Baseball Field Maintenance Blog

Jul 30, Learn from baseball field projects and case studies

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 04:38:29 GMT

Need baseball field projects to learn from? Here's a visual guide of many different projects.

Jul 26, Baseball dirt: raising the level, adding conditioner, and other questions

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 03:51:13 GMT

Questions about adding baseball dirt, raising the level two inches, how to maintain, where to get training

Jul 22, Overcome Obstacles to Fixing Your City's Baseball Fields

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 06:51:59 GMT

Overcome obstacles with your baseball field proejcts: 7 things you need to know to be successful.

Jul 21, Installing sod on your baseball field

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:39:51 GMT

How to use sod for problem areas, or your whole baseball field

Jul 19, Baseball field maintenance video gallery

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 05:55:13 GMT

baseball field maintenance video gallery - lots of how tos for you

Jul 17, Baseball fields gone bad - 7 case studies

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 07:54:53 GMT

Baseball fields gone bad - problem, impact on players and what you can do to fix it.

Jul 16, Baseball field checklist for field maintenance and pre-season audit

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 07:13:06 GMT

If you're looking for baseball field checklist and audit ideas, here are the best ones to develop a proper maintenance routine for your baseball field

Jul 16, Baseball Field Maintenance & Renovation for Youth, Collegiate, and Pros

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 07:11:48 GMT

Use this 'how to' baseball field maintenance guide to make your baseball field safer and more playable.

Jul 13, Pursuing a baseball grant? Then read this.

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:58:18 GMT

Looking for baseball grant info? Then look here: Examples, sources, and case studies.

Jul 12, Baseball field questions - specific answers

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 03:45:05 GMT

Baseball Field Questions? Get Specific Answers from Experts and Help Each Other.

Jul 7, Baseball Field Maintenance Handbook

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 07:21:48 GMT

Baseball Field Maintenance Handbook: Secrets to Your Own Winning Baseball Field. Baseball Field Maintenance Made Easy!

Jul 5, Adding brick dust to a baseball field - dialog with a coach

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 14:18:11 GMT

Dialog with a coach all about adding brick dust to his baseball field

Jun 26, Proper baseball dirt maintenance for true, consistent, and good footing

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 23:01:40 GMT

If you're looking for ideas and techniques for baseball dirt maintenance, then this is the page for you.

Jun 25, Adding dirt mix to your ball field - make sure first

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 03:58:37 GMT

Adam is asking about adding dirt mix to his baseball and softball fields. See the surprising ending! And an added warning to watch out for assumptions.

Jun 19, Over seed bare spots in baseball sod

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 07:26:08 GMT

How to over seed bare spots in baseball sod - one thing you must get right for great results

Jun 8, Only the best: Turface for your baseball field

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 04:59:33 GMT

Condition your field with turface to improve drainage, reduce compaction, and absorb excess water

Jun 2, Remove lip build up on your ball field using water

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 05:17:58 GMT

How to use water to remove lip build up without wrecking your turf

May 27, baseball field turf maintenance checklist

Thu, 27 May 2010 15:49:53 GMT

A great 10 step baseball field turf maintenance checklist

May 26, How to roll baseball field turf so it is level

Wed, 26 May 2010 13:38:10 GMT

How to roll baseball field turf to make it level and get rid of the lumps and bumps

Apr 30, Tools for your baseball field maintenance

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 05:41:00 GMT

Assorted tools required for adequate baseball field maintenance

Apr 29, Flattening, aerating, and edging baseball field turf

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 05:10:19 GMT

Untitled Document Texas Charlie writes:

I did an awesome job on my field last year. I used your info to support all of the things I did on the field. The rest of the league was very impressed and I have been given free reins to do anything I want this year and they trust me.

But have a question:

I read that you said roll before aerating, why? Don't you want the roller the last thing on the fields to really have the smoothness. Will the roller push the lips out or do I have to use the sod cutter. My lips are not bad this year. I cut them out last year. Do you shave the lips with the sod cutter? My sod cutter really sucks and is hard to control.

Thanks for the help

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Hello Texas Charlie,

Regarding your plan. It will work. There are 'rules of thumb', but you know a fellow told me that the abbreviation is ROT. So, not all rules of thumb need to followed to a T.

