Set up a Baseball Diamond

A baseball diamond is the area inside of the 3 bases on a baseball field, which requires a specific layout. The bases must be evenly spaced, and each should be a certain distance from home plate. To learn how to set up a baseball diamond, follow these steps.

Steps

Setting Up a Regulation Diamond for Adults

1. Choose an ideal area for your baseball field. Pick a spot that’s level and free of obstructions. If any part of the ground rises slightly above the rest, plan to make this your infield. If possible, select an area where strong, dense grass already grows for proper turf.
   • Although the infield’s measurements are standardized, the size and shape of the outfield may vary from field to field. To have a total distance of 400 feet from home plate to the backend of outfield, you will need an open field of roughly 195,000 square feet.
   • If you’re constructing a baseball field for official play (as opposed to one for neighborhood pickup games) and no ideal patches of turf are available, choose one where the grass can be easily nurtured back to health. If no such area exists, hire a professional landscapist to plant adequate turf.
   • To maintain quality, install both an irrigation and drainage system if your field is for official play.
2. Set up home plate. Determine where “home” will be. Position your plate. Face the flat portion of the plate toward the field so that the back corner points away from it.
   • For official play, plan to remove the grass surrounding home plate. Once you’ve positioned your plate, measure a 13-foot circle encompassing it, with the back corner of the plate as its center. Use spray-paint to trace the circle of turf to be removed later.
3. Determine the location of second base. Begin your measurement from the back corner of home plate. From there, extend your tape measure straight forward from home plate into the infield. Measure a distance of a 127 feet and 3 3/8 inches (38.795 meters). Mark this measurement with a stake in the ground.
   • If you’re only setting up a diamond for a friendly neighborhood game, go ahead and place your second base down now, with the mark from your stake as its center.
4. Find your pitcher’s mound. After you’ve marked second base, keep your tape measure fully extended. Slowly retract your tape measure until you’re 60 feet and 6 inches away from home plate. Stake the ground here to mark where the front of your pitcher’s rubber will be.
   • For a temporary field, go ahead and place your pitcher’s rubber now, with the front of the rubber centered at the mark you’ve just made in the ground. Position the rubber so that it’s parallel to the front of home plate.
   • For a permanent field to be used for official play, plan to create a pitcher’s mound. Once you’ve marked where the front of the rubber will be, continue to slowly retract the tape measure toward home plate by another 18 inches. Stake the ground here to mark the center of your mound. With this mark as your center, measure an 18-foot circle surrounding it. Use spray-paint to trace the area for later turf-removal and/or added soil to elevate the mound.
5. Locate first and third base. To find each base, use two tape measures. Begin one measurement from the back tip of home plate. Start the other from the center of second base. Extend each tape measure in the direction of either first or third base until they both read 90 feet. Stake the ground where the two tape measures meet..
   • To set up a diamond right away for immediate play, set the bases down now with the back corners of each (the ones pointing away from the infield) positioned at the marks you’ve just made in the ground.
   • For a professional field, use spray-paint to trace all of the baselines from stake to stake for turf-removal. Also measure and trace a 13-foot radius around each base within the square created by the baselines for the players’ slide areas.

