Robertson Field at Satow Stadium
Robertson Field at Satow Stadium, formerly Robertson Field, formerly Andy Coakley Field, is Columbia University's varsity baseball facility at Baker Athletics Complex. It is named after Hal Robertson SEAS'81, who donated $1 million to the facility. [1]
On May 17, 1939, Robertson Field (called Andy Coakley Field back then) played host to the first live television broadcast of an athletics event. A Columbia-Princeton baseball game was carried by the National Broadcasting Company to the 400 or so sets then capable of receiving its broadcast signal. Satisfied with the result, NBC decided to try doing a major league game. Five months later it did, from Brooklyn's Ebbets Field. (By the way, Princeton won.)
Although fans disagree over the the appeal of the all-turf infield (described below), they universally agree that Robertson Field is one of the most pleasant places to catch a ballgame in New York City. It's a shame that more students don't make games.
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Abomination Field
In the offseason in 2006-2007, the geniuses at Athletics replaced a perfectly good natural-grass surface with FieldTurf (TM), the same surface of Lawrence A. Wien Stadium. Inexplicably, the infield dirt was covered in turf, too; in its place is a brown turf infield pattern. Consequently, the only actual dirt areas are the pitching mound, a circular cutout around home plate, and the warning track. The result is a playing field that looks pretty damn ugly. Why the Columbia administration could not even arrange for dirt cutouts around the bases is beyond me.
In response, fans have taken to nicknaming it Abomination Field. WKCR sportscasters used to call it this until they were censored in 2009.
Justifications
Defenders of the turn say that, given the weather conditions in the Northeast, the new state-of-the-art FieldTurf (TM) surface allows the Columbia baseball team much greater utilization of the baseball venue at all times of the year. Because the new turf surface drains much more quickly and evenly than a clay infield, the venue is less likely to be considered "unplayable" after poor weather in the New York metropolitan area. They seem to have conveniently forgotten that tarps were invented specifically for solving this problem.
Furthermore, they say, Robertson Field is not the only field in America to have an all-turf infield. Which is a really sound argument, if you think about it hard and long enough.
Friendly Atmosphere
Columbia students are banned from making any noise because "it might offend the parents." First, they are given a warning, and then they are asked to leave. Mysteriously, however, supporters from other schools are never warned, despite being generally ruder and more disrespectful. Considering the administration's stance, why so few students show up is hardly a mystery.
"Robertson Field at Satow Stadium
Further improvements are being made on the baseball field prior to the 2011 stadium, with brand new seats, extended seating down the first base line, and a new home dugout being installed. A new press box is also being constructed; whether WKCR sportscasters will be able to call games straight from the field level is not yet clear. (Previously, they had to call the game from hundreds of feet away in the press box in Lawrence A. Wien Stadium) The improvements were made possible by the donations of Philip M. Satow.
