A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the
field upon which the game of
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...
is played. The term can also be used as a
metonym
Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept.
Etymology
The words ''metonymy'' and ''metonym'' come from grc, μετωνυμία, 'a change of name' ...
for a
baseball park
A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimensions can vary widely from place to pla ...
. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers to less organized venues for activities like
sandlot ball
Sandlot ball or sandlot baseball is a competitive and athletic sports game that follows the basic rules and procedures of baseball. It is often less organized and structured, as the name alludes to a makeshift field or an empty lot.
History an ...
.
Specifications
:''Unless otherwise noted, the specifications discussed in this section refer to those described within the
Official Baseball Rules, under which Major League Baseball is played.''
The starting point for much of the action on the field is
home plate (officially "home base"), a five-sided slab of white rubber. One side is long, the two adjacent sides are . The remaining two sides are approximately and set at a right angle. The plate is set into the ground so that its surface is level with the field. The corner of home plate where the two 11-inch sides meet at a right angle is at one corner of a square. The other three corners of the square, in counterclockwise order from home plate, are called
first,
second, and
third base
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...
. These bases are marked by canvas or rubber cushions, square and thick. Adjacent to each of the two parallel 8.5-inch sides is a batter's box.
All the bases, including home plate, lie entirely within fair territory. Thus, any batted ball that touches those bases must necessarily be ruled a fair ball. While the first and third base bags are placed so that they lie inside the 90-foot square formed by the bases, the second base bag is placed so that its center (unlike first, third and home) coincides exactly with the "point" of the ninety-foot square. Thus, although the "points" of the bases are 90 feet apart, the physical distance between each successive pair of base markers is closer to .
Near the center of the square is an artificial hill known as the pitcher's mound, atop which is a white rubber slab known as the pitcher's plate, colloquially the "rubber". The specifications for the pitcher's mound are described
below
Below may refer to:
*Earth
* Ground (disambiguation)
* Soil
* Floor
* Bottom (disambiguation)
* Less than
*Temperatures below freezing
* Hell or underworld
People with the surname
* Ernst von Below (1863–1955), German World War I general
* Fr ...
.
The lines from home plate to first and third bases extend to the nearest fence, stand or other obstruction and are called the foul lines. The portion of the playing field between (and including) the foul lines is fair territory; the rest is "foul territory". The area within the square formed by the bases is officially called the infield, though colloquially this term also includes fair territory in the vicinity of the square; fair territory outside the infield is known as the outfield. Most baseball fields are enclosed with a fence that marks the outer edge of the outfield. The fence is usually set at a distance ranging from from home plate. Most professional and college baseball fields have a right and left foul pole which are about apart. These poles are at the intersection of the foul lines and the respective ends of the outfield fence and, unless otherwise specified within the
ground rules, lie in fair territory. Thus, a batted ball that passes over the outfield wall in flight and touches the foul pole is a fair ball and the batter is awarded a home run.
Infield
A baseball infield is the square area within the four 90-foot baselines (60-foot baselines in Little League Baseball for youths 12 years old and under). The four bases are integral parts of the infield; a ball that touches any part of a base is considered a fair ball.
Bases and baselines
First base
First base is the first of the four bases that must be touched by a runner in order to score a run for the batting team. The runner may continue running past first base in a straight line without being in jeopardy of being put out, so long as they make contact with first base and make no move or attempt to advance to second base.
The first baseman is the defensive player mainly responsible for the area near first base. A first baseman is often tall. A tall first baseman has a larger range for reaching and catching errant throws.
In some youth leagues and adult recreational leagues, a "double first base" or "safety first base" is used. A double first base is rectangular (rather than square), measuring 30 by 15 inches. It is normally colored white and orange (two 15 by 15 inches squares). It is placed with the white half in fair territory and the orange half in foul territory. The white half is used by the first baseman to make plays while the orange half is used by the runner. This creates a separation between the first baseman and runner, reducing the chance of injury on plays at first base.
In the
numbering system
There are many different numbering schemes for assigning nominal numbers to entities. These generally require an agreed set of rules, or a central coordinator. The schemes can be considered to be examples of a primary key of a database management s ...
used to record defensive plays, the first baseman is assigned the number 3.
Second base
Second base is the second of the four bases a runner must touch in order to score a run. Second base is mainly defended by the second baseman and the
shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...