Setting Up a Diamond for Little League

1. Choose an ideal area for your baseball field. Pick a spot that’s level and free of obstructions. If any part of the ground rises slightly above the rest, plan to make this your infield. If possible, select an area where strong, dense grass already grows for proper turf.
   • Although the infield’s measurements are standardized, the size and shape of the outfield may vary from field to field. To have a total distance of 200 feet from home plate to the backend of outfield, you will need an open field of roughly 60,000 square feet.
   • If you’re constructing a baseball field for official play (as opposed to one for neighborhood pickup games) and no ideal patches of turf are available, choose one where the grass can be easily nurtured back to health. If no such area exists, hire a professional landscapist to plant adequate turf.
   • To maintain quality, install both an irrigation and drainage system if your field is for official play.
2. Set up home plate. Determine where “home” will be. Position your plate. Face the flat portion of the plate toward the field so that the back corner points away from it.
   • For official play, plan to remove the grass surrounding home plate. Once you’ve positioned your plate, measure a 9-foot circle encompassing it, with the back corner of the plate as its center. Use spray-paint to trace the circle of turf to be removed later.
3. Determine the location of second base. Begin your measurement from the back corner of home plate. From there, extend your tape measure straight forward from home plate into the infield. Measure a distance of a 84 feet and 10 1/4 inches. Mark this measurement with a stake in the ground.
   • If you’re only setting up a diamond for a friendly neighborhood game, go ahead and place your second base down now, with the mark from your stake as its center.
4. Find your pitcher’s mound. After you’ve marked second base, keep your tape measure fully extended. Slowly retract your tape measure until you’re 46 feet away from home plate. Stake the ground here to mark where the front of your pitcher’s rubber will be.
   • For a temporary field, go ahead and place your pitcher’s rubber now, with the front of the rubber centered at the mark you’ve just made in the ground. Position the rubber so that it’s parallel to the front of home plate.
   • For a permanent field to be used for official play, plan to create a pitcher’s mound. Once you’ve marked where the front of the rubber will be, continue to slowly retract the tape measure toward home plate by another 10 inches. Stake the ground here to mark the center of your mound. With this mark as your center, measure an 10-foot circle surrounding it. Use spray-paint to trace the area for later turf-removal and/or added soil to elevate the mound.
5. Locate first and third base. To find each base, use two tape measures. Begin one measurement from the back tip of home plate. Start the other from the center of second base. Extend each tape measure in the direction of either first or third base until they both read 60 feet. Stake the ground where the two tape measures meet.
   • To set up a diamond right away for immediate play, set the bases down now with the back corners of each (the ones pointing away from the infield) positioned at the marks you’ve just made in the ground.
   • For a professional field, use spray-paint to trace all of the baselines from stake to stake for turf-removal. Also measure and trace a 9-foot radius around each base within the square created by the baselines for the players’ slide areas.