Rolling compacts the soil as it flattens. Core aerating afterwards helps the turf get some air and moisture pathways. Sanding before rolling can be like using sandpaper on the turf. It might hurt. Something to consider adding to the plan is after you fertilize and topdress, drag the metal mesh drag along to push it into the core holes as well as level out the sand and any cores still on the ground.

More info on using sand here: http://tinyurl.com/y93baoc

If your lips are not bad, then make a simple 2-3 inch deep trench next to your grass edge before you roll the turf. The roller will flatten by pushing the high spot to the side.

On using a steam roller check here: http://tinyurl.com/ydkegas

The sod cutter really is a great device when first fixing major lips or cutting back grass that is far past its place. But once you've done that, you may not need to use the sod cutter again. It can actually cause more problems. So, once a field is flat and the edge just needs a trim, I use a three wheel gas powered lawn edger. Works like a champ. That's what many pro teams use.

Here's a fun photo story about edging a field:

So, have a great spring season!
You're doing an awesome job!

Apr 26, Baseball fence screen - what you need to know

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 17:29:14 GMT

Baseball fence screen - what you need to know about wind and fence specs

Apr 26, 5 Tips for Better Mounds and Batter Boxes

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:41:41 GMT

5 tips for a better mound and batter box

Whether you are preparing for all-stars, tourneys, or fall ball, you probably want the same thing I do. You want your mound and batter boxes to stand up to intense competitive play.

Here are 5 tips that your players need in a batter box and a mound for maximum performance. I felt I really needed to share these with you now so you can help your players be as successful as they can. And successful players are happy players!

Whether you are preparing for summer tourney games or looking for improvements,
Here are 5 tips for better mounds and batter boxes:

1. Build a solid base,
2. Align the mound properly,
3. Use topdressing,
4. Use your most important maintenance tool - water, and
5. Ensure you have a table top for your mound.

A little more about the mound table top: A mound is not supposed to look like a bump or a hill on the field. It needs a large flat area at the top and then gradual sloping to the grass. Otherwise the thing is actually dangerous for a pitcher. For example, a high school size mound should have a top that is 3 feet by 5 feet and level. A little league field should have a table top that is 2 feet by 4 feet wide.

Baseball fields gone bad - see case study number 7 - mound template

Apr 23, All about nail drag and bolt drag for a baseball field

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 17:13:04 GMT

How the nail drag and bolt drag fit into your arsenal of baseball field maintenance tools

Apr 21, Baseball field maintenance ezine April

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 04:33:05 GMT

Baseball field maintenance ezine number 13: taking your field to the next level

Apr 20, How to Figure Square Footage on a Ballfield

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 05:37:23 GMT

pictures and formula for square footage on baseball and softball fields

Apr 16, What Baseball Players Never Tell You About Their Baseball Field

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 04:40:51 GMT

Find out what ball players never tell you about the field, unless you ask. Then you can fix it.

Apr 15, Top 10 Most Viewed Content

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 04:26:42 GMT

Top 10 Most Viewed Content - a look at the year's best to help you plan ahead

Apr 14, Baseball field - getting ready for spring baseball

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 04:58:08 GMT

Baseball field advice for a high school about adding dirt and sod, and dealing with the freeze/thaw cycle

Apr 6, Aerate your baseball field turf

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 06:07:28 GMT

Aerate your baseball field turf : the single most important thing you can do so it is healthy and plays good

Apr 3, Baseball Field Maintenance - how to get started

Sat, 03 Apr 2010 03:09:35 GMT

Get started with baseball field maintenance using some basic need-to-know information and then some choices for whipping your field into shape

Mar 28, MLB tryout: what you need to know - part 6 conclusion

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 22:59:07 GMT

What you need to know about an MLB tryout. Following a player from childhood through liittle league, high school, and college to an MLB tryout.

Mar 27, How to Improve Your Baseball Field with Limited Revenue

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 03:50:16 GMT

how to improve with limited revenue

Joe in California writes:

Our league is looking to bring our fields up to a safer playing condition.
But we have limited revenue.

Please advise what we can do! Thanks.

----------------------

Hi Joe,

A ballfield that is most safe and playable is really only three things:

    1 - good footing when running or fielding
    2 - true and consistent bounces from the ball
    3 - a ballpark in good condition - base pegs, fencing, etc.

