| What
you're going to do It's
important to keep your basepaths firm and level. The firmer the path,
the faster players can run.
It is best to maintain
as much of the basepath by hand as possible.
Basepaths include
not only home to first and third, but also the path between second to
first and third base.
How
you do this
- It is best to use
a metal-mesh drag that is narrower than the width of the base paths.
High school and higher base paths are 6 feet wide. Little league base
paths vary from 4 feet to 6 feet wide.
- Make sure that
the drag does not overlap the grass area to prevent a “lip”
or ridge at the edge of the grass.
- Rakes can also
be used on the base paths. When raking, do not rake across the base
path, but go up and down the baseline. Rakes can go closer to the grass
edge than a drag.
Tips &
Hints
- Use more clay in
the basepaths. Pros often have a basepath that is 100% clay. Some colleges
and high schools use 80% clay and 20% silt.
- If you add clay
material to your basepath, spread it out, till it into the top 4 inches,
moisten, drag to level, and roll with a 1.5 to 3 ton steam roller.
- Spread 2 bags of
turface over the surface of the basepaths and nail drag in for maximum
moisture management.
- Drag length wise
to prevent lip build up.
Mistakes
to avoid
- Raking across the
basepath causes a low spot to develop in the middle of the basepath.
- Raking or squeagying
water out of the basepath going across onto the grass will cause fast
lip build up.
- Adding nothing
but crushed red brick to the whole field including the basepaths results
in poor footing and bad hops.
- Neglecting the
basepath. What do you expect it will end up looking like?
- Neglecting to edge
the grass on the basepath. You'll end up with bad hops.
Does
your basepath have a lip? Check here for ways to fix it.
|
firm and
level basepath
firm 1B area is a must
metal-mesh
hand
drag for the basepaths
spread
clay on the path
till in clay and drag
roll it
flat and firm
spread 2 bags on the
basepath and nail drag
neglected... but fixable
with hard work
a
center low spot and
a bad hop edge
|