Finishing Your Diamond

1. Soil the baselines. Use a sod cutter to remove the marked turf. Slice the turf into strips along each baseline, creating a bare path of earth that is 3 feet wide. Roll the strips up and remove them from the area. Replace the turf with a mix of sand, clay, and silt.
   • Use a mix that’s 50-75% sand and 25-50% clay and silt. A mix that’s too sandy will be unstable underfoot, while a mix with too much clay and silt will be too hard and compact.
2. Anchor your bases. For each base, dig a 2’ x 2’ hole, 8.5” deep, where the base will be. Level the bottom and then set your anchor inside. Before burying the anchor, attach the base to the anchor's post. Double-check the anchor's placement by remeasuring the base’s distance from the back tip of home plate. Reposition the anchor if necessary. Then fill the hole back in with soil.
   • Compact the soil at the bottom of your hole to make sure your anchor doesn’t settle any farther down over time. Make sure the bottom is level so that the base will be, too. Also make sure that the soil you shovel back into the hole is compact by adding only small amounts at a time and packing that in before shoveling in more.
   • Remember that for second base, you’re measuring from the back tip of home plate to the center of second base. For first and third bases, you’re measuring from the back tip of home plate to the foul-side corner of each base.
   • The top of your anchor post should be roughly a half-inch below the top of your hole. Lay a 2x4 over the hole and measure the distance between its bottom and the top of the post to double-check the distance before burying the anchor.
3. Create a pitcher’s mound. Remove the marked turf within your pitcher’s mound. Replace the turf with a mix of sand, clay, and silt. For adults, build your mound until the center rises 10 1/2 inches higher than home plate. For Little League, make your mound 6 inches at its highest. Then create the “slope” in front of the pitcher’s rubber by removing 1 inch of soil from the mound for every foot in front of the rubber, starting one foot out, until the soil reaches ground level at the edge of the mound.
   • For the pitcher’s mound, use a mix that’s 40% sand, 20% silt, and 40% clay.
4. Anchor your pitcher’s rubber. Dig a 10” x 23” hole, 9.5” deep, where the rubber will be, with the longer side parallel to the front of home plate. Level the bottom, place the anchor inside, and stake it into position. Press soil along the base of each tube in the anchor to prevent concrete from leaking inside. Then fill the area surrounding the anchor with concrete without covering the anchor itself. Once the concrete has dried, withdraw the stakes and plug the anchor’s tubes. Refill the hole with soil. Then unplug the tubes and attach the rubber.
   • When you first place the anchor into the hole, attach the rubber. Double-check the anchor’s placement by measuring the distance between each of the rubber’s front corners with those of home plate to make sure they’re equidistant. Then gently remove the rubber without moving the anchor out of position.
   • Compact the soil at the bottom of your hole to make sure your anchor doesn’t settle any farther down over time. Make sure the bottom is level so that the rubber will be, too. Also make sure that the soil you shovel back into the hole is compact by adding only small amounts at a time and packing that in before shoveling in more.
   • The top of each tube should be 1.5” below the top of the hole. Lay a 2x4 over the hole and measure the distance between its bottom and the tubes’ tops to double-check the distance before pouring concrete.
5. Finish the batter’s area. Remove the marked turf within your batter’s area. Replace the turf with a mix of sand, clay, and silt. Then outline your batter’s and catcher’s boxes with chalk.
   • Batter’s boxes (for both left-handed and right-handed players) are 4 feet wide and 6 feet long for adults, while those in Little League are 3 feet wide and 6 feet long. Measure the boxes so their midpoints are even with that of home plate. Allow six inches of free space between each box and home plate.
   • The catcher’s box is 43 inches wide and 8 feet long for adults, and 25 inches wide and 8 feet long for Little League. Measure your box so that it’s center is even with that of home plate.
6. Create two foul lines. For each, begin your measurement from the back corner of home plate. From there, measure a distance of 325 feet along the outside of the square created by the baselines. At that distance, plant a pole marker. Then stretch a lining cord between the back corner of home plate and the pole marker. Chalk directly over the lining cord to create your foul line.
   • Also an install a protective fence that extends 400 feet from home plate behind each foul line to shield spectators.
7. Erect a backstop. Protect spectators behind the batter’s area from missed pitches and stray balls. Install a backstop 60 feet behind home plate for adult players; for Little League, install it 25 feet behind home plate. Failing that, plant hedges instead to catch stray balls.
   • Standard-sized backstops stand 30 to 40 feet high and measure 30 feet wide directly behind home plate, with 40-foot extensions running parallel with the baselines from either end. For a 30-foot height, dig foundation holes 2 feet in diameter and 7.5 feet deep for the supports. For a 40-foot height, make your holes 9.5 feet deep. Once they are placed inside each hole, secure the poles firmly in place by filling the hole with concrete.

Tips

• Dry line marker machines and batter's box chalking frame can be purchased from most baseball supply companies.
• While a baseball field is often referred to as a diamond, it is actually a square that's 90 feet (27.43 meters) on each side.
• Since the measurements for 1st and 3rd base consist of finding the back corner of the bag, each base is within the baseball diamond. This differs from 2nd base where the measurement is taken from the center of the base.

Warnings

• Make sure you place the center of 2nd base on the measurement and not the back corner like 1st and 3rd base. Otherwise, the baselines will not measure correctly.
• PONY League divides its players into seven age-groups, and the dimensions of the diamond vary even further between each age-group. The above techniques will still help you measure your diamond correctly, but you will need to look up the specific dimensions for your age-group.

Things You'll Need

• Stakes
• Lining cord
• 2 tape measures that can measure over 150 feet
• Dry line marker
• Batter's box chalking frame
• Chalk
• 3 bases (anchors optional)
• Home plate (anchors optional)

Sources and Citations

See also

• Learn About Baseball
• Block a Baseball
• Bowl the Doosra
• Break in a New Baseball Glove
• Throw a Baseball
• Throw a Curveball
• Play Baseball
• Make Your School's Baseball Team
• Tape a Baseball Bat
• Become a Baseball Scout

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