TEXAS NEIGHBORS | SPRING 2018 By Justin Walker Communications Specialist Baseball is long considered America’s favorite pastime. Legends have been made on the diamond. The winning strike out, the run batted in, a stolen base. Plays go down in history. Games are forever remem-bered. Teams—like our beloved Texas Rangers and reigning World Series Champion Houston Astros—play out their hearts in nine innings. But we can’t forget the little league games where it all starts. From sandlots and streets to parks and major league fields, you can find just about anywhere to put down four bases. And with each of those, the diamond is full of memories, determination and agriculture. Because baseball can’t exist without agriculture. Like these five things. Fields While other sports also use grass fields, baseball does it with style. From the dimensions of the outfield to the elaborate visual design on the grass, field crews take pride in their product. Since 2010, 28 of the 30 major league ballparks have natural grass on their playing surface. Globe Life Park in Arlington, home of the Texas Rang-ers, uses Tifway 419 bermudagrass. The grass is Texas-grown and provided by Tri-Tex Grass, which has three Texas locations. Baseball fields are landscape management at its best. And colleges even offer a degree in it! Food What’s baseball without food? Peanuts, popcorn and hot dogs. You need ag-riculture to get all three. And Texas agriculture shines when it comes to peanuts. We’re the second-largest peanut-producing state in the nation. In 2017, Texas farmers produced 756 million pounds of peanuts. That’s enough to supply every major league stadium in America with peanuts for two full seasons. Bats The batter swings. And connects! The sound of the bat hitting the ball and hurling it toward the stands is iconic. Most modern-day ball players use bats made of maple, ash and birch trees. Those bats start on a timber farm. And Texas is home to 11.9 mil-lion acres of timber in East Texas. Gloves Playing catch isn’t the same without a glove. And you’ll find them scattered among the fans in the outfield and along the baselines, waiting to catch the next long ball or foul ball. Over the years, gloves have changed in style, but they’ve held true to their leather roots. About 12 gloves can be made from one cattle hide. And Texas has 12.3 million head of cattle. Cowabunga! That’s a lot of gloves. Baseballs The ball. At the center of every baseball is a cork or rubber core that’s surrounded by a layer tradi-tionally made from wool. The outer layer consists of either horse or cow hide stitched together with a polyester-cotton blend. Guess what? Texas leads the nation in cotton, cattle and wool. There wouldn’t be as many balls to throw around with friends if it weren’t for Texas agriculture. Baseball is a beloved sport, with memorable moments and iconic players that will last for centuries, just like Texas agriculture. So the next time you sit down to watch America’s pastime, remember its roots in Texas agriculture, and be sure to grab a bag of peanuts. WWW.TEXASFARMBUREAU.ORG