. The second baseman and shortstop ideally possess quick feet and the ability to release the ball rapidly and accurately. One player will usually cover second base while the other attempts to field the ball. Both players must communicate well to be able to make a
double play
In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs.
In Major Leag ...
. Particular agility is required of the second baseman in double play situations, which usually force the player to throw towards first base while their momentum carries them in the opposite direction.
A runner on second base is said to be in "scoring position", since there is a higher likelihood of scoring a run from second base on a single. Since second base is the farthest from home plate, it is the most commonly
stolen base in baseball.
In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the second baseman is assigned the number 4, and the shortstop 6.
Third base
Third base is the third of the four bases a runner must touch in order to score a run. The third baseman is the defensive player mainly responsible for the area nearest third base. A third baseman ideally possesses quick reaction to batted balls and a strong arm to make the long throw to first base. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the third baseman is assigned the number 5.
Like a runner on second base, a runner on third base is said to be in "scoring position", since there is a higher likelihood of scoring a run on a single or
sacrifice fly
In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d):
"Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair ...
provided that the third and final out is not recorded before they can reach home plate.
Home base
Home base, usually called "home plate", is the final base that a player must touch to score a run. Unlike the other bases, home plate is a
five-sided slab of white rubber that is set at ground level.
Backstop
In most MLB stadiums, the
backstop is at least 60 feet behind home plate and is composed of a lower solid wall and upper netting that protects spectators behind home plate from
wild pitches,
passed balls, and
foul ball
In baseball, a foul ball is a batted ball that:
* Settles on foul territory between home and first base or between home and third base, or
* Bounces and then goes past first or third base on or over foul territory, or
* Has its first bounce occu ...
s.
In recreational fields, there is usually a tall chain-link fence that surrounds the infield and the players' bench for player safety.
Baselines
Baselines are straight lines between two adjacent bases. Physical baselines are not drawn between first and second or second and third bases; the foul lines serve to mark the baseline between home plate and first base, and between third base and home.
=Running baseline
=
Generally,
baserunner
In baseball, base running is the act of running from base to base, performed by members of the team at bat.
Base running is a tactical part of the game with the goal of eventually reaching home base ( home plate) to score a run. Batters strive ...
s are not required to follow the baseline. A baserunner seeking to advance more than one base typically "rounds" the base, following a more circular path. However, a runner's left-right motion is constrained when the defense tries to
tag him. At the moment the defense begins the attempt, the baserunner's running baseline is established as a direct line from their current position to the base they are trying for. A runner straying more than away from this baseline to avoid a tag may be called out.
=Running lane
=
Beginning halfway between home and first base, and ending at first base, there is a second chalk line to the right of the foul line. This second line and the part of the foul line it runs parallel to, form the running lane that defines the path in which a batter-runner must run as they are advancing to first base. Rule 6.05(k) of the
Official Baseball Rules states that if a batter-runner running to first base runs outside the running lane, and "in doing so" interferes with the fielder taking the throw at first, then the batter-runner is automatically out. First base itself is not located in the running lane, but Rule 6.05 lets the batter-runner leave the running lane "by means of a step, stride or slide in the immediate vicinity of first base" to step on first base.
Playing areas near home plate
Batter's box
The batter's box is the place where the
batter
Batter or batters may refer to:
Common meanings
* Batter (cooking), thin dough that can be easily poured into a pan
* Batter (baseball), person whose turn it is to face the pitcher
* Batter (cricket), a player who is currently batting
* Batter ...
stands when ready to receive a
pitch from the
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...
. It is usually drawn in
chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Cha ...
on the dirt surrounding
home plate, and the insides of the boxes are watered down before each game.
The chalk lines delineating the two foul lines are rarely extended through the batter's boxes. However, those lines exist conceptually for the purpose of judging a batted ball fair or foul. In addition, inside edges of the batter's boxes are often not laid-in with chalk. Similarly, though not marked, those lines continue to exist for the purpose of the rules pertaining to the batter's box and the batter's position relative thereto.
There are two batter's boxes, one on each side of home plate. The batter's boxes are wide and long. The batter's boxes are centered lengthwise at the center of home plate with the inside line of each batter's box from the near edge of home plate. A
right-handed
In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...
batter would stand in the batter's box on the right side of home plate from the perspective of the
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...
. A left-handed batter would stand in the batter's box to their left. A batter may only occupy one batter's box at a time and may not legally leave the batter's box after the pitcher has come set or has started their windup. Should the batter wish to leave the batter's box once the pitcher has engaged the
rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, a ...
