The investment required to build your own backyard baseball diamond varies greatly depending on the size, materials, and amenities you desire. No matter what options you choose, you’ll have a place to practice America’s favorite pastime. All that’s left to do now is grab your peanuts, Cracker Jacks and baseball bats, play ball! Backyard Baseball Tournaments. Tournaments Offered in Everman, Crowley, Joshua, & Alvarado. Location updates will be provided as Rec schedules finalize. Spring 2020 Tournament Dates Posted. More dates coming soon, please check back for updates. Now offering separate age groups and AAA/Majors divisions, depending on registrations. PA Diamond Nine Baseball Team, York, PA. Amateur Sports Team. Sections of this page. Backyard University. Dallastown High School Baseball. School Sports Team. Pa Diamond 9 15U. Recreation & Sports Website. Bishop McDevitt Wrestling. School Sports Team.

1. Backyard Baseball 1997
2. Backyard Baseball Diamonds

Properly laid out and constructed baseball fields are paramount to the game. Whether you are a parks and recreation type, work for a local school system, or just want your own regulation backyard baseball field, knowing a few basics is necessary before you can build your own field. The following instructions are designed to help set up a field from a relatively level, open area of ground. In addition to the field set-up requirements, keep in mind that to have a quality turfgrass playing surface, sports fields must have the following:

1. adequate water drainage
2. properly designed, installed and maintained irrigation systems
3. a sound maintenance program to address turf and clay conditions
4. the necessary field equipment (bases, pitching rubber) and surrounding structures such as fences.

Baseball and softball are the only major sports that are played on fields that have both turf and exposed soil for a playing surface. Since about 66% of the game is played on the infield, 'skinned' areas should receive as much attention as the turf areas. The concept of clay management is similar to turf management in that it is difficult to write a maintenance program for all infield skinned areas due to diversity among infield soils. One thing that does not change though, is the basic layout.

Figure 1. Baseball Infield Dimensions
(click here for a full size image of Figure 1.)

The following list is a basic 13-step program for laying out a baseball field (Figure 1). If you can follow these basic 13 steps, you can build your own field of dreams. In addition to the steps, a few tips and suggestions were also included. A few basic tools such as shovels, rakes, a couple of measuring tapes, a small sledge hammer, a tamp or roller as well as some supplies such as stakes, string, paint (inverted aerosol spray cans), pitching rubber, bases, and home plate are needed to complete this project. Power tools and some extra hands will make the project go much faster.

Basic Baseball Field Layout

1. Start with a flat, open area. If some elevation is on-site, it should be in the infield area. Ideally, the open area has a good, dense stand of turf or with a little help one can be rejuvenated. If that is not the case, plan a turf management program to coincide with the construction of your ball field. It is helpful to mark out the components of an infield with paint as outlined below to visualize the field before you actually start removing turf.

2. Placement of home plate determines layout of the field. Be sure to plan for some type of backstop to contain stray pitches and to protect fans from tipped balls. If it is truly a backyard field and fans behind the batters box are not likely, planting shrubs about 60 feet (minimum required for high school and college fields) behind home plate may prevent errant balls from rolling too far away from the field.

3. Using the apex of home plate (back corner), cut out turf in a 13-foot radius.

4. The next step is to locate second base. Measure from the back tip of home plate to a distance of 127 feet and 3 3/8 inches (see Table 2 for distance between bases for other leagues). Mark with a wooden stake. When installing base pads, this will be the center of second base.

5. With the tape measure still in place, it is easiest to go ahead and mark the location of the pitching rubber at this time. The placement can be marked by measuring from the back tip of home plate along a string stretched to second base. The pitching rubber should be at 60 feet 6 inches.

6. The easiest way to find first and third base is to use two tape measures. Stretch one tape from second base stake toward the first base line and the second tape from the back tip of home plate toward first base area. The point where the two tapes cross at the 90-foot mark is the back corner of the bases. Repeat this step to find third base. A baseball diamond is actually a 90-foot square.

7. First and third base fit within the square, but second base is measured to the center of the bag. Improperly placed second base is one of the most common mistakes made when setting up a baseball field.

8. To make a 'slide area' around the bases, cut out turf around bases by measuring a 13-foot radius within the 90-foot square. You can leave the base paths grassed if you like, or you can turn them into skinned base paths.

9. Next, turn your attention to the pitcher's mound. The diameter of a pitcher's mound clay is 18 feet, with 10 feet from the front of the rubber, toward home plate and 8 feet from the back of the rubber.

10. The top of the mound consists of a plateau that is 5 feet wide.

11. A regulation pitcher's mound is 10 — inches high (compared to surface level of home plate). Miscalculation of the pitcher's mound height is probably the second most common error in setting up a baseball field. A transit or field level is best for setting the height, but in a pinch, other methods my also work. I once saw a guy peering through a cheap scope clamped to a carpenter's level on a makeshift tripod. Another option is to use your stakes with taut string and a ruler. A standard pitcher's rubber is 24 inches by 6 inches.

