Always Be Cool (ABC) Podcast - Bobby Kerr & Darren Copeland of SummitLendingUSA.com - #138 | The "Sodfather" George Toma | The World's Foremost Authority on Professional Sports Playing Surfaces

#138 | The "Sodfather" George Toma | The World's Foremost Authority on Professional Sports Playing Surfaces

Explicit content warning

03/30/23 • 76 min

Always Be Cool (ABC) Podcast - Bobby Kerr & Darren Copeland of SummitLendingUSA.com

George Toma | The Sodfather | The Nitty Gritty Dirt Man | March 24, 2023

Pele quote: “The best field I ever played on was Wembley Stadium. The second best? Municipal Stadium in Kansas City.”
- Maintained by none other than our guest today, Mr. George Toma.
At age 28, in 1957, he became the head groundskeeper for the Kansas City Athletics of Major League Baseball, a job he accepted precisely because the A’s and Municipal Stadium had such a notoriously poor history of groundskeeping.
Triple Duty: How difficult was it to maintain Municipal Stadium when it was housed by the Chiefs, Royals, & The Spurs.
Specialty of Astroturf maintenance VS grass - How does one study astroturf and it’s maintenance
Witkowski - What is the field you are the most proud of for a game? Worst field you ever worked on?
Do people still ask you for tips on residential lawn care? Do you still maintain your lawn here at home?
Comments from many listeners on how they used to watch the lowly KC A’s but the field always looked so beautiful.
- On the broadcasts Monty Moore would go on and on about the grounds crew, how fast they could groom the field in the 5th and how quickly they could get the tarp down when it started raining.
Pressure/Expectations: Did the nerves ever go away before a large sporting event?
What have you enjoyed most about your role with so many major Pro Sports franchises and events?
Widows & Kids - Rumor has it that you use to help out around the city with caring for widows’ lawns & carrying around a bag full of baseballs to give out to kids?
Batters Box - Did you ever find the keys to the batter's box? 🙂
Cost - What does it cost to get the field ready for:
- Average mid-summer’s MLB game
- NFL Sunday game
- Super Bowl
Insurance - “The cheapest insurance for any athlete, no matter the age, is a good playing field.”
Paul McCartney - You guys still keep in touch?

Special Cuts of Grass - How do they cut the grass to where you can see the crown or other symbols in the grass?
thebobbykerr.com | summitlendingusa.com

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George Toma | The Sodfather | The Nitty Gritty Dirt Man | March 24, 2023

Pele quote: “The best field I ever played on was Wembley Stadium. The second best? Municipal Stadium in Kansas City.”
- Maintained by none other than our guest today, Mr. George Toma.
At age 28, in 1957, he became the head groundskeeper for the Kansas City Athletics of Major League Baseball, a job he accepted precisely because the A’s and Municipal Stadium had such a notoriously poor history of groundskeeping.
Triple Duty: How difficult was it to maintain Municipal Stadium when it was housed by the Chiefs, Royals, & The Spurs.
Specialty of Astroturf maintenance VS grass - How does one study astroturf and it’s maintenance
Witkowski - What is the field you are the most proud of for a game? Worst field you ever worked on?
Do people still ask you for tips on residential lawn care? Do you still maintain your lawn here at home?
Comments from many listeners on how they used to watch the lowly KC A’s but the field always looked so beautiful.
- On the broadcasts Monty Moore would go on and on about the grounds crew, how fast they could groom the field in the 5th and how quickly they could get the tarp down when it started raining.
Pressure/Expectations: Did the nerves ever go away before a large sporting event?
What have you enjoyed most about your role with so many major Pro Sports franchises and events?
Widows & Kids - Rumor has it that you use to help out around the city with caring for widows’ lawns & carrying around a bag full of baseballs to give out to kids?
Batters Box - Did you ever find the keys to the batter's box? 🙂
Cost - What does it cost to get the field ready for:
- Average mid-summer’s MLB game
- NFL Sunday game
- Super Bowl
Insurance - “The cheapest insurance for any athlete, no matter the age, is a good playing field.”
Paul McCartney - You guys still keep in touch?

Special Cuts of Grass - How do they cut the grass to where you can see the crown or other symbols in the grass?
thebobbykerr.com | summitlendingusa.com

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Previous Episode

#137 Jeremy "TheRealJGuts" Guthrie | Former MLB Pitcher | Servant Leader | Missionary | CustomCleats.com

Custom Cleats.com - Partner, turn any sneaker into a custom pair of cleats
2023 will bring us the 5th installment of the World Baseball Classic (WBC)
- You can watch the games on MLB.com/world-baseball-classic.
- Good handful of affiliated players and those with major league time trying to help represent their native nations.
- JGuts Playing in 2023?
Fantasy Camp - Still throwing smoke with Chen (Mark Paul Gosselar)
10 years since landing with the Royals
- 2 starts in 2014 World Series (first ever appearance in POSTSEASON was WS
Story about transferring from BYU → Stanford?
- College World Series Championship game in 2001
Battles with playing in Colorado?
Fantasy Camp - Plan on attending again? Anybody he’s recruiting to join?
Playing in Australia - Culture change? Family go with?
2 Years as Missionary in Spain
He is a yonsei (Yun-Say) or fourth generation Japanese American
Baseball “academies” in other countries (Rome in January)
State of MLB mega-contracts - Carlos Correa VS A-ROD
Best Teammate he’s ever had - GORDO (define relationship)

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#139 | Sarah Nauser | ALS Warrior & Advocate | #SarahsSoldiers | IamALS.org | Co-Organizer of MLB's Lou Gehrig Day

ALS.org | IamALS.org | #SarahsSoldiers | Facebook.com/SarahsALSfight

Perfect timing with Opening Day tomorrow!
- Will you be able to go to Opening Day - I know it’s been a national holiday for you for a long time - Your “Happy Place.”
May 2023 - Only one month away from ALS Awareness Month
- Ice Bucket Challenge - How did that become so big - big enough to raise over $200 million for the cause
As a teenager you dreamed of becoming a police officer - wanted to be the police officer worked Royals dugout and games
- Shortly after your diagnosis, your dream came true. You worked your last shift in a police uniform in the Royals dugout.
- Conchola
Some basics about ALS:
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Disease)
- 5600 people diagnosed in the US each year
- Affects the function of nerves and muscles
- Only 5-10% of cases are inherited - in most cases the person is the only family member to have ALS
- Average age of diagnosis is 55
Treated like royalty for many years at spring training.
Lou Gehrig’s Disease - For some listeners who may not be familiar with the dual-names, can you explain why it’s sometimes called LGD?
Lou Gehrig Committee Member?
Blue Springs buddy - Ross Capponetto, also has ALS - RossCaponetto.com

Quotes:

You are the strongest, most positive person I have ever met, Our hero, Absolutely amazing person, one of the most amazing people in the world. She is an inspiration for us all!!

thebobbykerr.com | IamALS.org

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