different,” said Loyola Marymount baseball Coach Chris Smith, who has also managed in the minor leagues. “(The turf at) Texas is different from Arkansas. If I was in the Midwest, with the weather, I’d probably have it. But I have no desire to have it here. I like coming to the park and smelling the grass.”

Or as Kevin Costner, who played career minor leaguer Crash Davis in “Bull Durham,” said: “I believe there ought to be a Constitutional amendment outlawin’ AstroTurf and the designated hitter.”

Times staff writers Helene Elliott and Paul McLeod contributed to this story.