There
are several common mistakes
made with field layout.
- Second
base is not in the right spot. The center of the bag should be at the
apex of the measurements from first and third. For example on
a 60 foot little league field, the center of second base (the base peg)
should be 60 feet from first and third base.
- The infield
mound is not the right height. Well, I'm sure you've seen plenty
of infield mounds that just don't quite look right. They are often
too high. The last one I surveyed was 14 inches instead of 10
inches above homeplate.
- The pitcher
rubber is out of line with home plate and it probably is not level either.
Stand on the pitching rubber and look at homeplate. Does it look
crooked? If so, measure from the back point of the plate to each side
of the pitching rubber. I've found these to be off by as much
as 2 inches. That creates a big angle off line. This is
common on fastpitch softball fields due to the pressure the pitcher
puts on the rubber.
- The mound
has no table top - it's just a bump in the middle of the infield.
This is probably the most common mistake. The mound is more like
a bump or a hill. A pitcher could actually fall backwards off
the rubber. Much attention is given (sometimes) to the landing
holes where a pitcher lands, but seldom to the back side of the mound.
- There's
no way to water the bullpen mounds to fix them. Add this to the
list of most common mistakes. Many bullpens are so bad, the pitcher
is better off warming up on flat ground in the oufield foul area.
These
are just a few of the most common mistakes. Click here for more
baseball field maintenance goofs you don't want to repeat. |
maintain
the proper
distance, height, and
level on your infield
mound
the bullpen
- ignored
|
