Field Maintenance Guidelines

Transcription

1 Field Maintenance Guidelines Remove the base Center Plug from the Anchor unless to clean out dirt. The Center Plug is designed to always be sitting in the Base Anchor. The bases are designed to fit over the Center Plug to give the center of the base support. The Center Plug also acts as a self-cleaning feature to remove dirt from the anchor when the plug is removed, and then replaced. NOTE: On fields with Base Anchors at multiple base lengths, the Base Plug s of the bases not used should be set in the Base Anchor upside down and covered with dirt

2 Remove the base plug ONLY to clean out dirt. For fields with multiple length base anchors, flip the unused base plug upside down and cover with dirt

3 Use line marker chalk on grass baselines or outfield foul lines. Line marker chalk is meant to be used on dirt areas only. Chalk that is used on grass baselines builds up over time and eventually kills the grass. ALWAYS... Use spray paint to mark infield and outfield grass areas and chalk to mark infield dirt areas. Tip When lining the infield, open only one side of the dispenser flaps (not both) and open it about halfway to lay down a light, even line. The chalk should NOT pile up on the line. Too much chalk quickly spatters making a line undefinable and threatens to get in the eyes of the players

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5 Leave a ball field unraked after a game. Unraked dirt areas over time create valleys and ruts in the infield, and divots on the pitchers mound and in the batters box that develop bad mechanics. ALWAYS... Rake out and fill in divots on the pitchers mound and in the batters box with dirt and hand drag the infield to smooth out the playing surface and remove any valleys or ruts. Rake dirt towards the grass areas. Over time, raking dirt towards grass areas creates a valley on the infield grade for rain to puddle in and builds up the infield lip. ALWAYS... Rake dirt from the infield lip towards the center of the infield or along the infield cut. Dirt baselines should always be raked length-wise (1 st base to home plate), NOT cross-wise

6 Field Maintenance After Rain Rake or brush standing water or mud on to any grass area. This creates valleys & ruts on the infield grade and dangerous lips on the edges of the grass. ALWAYS... Remove puddled or standing water from the infield dirt areas as follows: Dig one shovel full of dirt from the center of the puddle. Set this dirt off to the side of the puddle. With a shovel or a cup, scoop water from the hole and into a bucket. Discard the water in the bucket outside of the field. After a few minutes of drying time, rake the wet area towards drier areas to allow the dirt to aerate. Replace the removed dirt back to the hole it came from and level with a rake. NOTE: If Turface or Diamond Dry is available it should be raked in to wet areas at this time. Drying media is NOT meant to absorb water in puddles - it is meant to be used sparingly to absorb moisture in mud and dirt to solidify it

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8 REMEMBER... If your shoe sinks in the mud or leaves an impression in the mud or grass, it s too wet to play. NEVER sweep or push standing water into the grass. Smaller puddles should be dispersed to drier areas of the infield by pulling the water towards you (not pushing it) and larger puddles should be bailed out with a cup and bucket. NEVER remove dirt or mud from a field without replacing it with dry infield mix. Removing dirt from an infield will create a depression or low spot that will always puddle. ALWAYS rake out the infield after each game paying special attention to the base sliding pit areas, and adding dirt to any depressions or low spots, especially on the pitchers mound, the batters boxes and the catchers box. NEVER rake dirt towards the grass infield or outfield. ALWAYS rake dirt from the infield lip towards the center of the infield or along the infield cut. Dirt baselines should always be raked length-wise (1st base to home plate), NOT cross-wise