So, you need to work on these three things.

Here's what to do to get started.
Check this link. It tells you what to do to begin.
Getting started with baseball field improvements

Some people have all the info they need by surfing the info at this link.
Others need a plan that tells them how to go about it.

I wrote a handbook that tells you specifically how to do this.
Here is a link to a handbook I sell for $39. And I throw in a fundraising book for free. You need money. This book gives you proven methods to get what you need. Planning and funding your baseball field improvements

Well worth the small price for making a better baseball experience for everyone using your ball park.

Mar 24, A checklist to audit your baseball park preseason or pretournament

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 07:32:29 GMT

A great preseason audit checklist for your baseball field and park activities

Mar 23, The tale of two pitchers - part 5 in a series

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:55:07 GMT

Follow a young man from little league to his MLB tryout. This is his story as he meets an old baseball buddy who did not apply what he learned.

Mar 20, Why you should aerate after rolling turf, not before

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 16:31:37 GMT

Untitled Document Texas Charlie writes:

But have a question:

Thanks for the help

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Hello Texas Charlie,

Regarding your plan. It will work. There are 'rules of thumb', but you know a fellow told me that the abbreviation is ROT. So, not all rules of thumb need to followed to a T.

More info on using sand here: http://tinyurl.com/y93baoc

If your lips are not bad, then make a simple 2-3 inch deep trench next to your grass edge before you roll the turf. The roller will flatten by pushing the high spot to the side.

On using a steam roller check here: http://tinyurl.com/ydkegas

Here's a fun photo story about edging a field:

So, have a great spring season!
You're doing an awesome job!

Mar 20, Upgrading Your Baseball Experience - part 4

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 14:04:41 GMT

The story of a baseball player on his way to his MLB tryout. In part 4 he upgrades his baseball experience and his field.

Mar 16, Taking Your Baseball Field to the Next Level - part 3 in a series

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:36:13 GMT

Follow the story as a baseball player takes his play and his baseball field to the next level

Mar 11, College Coach Laments Poor Visitor Bullpen Mounds

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:00:35 GMT

bad visitor bullpen mounds

Coach Horn, North Arkansas College writes:

Thanks for the material on bullpen mounds. I hope some folks get theirs fixed up. We've played 16 games so far and the only place we've been that has had a useable visitor's bullpen mound has been the Kansas City T-Bones Independent Leauge stadium where Kansas City Kansas Community College plays.

None of the other colleges we've been to have had a decent place for our guys to warm up. It's a huge part of the game. I know we spent a whole day of practice this spring before season started making sure our visitor's side was up and ready to go, and I make the guys rake it after every home game. It's one of the things that doesn't take much time to fix and cover.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Hi Michael,

My oldest son was a closer his last year in college in 2008. As you can imagine when he warmed up in the 8th inning the pen mounds were horrible. When he took the field in the 9th the field mound was pretty much a mess. Especially after a double header.

He said the mental part of having to deal with poor mounds as a closer was something else.

And when I was cutting my teeth as an assistant groundskeeper for the AAA Rangers I was assigned the visitor bullpens. At first I thought this was a bum assignment. But I gave it my best and had those pen mounds as good as the field mound.

Soon, I had visiting pitchers telling me how much they appreciated it. They said these bullpen mounds I maintained were some of the best in the Pacific Coast League. These guys were professionals competing for the majors and a quality field was important to them.

Quality still is important.

I congratulate you and our team for putting in effort for your visitor bullpens. I don't know if visitors tell you, but I would imagine that it makes an impression on them. Yours is a college that takes pride in the entire game and it shows.

Reminds me of a high school coach I talked to a few years ago. He had a great field expect for the horrible visitor bullpen down the 3B line. He said he did this because the visitors used it in the games and it gives him an edge. I told him maybe he should reconsider this since he has his own pitchers use it in practice! Yikes!

Mar 8, The player with a winning baseball field - part 1

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:29:28 GMT

The story of a young man from T-Ball to MLB. See how baseball field quality affects a player's potential.

Mar 7, Fix lip buildup on your baseball field

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:32:33 GMT

Fix lip buildup at edge of your baseball field grass. Make it safe and playable.