, they must first ask the
umpire for
time-out. Time will not be granted if the pitcher has already started their pitching motion. For playing rules relating to the batter's box, see Rules 6.05 and 6.06 of the
Official Baseball Rules.
Catcher's box
The catcher's box is an area of the field behind home plate which the catcher occupy to avoid committing a balk when a pitch is thrown.
Pitcher's mound
In roughly the middle of the square, equidistant between first and third base, and a few feet closer to home plate than to second base, is a low artificial hill called the pitcher's mound. This is where the
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...
stands when throwing the
pitch. Atop the mound is a white rubber slab, called the pitcher's plate or pitcher's rubber. It measures front-to-back and across, the front of which is exactly from the rear point of home plate. This peculiar distance was set by the rule makers in 1893, not due to a clerical or surveying error as popular myth has it, but intentionally (further details under ''
History
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
'').
In
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...
, a regulation mound is in diameter, with the center from the rear point of home plate, on the line between home plate and
second base. The front edge of the ''pitcher's plate'' or ''rubber'' is behind the center of the mound, making the front edge's midpoint 60 feet 6 inches from the rear point of home plate. Six inches (15 cm) in front of the pitcher's rubber the mound begins to slope downward. The top of the rubber is to be no higher than ten inches (25 cm) above home plate. From 1903 through 1968, this height limit was set at , but was often slightly higher, sometimes as high as , especially for teams that emphasized pitching, such as the
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brookly ...
, who were reputed to have the highest mound in the majors.
A pitcher will push off the rubber with their foot in order to gain velocity toward
home plate when pitching. In addition, a higher mound generally favors the pitcher. With the height advantage, the pitcher gains more leverage and can put more downward velocity on the ball, making it more difficult for the batter to strike the ball squarely with the
bat. The lowering of the mound in 1969 was intended to "increase the batting" once again, as pitching had become increasingly dominant, reaching its peak the prior year; 1968 is known among baseball historians as "The Year of the Pitcher". This restrictive rule apparently did its job, contributing to the hitting surge of modern baseball.
A pitcher's mound is difficult for
groundskeepers to maintain. Usually before every game it is watered down to keep the dust from spreading. On youth and amateur baseball fields, the mound may be much different from the rule book definition due to erosion and repair attempts. Even in the major leagues, each mound gains its own character, as pitchers are allowed to kick away pieces of dirt in their way, thereby sculpting the mound a bit to their preference.
The pitcher may keep a
rosin bag on the rear of the mound to dry off their hands. Major League Baseball teams are also permitted
cleat cleaners on the back of the mound. This may be a flat grate-style plate, or simply a hand tool such as a piece of wood used to remove mud and dirt from cleats. These items are allowed to remain on the backside of the mound at the discretion of the
umpire, thus reducing the probability that they will affect a live play.
Grass line
The grass line, where the dirt of the infield ends and the grass of the outfield begins, has no special significance to the rules of the game (except in
Double-A Minor League Baseball where all infielders must be on the infield dirt when the pitch is thrown as part of an experimental rule for the 2021 season), but it can influence the outcome of a game. Dirt running paths between the bases (and, at one time and still in some parks, between the pitcher and the catcher) have existed since the beginning of the game, although they were not mentioned in the rule books until around 1950, and their specifications are flexible. In addition to providing a running path, the grass lines act as a visual aid so that players,
umpires and fans may better judge distance from the center of the diamond. Occasionally the ball may take a tricky bounce off the dirt area or the edge between the dirt and the grass. Multiple
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 World Series, 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The ...
championships (including 1924, 1960 and 1986) have been decided or heavily influenced by erratic hops of
ground balls.
In
artificial turf
Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commer ...
stadiums, infield dirt was originally only placed in three five-sided areas around the bases and in two circles around the pitcher's and batting areas, which are referred to as "sliding pits". In this configuration, the "grass line" is usually designated with a white arc. This setup first appeared at Cincinnati's
Riverfront Stadium
Riverfront Stadium, also known as Cinergy Field from 1996 to 2002, was a multi-purpose stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States that was the home of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball from 1970 Major League Baseball season, 1970 throug ...
upon its opening in 1970. Among Major League Baseball fields,
Rogers Centre
Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a multi-purpose stadium, multi-purpose retractable roof stadium in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the fo ...
was the last stadium to maintain this type of configuration and was reconfigured with a full dirt infield starting in the 2016 MLB season.
