SAUDI TURF TEAM baseball court equipment

SAUDI TURF TEAM baseball court equipment

 

 

About the Baseball

 

The Baseball Tomorrow Fund is a joint initiative of Major League Baseball and
the Major League Baseball Players Association. The program is designed to
promote and enhance the growth of baseball throughout the world by funding
programs, field projects, equipment, uniforms and other selected program
expenses to encourage and maintain youth participation in baseball and softball.
Since its inception in 1999, the Baseball Tomorrow Fund has awarded more than
$10 million in grants to organizations that serve thousands of children across the
United States, Canada, Latin American, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. To
further facilitate the growth of youth baseball and softball, the Baseball Tomorrow
Fund established a national used equipment drive initiative with the support of
the Major League Baseball Clubs in 2005.

 

Developing a Field Maintenance Plan

Providing adequate field maintenance is the key to a safe and quality baseball
program and facility. Significant time and resources are required to maintain a
field properly. Developing a feasible field maintenance plan is a very important
part of any baseball or softball program.
Planning To develop a field maintenance plan, the following questions must be
considered:

• What organization will be responsible for the maintenance of the field?
• What experience, expertise, equipment is available to maintain the field?
• What is the annual field maintenance budget?
• What are the funding sources to sustain the annual budget?
• Should the field have synthetic or natural turf?
• Will the field be used for other sports or events?
• How many games will be played on the field per day, week, month and
year?
• Will the field be a site for tournaments?
Determining the answers to these questions during the planning stage of a new
field construction or renovation project is critical.
Staffing
While professional fields are often maintained by a full-time staff, recreational
and youth fields often require volunteer help.
Providing basic field maintenance checklists to coaches, players and volunteers
can ensure proper maintenance of the field. Basic checklists that can be used a
starting point can be found in Chapter V. Once a checklist is developed, the
checklist can be laminated and posted in each dugout for the reference for all
coaches and players.BudgetWhile the average, annual field maintenance budget for a professional field canrange from $50,000-200,000, depending on use and event schedules,
maintenance budgets for recreational and collegiate levels of fields will vary.

 

 

Tools and Equipment:

 

• Base hole covers
• Batter's box and catcher's box outline frames
• Push broom
• Drags
• Edge cutter
• Line marker
• Mound and hitting mats
• Rakes
• Shovels
• Small backpack-style sprayer
• Spiker
• Sprinkling (watering) can
• String line
• Tamp
• Tarpaulins
• Watering equipment - hoses, spray nozzles
• Wheelbarrow

 

Materials

• Calcined clay - granulated.
• Diamond dust - ground calcined clay - for drying wet balls.
• Fertilizers.
• Herbicides and pesticides.
• Line marking material.
• Stockpile of mound clay – approx. 2 tons per field.
• Stockpile of soils for fill and topdressing – approx. 25 tons per field.

 

Type of Rake

Board or Smoothing Board Rake

Garden Rake

Fan or Leaf Rake

 

 

 

Drags:

 

A drag is used to smooth the skinned (dirt) areas of the infield.Various models of drags are available. A drag can be pulled byhand or attached to the back of a vehicle and pulled. Some motorized maintenance vehicles come equipped with dragging implements. Drags arebuilt from steel mesh.Some drags used for finishing the field are made from cocoa mats. This natural fiberensures smooth appearance.It should be emphasized that the drag should not overlap the grassed areas.If overlapping does occur, adangerous “lip” of built up dirt will occur at the edge of the grass area.

The drag should always be picked up and carried away and never dragged
across the grass area.

A nail drag, as shown in
the bottom right corner
of the photo above, is
used to scarify, or
loosen, the skinned
areas of the infield. A
variety of nail drags are
available from baseball
equipment retailers;
however, to cut costs, a
simple nail drag can be
easily constructed.

How to Mow a Field:

 

 

The mowing of the infield and outfield grass should be completed based on the
grass growing heights. A rule of thumb is mow no more than one-third of the
blade of grass at any given time. Mowing the grass more than one-third at a time
can result in discoloration or “scalping” of the turf, or cutting the turf too low. The
following chart provides the suggested heights of common types of grasses.

Type of Grass:

 

Bluegrass
Tall fescue
Zoysia
Bermuda

 

Turf Mowing Maintenance

There are two types of mowers available to cut the field: 1) rotary, and 2) reel
mowers. The most common type of mower is a rotary mower. Rotary mowers
are used primarily on residential lawns.
Reel mowers are more specialized and are used on higher maintenance
facilitates like golf courses and athletic fields. These mowers require additional
training to operate properly. Reel mowers are used to provide better quality
cutting and allows very low cutting heights. These mowers also have striping
capabilities, as shown in the following photos.
The number of times per week the field is mowed will vary depending on the
budget, weather and fertility program. Baseball fields are mowed everyday to
once a week, depending on the specific needs and standards of the facility.