12. Building a pitcher's mound is as much an art as it is a science. Build the mound from ground up, 1 inch at a time keeping in mind the mound's slope (see next step). As you add each layer, tamp or roll the soil.

13. Beginning 12 inches in front of the pitcher's rubber and measuring toward home plate, for every one foot of distance the slope will fall one inch (until the slope meets ground level).

Figure 2. Batting Area Detail
(click here for a full size image of Figure 2.)

Figure 3. Pitching Mound Detail
(click here for a full size image of Figure 3.)

The mix used to build the pitcher's landing area (and often the batter's box and catcher's box) should have a significant concentration of clay to provide the necessary stability to resist degradation from increased traffic. A good material will be about 40% sand, 20% silt, and 40% clay. If necessary, you can mix individual components together. Just be sure that individual components are evenly distributed throughout the material.

A quality infield material will have a lower concentration of clay than the pitcher's mound. The infield skin should be moist and firm, not hard and baked dry. To achieve firmness, an infield mix should not be too sandy. An infield mix with greater than 75% sand causes unstable footing for ballplayers and increases infield skin maintenance problems. A sandy infield will create low spots more quickly and is more likely to create lips at the infield skin/turf interface. Ideally, the infield mix should be between 50% and 75% sand and 25% to 50% clay and silt. A combination that has been successfully used is a 60% sand, 20% silt, 20% clay base mix (sandy clay loam to sandy loam). The silt and clay give the mix firmness. If the mix contains too much silt and clay, compaction and hardness become a problem.

Well, now you have your field of dreams. If you have some big hitters, you may want to erect your outfield fence. This distance varies with the level of play. Confer with League Officials for data listed and recommended placement of outfield fences. Refer to Table 2 for a summary of base, pitching rubber, and outfield wall distances.

Tables

Table 1. Suggested Tool and Supplies for Building a Baseball Field

Table 2. Distance between Bases, from Pitching Rubber to Home Plate, and from Outfield Wall to Home Plate for Various Levels of Play.

Backyard Baseball 1997

Footnotes

1. This document is ENH 159, a series of the Environmental Horticulture Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Publication date: June 2001. Revised: July 2001. Please visit the EDIS web site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2. Grady L. Miller, Associate Professor, Environmental Horticulture Department, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.

Backyard Baseball is a fun and casual sports game aimed at kids, developed by Humongous Entertainment and released in 1997. The cute and colorful visuals invite youngsters (or wondrous adults) to partake in a classic game of baseball. You'll pick your team from a group of neighborhood kids, and enjoy a simplified and addictive match of the sport. As a series, the Backyard sports titles have found great ways to introduce sports to gamers of all skill levels. Whether or not you're a fan of baseball, Backyard Baseball finds charming and fun ways to motivate you to play.

From the main menu, you're able to hop into a pick-up game, check out your coach trophies, and join the Backyard Baseball League. The League mode is the main focus of the game, and where you'll find the most customization and gameplay. Once you've signed in as coach, you'll get to create your own team and pick their colors. After that, it's time to draft your team!

There are around 30 different neighborhood kids you can draft onto your team. You'll have to choose nine, and there's a wide variety of characters to pick from. Kids from all walks of life are ready to play; humble farmhands, Spanish-speaking sluggers, nervous nerds, and more. Each kid has their own stats to check out, ranging in power in four categories. Pitching, Batting, Running, and Fielding are all taken into account, so you'll want to pick a good spread of strengths for your team. For those who don't care, you can also let the game choose for you.

Once you've crafted your team, it's time to take on your opponents in the Backyard Baseball League. In the Team Dugout, you can arrange players on the field, see your schedule, and check match records. It's your job to carry your team to victory throughout the season, winning the award trophy. Playing the actual match is easy enough. When you're at bat, you simply choose the kind of swing you want to take, wait for the pitch, and try to click at the right time. You can also adjust your stance while at bat. Pitching and playing outfield is similarly easy. When pitching, you simply choose the type of pitch you want (including fastballs, intentional walks, etc) and click to throw. If a ball is hit, you direct one of your team members to catch it and throw it at a chosen base. Everything feels incredibly easy to figure out, and the overall gameplay is welcoming and cheery.

Overall, Backyard Baseball is a fun baseball title that's great for kids. The colorful cartoon visuals and personable athletes make games fun and memorable, and the commentators and player jaunts are fun and witty. Playing the game is easy and enjoyable, making it perfect for newer gamers. Multiple stadiums, over 30 unique characters, and a happy attitude make Backyard Baseball a content-rich and enjoyable game. If you've got a younger gamer you want to introduce to baseball, or you have some nostalgia for this late 90's sports game, Backyard Baseball is a must-play.

Backyard Baseball Diamonds