In some
college baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...
parks with artificial turf fields, the entire field (along with possibly the pitcher's mound) is made up of turf, with parts of the field mainly containing dirt instead merely being clay-colored turf.
Outfield
The
outfield
The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area.
In cricket, baseball a ...
is made from thick grass or
artificial turf
Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commer ...
. It is where the
outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...
s play. The positions to play in the outfield are
left,
center, and
right field
A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...
(named in relation to the batter's position; thus left field is beyond third base and right field is beyond first base). Outfields vary in size and shape depending on the overall size and shape of the playing field. The outfield stretches from the infield to the outfield wall and it contains the warning track. Outfields especially vary from Little League to major league fields. Little League outfields vary more in size than Major League outfields. Outfields often differ from infields in the specific type of grass used, but most major league outfields are grass.
Warning track
The warning track is the strip of dirt at the edges of the baseball field (especially in front of the home run fence and along the left and right sides of a field). Because the warning track's color and feel differ from the grass field, a fielder can remain focused on a fly ball near the fence and measure their proximity to the fence while attempting to catch the ball safely.
A warning track's width is not specified in the rules. It is generally designed to give about three steps of warning to the highest-level players using the field. Typical widths run from about six feet for Little League fields to about for college- or professional-level play. A warning track this wide also lets groundskeepers avoid driving maintenance vehicles on the grass.
The track can be composed of finely ground rock particles such as cinders, which is why announcer
Bob Wolff
Robert Alfred Wolff (November 29, 1920 – July 15, 2017) was an American radio and television sportscaster.
He began his professional career in 1939 on CBS in Durham, North Carolina while attending Duke University. He was the radio and TV vo ...
called it the "cinder path" rather than the "warning track".
The idea of a warning track originated in
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer.
Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...
, where an actual running track was built for use in track and field events. When ballpark designers saw how the track helped fielders, it soon became a feature of every ballpark.
Single-minded fielders often crash into a wall trying to make a catch despite the warning track. For this reason, outfield walls are typically padded for extra safety.
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago W ...
's brick wall is covered only by ivy, which is not especially soft. However, there are pads on the walls of the tight left and right field corners in foul ground.
''Warning-track power'' is a derogatory term for a batter who seems to have just enough power to hit the ball to the warning track for an out, but not enough to hit a home run. The term more generally refers to someone or something that is almost but not quite good enough for something.
Outfield wall
The outfield wall or fence is the outer boundary of the outfield. A ball passing over the wall is
dead
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
. If it passes over the wall in
fair territory, without touching the ground, it is a home run. The official rules do not specify the shape, height, or composition of the wall, or a specific mandatory distance from home plate (though Major League Baseball mandates a minimum distance of and recommends a minimum distance of at the foul poles and at center field). As a result, baseball fields can vary greatly along those lines. The wall has numbers affixed or painted on it that denote the distance from that point on the wall to home plate. In most modern major league ballparks, the wall is made of some hard material (e.g., concrete, plywood, sheet metal) with padding on the field side to protect players who may collide with the wall at high speed while trying to make a play.
Chain link fencing may also be incorporated into the wall in areas where the wall needs to be transparent, e.g., an outfield
bullpen
In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...
, a spectator area behind the wall, or to protect a
scoreboard
A scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score in a game. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards in the past used ...
incorporated into the wall. Many ballparks feature a yellow line denoting the top of the wall to aid umpires in judging whether the ball passed over the wall or if the ball is fair or foul.
Foul poles
Foul poles, if present, help umpires judge whether a fly ball hit above the fence line is
foul (out of play) or fair (a
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...
). The poles are a vertical extension of the foul lines at the edge of the field of play. The outer edge of the foul lines and foul poles define foul territory. Both the lines and the poles are in fair territory, in contrast to American football and basketball, where the lines marking the playing boundaries are out of bounds. The minimum distance to hit a home run (along either foul line) is set by baseball rules, generally at .
Before 1931 (with the exception of a couple months in 1920) the foul lines extended indefinitely; a batter was awarded a home run only if a fly ball out of the field was fair where it landed. Now, a batted ball that leaves the field in flight is judged fair or foul at the point it leaves the field. Thus, such a fly ball passing on the fair side of a foul pole, or hitting a foul pole, is a home run regardless of where the ball goes thereafter.