Mar 3, Baseball Project - Spring turf maintenance for the baseball field

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:36:17 GMT

Need an example of spring turf maintenance project for a high school baseball field? Look here.

Mar 3, Getting Rid of Weeds in the Dirt!

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:22:49 GMT

getting rid of weeds

The most common problem we face right off is, "how do I get rid of all those weeds in my infield dirt, my base paths, and on the warning track?"

Many of you have asked me this question.

Of course you can use weed killer.
But what if you aren't allowed to? Then what?

Here are three options that work depending on how thick and how mature the grass or weeds are in the dirt areas:

1. Use a hula hoe and hoe them off at the ground; then rake up the grass. This works best if the ground is not muddy, and the grass is spotty and not too thick or mature yet - more like seedlings. This could be a lot of work - put the players to work on it if needed.

2. Use a sod cutter and set it as shallow as it goes - something like half an inch. This works on both young scattered weeds as well as thick grass. Either roll up the weed sod after using the sod cutter or use a bow rake or three prong rake to break up the dirt and grass. Then use a field rake to drag out the grass from the dirt. The sod cutter is a good option because you can also use it to edge your grass at the same time you get rid of the weeds or grass in the dirt path.

3. Use a spike drag or a nail drag over and over on the path until the grass is tore up and dragged to smithereens. Or until you can rake it up. But you may need to put heavy weight on the drag for this to really work and you need a tractor to pull it around. This option works best if the grass in the path is spotty and not thick like a lawn and the ground is not muddy. It can be fairly most, just not muddy.

By the way... watch this video and see how you can prevent lip build up on your baseball field. Not only do you want to remove the weeds in the dirt, but you also need to keep the grass edges flat with the ground.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIVXSuJWp_g&fmt=18

Mar 2, Article archive - a treasure of baseball field articles

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:13:54 GMT

Visit the article archive for a treasure of field care tips and hints

Feb 27, Turface Rebate Offer!

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 06:01:41 GMT

Spring 2010 Turface Rebate Offer

Many of you use Turface on your fields. Great stuff. I recommend it.

Turface has a special spring offer for you as a subscriber to my newsletter and quick tips. Head on over to my website to check out the rebate form.

You might also enjoy the Turface educational resources at turface.com

Click here for the Turface Rebate Form

Feb 27, Getting more done in less time

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 05:54:45 GMT

Getting more done in less time

Fellow Baseball Insiders,

March is almost here ... and the players and coaches are anxious to hit the fields. YIKES!

If you’re like me, there are some major baseball and softball field projects you'd like to finish before the season starts ...

... time to get busy. We need to plan our projects, budgets, and schedules.

There are some things I have personally found work best for me to get myself in “the productive zone” ... including cutting my field maintenance efforts in half and getting my supplies at steep discounts.

Click here to keep reading …and discover how you can turn even a mediocre sports field into a championship field and enjoy a better baseball experience... in just a few weeks -- and at virtually no extra cost.

Wishing You Every Success,

Jim Reiner
Publisher, Editor, & Groundskeeper
The Ultimate Baseball Field Renovation Guide™

Feb 21, Baseball field maintenance newsletter tips and hints

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 08:11:36 GMT

Baseball field maintenance newsletter - tips and hints for dirt and turf renovation

Feb 19, Conversation with Baseball's Turf Manager of the Year

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 09:37:04 GMT

Want to improve your baseball field? Check out this conversation with the turf manager of the year

Feb 18, Your Baseball Mound - best way to tamp and maintain

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:42:00 GMT

Tips and hints to tamp your field's baseball mound

Feb 17, Are you making these sod installation mistakes?

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:57:19 GMT

sod installation mistakes

This year I've seen several sod installations go bad.

There are several reasons for this.

Not doing any planning or preparation BEFORE the sod is delivered.
Leaving the sod out in the sun for half a day before attempting to use it - it dried up and died.
Not soaking it after laying it - the roots had little water; the grass died.
And the worst of all - not watering it regularly after installation to ensure it takes - again, no water equals dead grass.

But I've also seen two installations that went very well and were ready for competitive play within three weeks.

[Note: If you are considering sod for your field, then you need to be aware of decisions you need to make and tips and hints for successful sod installation.]