FIELD OF DREAD

[douglas9]

Six former Phillies died from the same brain cancer. We tested the Vet’s turf and found dangerous chemicals.


As the clock inched toward 11:30 p.m., 65,838 people rose to their feet inside cavernous Veterans Stadium. It was Oct. 21, 1980, and Game 6 of the World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Kansas City Royals had reached the bottom of the ninth inning.

All that stood between the Phillies and the franchise’s first championship was one strike.

On the mound was closer Tug McGraw, 36 — “Tuggles” to his friends. McGraw, famous for his unshakable optimism, had loaded the bases, jeopardizing the Phillies’ 4-1 lead. “This is a helluva show,” he told himself. “I better not ruin it.” Among the anxious faces in the Phillies’ dugout was John Vukovich, 33, a light-hitting infielder who was considered one of the team’s fiercest competitors.

Across the field, the Royals waited in anticipation, including Ken Brett, 32, a former Phillie who was once the youngest pitcher to appear in a World Series game, and Dan Quisenberry, 27, a witty reliever who dabbled in poetry.

City officials had fantasized about such a moment nearly a decade earlier, when the Vet first opened. The stadium, built on 74 acres of marshland in South Philly, had been over budget, tainted by a bribery scandal, dogged by construction mishaps and delays. But it did boast a million-dollar, state-of-the-art playing surface: AstroTurf.

McGraw sneaked a fastball past Willie Wilson, a Royals outfielder.

Strike three.

https://www.inquirer.com/news/inq2/astroturf-vet-artificial-turf-pfas-forever-chemicals-glioblastoma-cancer-phillies-1980-20230307.html

[Blues Heron]

1. You see that plastic turf in school after school - to me its a form of abuse

you are stealing the simple pleasure of playing on grass and are exposing the athletes and kids to god knows what is in that artificial plastic matting. Its like playing on a giant doormat.

It is such a quintessentially 21st century American idiocy. Instead of the smell of dirt, grass and a little bit of chlorophyll and extra oxygen, they get a plastic, off-gassing environment.

[Walleye]

2. The colors are noxious too, especially what they use at high schools