Foul poles are typically much higher than the top of the outfield fence or wall, and often have a narrow screen running along the fair side of the pole. This further aids the umpires' judgment, as a ball that bounces off this screen is a home run. It can still be a difficult call, especially in ballparks with no outfield stands behind the poles to provide perspective.
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago W ...
is notorious for arguments over long, curving flies down a foul line (most notably in left field) that sail higher than the foul pole.
At Major League Baseball fields, foul poles are usually yellow. Those at
Citi Field
Citi Field is a baseball park, baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in New York City, United States. It opened in 2009 and is the home field of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. The stadium was built as a replacement fo ...
are orange. At
Petco Park
Petco Park is a baseball stadium in Downtown San Diego, California. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres, and has also been used as a venue for concerts, soccer, golf, and rugby.
The ballpark is located between ...
, there is no foul pole in left field; the pole's function is served by a yellow metal strip along the corner of the Western Metal Supply Co. building. Several parks featuring advertising along the length of the foul pole, with the most prominent example being the advertising from
Chick-fil-A at both Citi Field and
Minute Maid Park
Minute Maid Park is a retractable roof stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. It opened in 2000 as the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Houston Astros. It has a seating capacity of 41,168, which includes 5,197 club seats and 63 lu ...
(serving as a
pun, with "fowl" being another term for a
chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domestication, domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey junglefowl, grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster ...
, the primary meat featured by that restaurant chain).
Player preparation and coaching areas
Bullpen
The bullpen (sometimes referred to as simply "the 'pen") is the area where pitchers warm up before entering a game. Depending on the ballpark, it may be situated in foul territory along the baselines or just beyond the outfield fence. Relief pitchers usually wait in the bullpen when they have yet to play in a game, rather than in the
dugout with the rest of the team. The starting pitcher also makes their final pregame warmups in the bullpen. Managers can call coaches in the bullpen on an
in-house telephone from the dugout to tell a certain pitcher to begin their warmup tosses.
"Bullpen" is also used
metonymically to describe a team's collection of relief pitchers.
On-deck circles
There are two on-deck circles in the field, one for each team, positioned in foul ground between home plate and the respective teams' benches. The on-deck circle is where the next scheduled batter, or "on-deck" batter, warms up while waiting for the current batter to finish their turn. The on-deck circle is either an area composed of bare dirt; a plain circle painted onto artificial turf; or often, especially at the professional level, a mat made from artificial material, with the team or league logo painted onto it.
Coach's boxes
The
coach's box
The coach's box (or coaches' box for multiple coaches) is a term used in numerous sports. In baseball, it is the space where the first-base coach and third-base coach stands.
It is also common practice for a coach who has a play at his base to l ...
es, located behind first and third base, are where the first and third base
coaches are supposed to stand, although coaches often stand outside the box. This is permissible as long as the coach does not interfere with play and the opposing team does not object (in which case the
umpire shall ensure that all coaches on both teams must abide by the boundaries of the coach's boxes). The coach's boxes are marked with chalk or paint. In the early days of baseball, the term "coacher's box" was used, as "coach" was taken to be a verb. As the term "coach" evolved into a noun, the name of the box also changed.
History
The basic layout of the field has been little changed since the
Knickerbocker Rules of the 1840s. Those rules specified the distance from home to second as 42 "paces". The dictionary definition of a "pace" at the time was 30 inches, yielding base paths of approximately 75 feet; however, if a "pace" of three feet was meant then the distance would have been 89 feet. It is not implausible that the early clubs simply stepped off the distance. 30 yards (90 feet) between the bases was first explicitly prescribed by the
NABBP Convention of 1857. Through trial and error, 90 feet had been settled upon as the optimal distance. 100 feet would have given too much advantage to the defense, and 80 feet too much to the offense.
The original Knickerbocker Rules did not specify the pitching distance explicitly; the 1854 Unified Rules stated "from Home to pitcher not less than fifteen paces". By the time major league baseball began in the 1870s, the pitcher was compelled to pitch from within a "box" whose front edge was from the "point" of home plate. Although they had to release the ball before crossing the line, as with
bowlers in
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...
, they also had to start their delivery from within the box; they could not run in from the field as bowlers do. Furthermore, the pitcher had to throw underhand. By the 1880s, pitchers had mastered the underhand delivery—in fact, in 1880, there were two
perfect games within a week of each other.
