Diamonds on the diamond
20 Jan, 2009 By: Daniel G. Jacobs Athletic Turf News |
| Craftsman unveils its professional line. |
There it was. The shiny metal glinted in the sunlight. A cool breeze washed over the assembled journalists and vendors sitting in the stands at Osceola County Stadium, spring training home to the Houston Astros. Mowers and hand-held tools, the latest offerings from Craftsman, were spread around the infield.
It was all part of the Craftsman Lawn & Garden Demo Day in Kissimmee, FL. We were there to learn about the latest offerings – metal, steel and plastic – comprising the latest products available to consumers and professionals (more on that in a bit). But it was the small, singular object encircling the right ring finger of David Mellor that caught the attention of most of us there – at least the ones who dreamed of one day stepping onto a field like this to prepare to play a season of Major League Baseball.
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| David Mellor shares his stories. |
Mellor is the head groundskeeper for the 2007 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox. And the shiny object encircling his finger was his gold, ruby- and diamond-encrusted championship ring. Mellor actually owns two – the other from Red Sox 2004 campaign.
Mellor was brought in for more than to just show off his jewelry, however. The folks from Craftsman flew the veteran groundskeeper to Florida to try out their equipment and to tout its virtue to a bunch of journalists. Admittedly, the Craftsman folks target the consumer market, but they’ve found that a number of those folks want the best equipment available. That’s why they developed the Craftsman Professional line.
Mellor says he plans to use Craftman’s battery-powered, cordless mower at Fenway.
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| The author tries on some bling — don't worry, Mellor got it back! |
While most of the equipment might still fit the so-called “pro-sumer” market, the 26-hp, 52-in.-deck zero-turn riding mower does come with a one-year commercial warranty. The mower sports a Briggs & Stratton ELS V-Twin OHV engine and Hydro-Gear commercial duty ZT2800 transaxles along with four-point deck leveling and dual fuel tanks with 8.5-gallon capacity. The machine tops out at 8.5 mph and sells for less than $6,000. A number of attachments – including a sweeper, cart and spreader are easily attached.
The professional line also includes a number of hand-held items including 2- and 4-cycle trimmers, an 18-inch chainsaw, a backpack blower and pressure washer.
Craftsman also offers a line of propane-powered handheld tools. The shafts are interchangeable with several attachments including an edger, brush cutter, cultivator, blower, hedge trimmer and a pole saw.
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