Field Lighting:

 

When considering field lighting, remember that the addition of field lighting will
result in greater usage of the field and more time and funding required for ongoing
field maintenance andrenovations. However, if field sage is managed properly, with
time allowed during the season to
rest the field, field lighting can be
a useful addition to the field and
the programs that utilize the field.
If funding allows, the installation
of field lights (or the required
electrical infrastructure for the
future installation of field lights)
during the initial field construction
stage is highly recommended.

Bases:

Each field will need three bases, three base plugs and a clean-out tool to clear
any soils that may enter the base anchors. First, second and third bases are 15
inches square, and cannot be taller than 3 inches.
The Hollywood style base, as shown in the
photo on the right, has been accepted as
the base to use for baseball throughout the
U.S. This style of base is tough, durable,
convenient to handle and can be
permanently located on the field. There is
no slipping of the base, which makes it very
safe. The base can be cleaned and painted
prior to each event to provide a professional
appearance to the field. This type of base
does not require spikes or straps. Strap
down bases have been ruled as unsafe in some tournaments.

Dugouts:

 

Dugouts are used to protect the players
from inclement weather and to provide
an area where they can rest while the
opposing team is in the field. Typical
dugout structures should be designed
to hold a roster of 20 players plus
coaches. This would require a dugout
to be at least 60 feet long.
Some dugouts are totally enclosed
while some may have a low fence in
front of the dugout, which is highly
recommended. This will help to protect
the players in the dugout from foul balls
and thrown bats. Some dugouts are
actually sunken into the earth by 2 or 4
steps. This is not required but does
provide a more traditional setting. The
dugout can be built at field level. The
floor of the dugout must be covered with
some type of rubber material to provide
safe footing to players wearing metal
cleats.

 

 

Outfield Fencing:

 

 

In most cases, fencing for the “perimeter of the field of play” is composed of
chain link fencing. For higher level of play, the outfield fencing is padded with 3-
inch thick foam. This provides the player with a sense of security allowing him or
her to pursue difficult plays without the threat of being injured. The average
height of outfield fencing is 8 feet; however, 4-6
foot fencing is often used on recreational fields.
Protective fence cap, as shown in the photos on
this page, is also installed on chain link fencing on
recreational fields for player safety. This product is
made of plastic and is attached to the top of the
fence.

Coaches’ Boxes:

 

There are two coaches’ boxes on the field:
one for third base and one for first base.
The coaches’ boxes are marked with a
white line. It is better to paint this line than
use white chalk or lime. The first and third
base coaches stand in these areas. The
box is located 15 feet from the foul line in
foul territory. The box is 20 feet long and the
sides of the box are 10 feet long. The box is
closed in the back, toward the baseline
fencing, as shown in the photo on the left.

 

 

 

Foul Poles:

Foul poles indicate the foul territory of the outfield field.
However, despite the name, a ball hitting a foul pole is
considered fair. These poles are normally 30 feet high
and have 2 foot wing attached to the fair side of the pole.
The proper location of each foul pole is identified by using
a transit to find a perfect 90 degree angle with the apex of
home plate. Each foul pole will be inside this angle, in the
left and right field corners of the field. Poles are located
off the field of play and behind the outfield fence. In some
cases, the foul poles are a part of the outfield fencing and
are padded for player safety.

 

Warning Track Material

The warning track can be made
from a variety of materials. It
can be made of a rubberised
material and poured onto
asphalt or constructed using red
crushed brick material and or
shell rock. The goal is to
ensure the warning track
material is different in color and
texture than the playing field
surface. It is also important that
the warning track material is a stone or aggregate material that is consistent in
size and meets certain specifications. For example, stone used in warning track
material should be no larger than 3/8ths of an inch, as shown in the photo below.

 

 

Field Dimensions:

Age Group

Left
Field
Center
Field
Right
Field
Pitching
Distance
Distance
Between
Bases
Ages 17 and
older
321 ft. 400 ft. 321ft. 60 ft. 6 in. 90 ft.
Ages 15-16 280 ft. 350 ft. 280 ft. 60 ft. 6 in. 90 ft.
Ages 13-14 250 ft. 315 ft. 250 ft. 54 ft. 80 ft.
Ages 11-12 200 ft. 200 ft. 200 ft. 46 ft. 60 ft.
Girls’ Fastpitch Softball
Age Group Home Run Fence
Pitching
Distance
Distance
Between
Bases
High School (NFSHSA) 185-235 ft. 40 ft. 60 ft.
Ages 15-19 (ASA) 200-225 ft. 40 ft. 60 ft.
Ages 14 and under
(ASA)
175-200 ft. 40 ft. 60 ft.
12 and under (ASA) 175-200 ft. 35 ft. 60 ft.
10 and under (ASA) 150-175 ft. 35 ft. 55 ft.