In an attempt to "increase the batting", the front edge of the pitcher's box was moved back 5 feet in 1881, to from home plate. The size of the box was altered over the following few years. Pitchers were allowed to throw overhand starting in 1884, and that tilted the balance of power again. In 1887, the box was set at wide and deep, with the front edge still 50 feet from the plate. However, the pitcher was compelled to deliver the ball with their back foot at the line of the box, thus somewhat restricting their ability to "power" the ball with their overhand delivery.
In 1893, the box was replaced by the pitcher's plate, although "the box" is still used today as a slang term for the pitcher's location on the field. Exactly 5 feet was added to the point the pitcher had to toe, again "to increase the batting" (and hopefully to increase attendance, as fan interest had flagged somewhat), resulting in the seemingly peculiar pitching distance of .
[
Many sources suggest that the pitching distance evolved from 45 to 50 to 60.5 feet. However, the first two were the "release point" and the third is the "pushoff point", so the 1893 increase was not quite as dramatic as is often implied; that is, the 1893 rule change added only 5 feet to the release point, not 10.5 feet.
Originally the pitcher threw from flat ground, but over time the raised mound was developed, somewhat returning the advantage to the pitchers. Before the mid-20th century, it was common for baseball fields to include a dirt pathway between the pitcher's mound and home plate. This feature is sometimes known as the "keyhole" due to the shape that it makes together with the mound. The keyhole was once as wide as the pitcher's box and resembled a cricket pitch. Sometimes this path extended through the batting area and all the way to the backstop. Once the rounded pitcher's mound was developed, the path became more ornamental than practical, and was gradually thinned before being largely abandoned by the 1950s. In recent years some ballparks, such as ]Comerica Park
Comerica Park is a baseball stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It has been the home of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers since 2000, when the team left Tiger Stadium.
History Construction
Founded in 1894, the Tigers had played at the c ...
and Chase Field in the major leagues, have revived the feature for nostalgic reasons.
From 1857 to 1867 home plate was a circular iron plate, painted or enameled white, covering "a space equal to one square foot of surface", i.e. with a diameter of ~13-1/2 inches. In 1868 the plate was changed to a square, 12" on a side, originally set with the flat sides toward the pitcher and catcher; the new professional National Association rotated it 45 degrees in 1871. In 1872 the rules required it to be made of white marble or stone set flush with the ground. For the rest of the century materials varied between stone, iron and wood, but at all times it was a white twelve-inch square. The pentagonal shape and the mandatory use of rubber were developed by Robert Keating, who had pitched one game for the 1887 Baltimore Orioles; the new plate was adopted by the National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
in 1900. From 1861 to 1874 the center, not the back, of the plate was situated on the intersection of the foul lines, and in 1875-76 was moved entirely into foul ground with the "pitcher's point" at the intersection. In 1877 it was moved forward to its modern location, wholly in fair territory.
There were no batters' boxes before 1874. Up until that time, the batter was required to hit with their front foot on a line passing through the center of the plate. The 1874 batters' boxes were 6 feet by 3 feet, 12 inches from the plate; the modern dimensions (6' x 4') were instituted in 1885 by the National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
and the following year by the American Association
Maintenance
:''See: Turf management, Sports turf
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...
, Groundskeeping#Groundskeeping equipment, Equipment manager
An equipment manager is the person in charge of equipment used by a business or organization. Their duties include purchasing, maintenance, repair, inventory, transportation, storage, cleaning, and liquidation. They are responsible for providing t ...
, and Sand-based athletic fields
Sand-based athletic fields are sports turf playing fields constructed on top of sand surfaces. It is important that turf managers select the most suitable type of sand when constructing these fields, as sands with different shapes offer varied pros ...
''
Honors and awards
The Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) presents various awards each year. Starting in 2001, its Sports Turf Manager of the Year Awards have been presented annually in the Triple-A, Double-A, Class A, and Short-Season/Rookie divisions of Minor League Baseball and are chosen from the 16 league winners. STMA also presents the Baseball Field of the Year Award, which includes Schools and Parks, College/University and Professional categories.
See also
* Official Rules of Major League Baseball
* '' The Baseball Encyclopedia'', published by Macmillan Publishers
Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publ ...
*Softball field
Softball is a game Variations of baseball, similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the #Professional leagues, professional level. The game was fir ...
* Baseball5 field
* Batsmen's grounds, the cricket equivalent to bases
References
External links
Baseball field Almanac
PONY Baseball
Baseball Field Dimensions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baseball Field
*
Baseball rules
Sports rules and regulations
Grass field surfaces
Sports venues