A portable pitching mound can sometimes help facilitate an important game or practice session in baseball. For example, when young players are picked for an all-star team or travel baseball team, they may be asked to play games on fields that are made for veteran players. Temporary bases can be used to make the field smaller for the fielders, but that doesn't help a pitcher. A temporary mound can give youngsters the chance to pitch from the right distance and not tax their arms.
Step 1
Cut a piece of artificial turf so it will accommodate a pitching rubber. Make sure there is 5 feet of material behind the rubber and about 10 feet of material in front of the rubber. These dimensions give the young pitcher more than enough room to wind up and then deliver the ball to home plate while stepping on a consistent surface.
Step 2
Apply rubber cement to the pitching rubber. Slather it on so the pitching rubber will adhere to the artificial turf. Place the 18-by-4-inch pitching rubber on the artificial turf. Use three clamps to make sure the rubber and the turf join together. Leave the clamps on for 24 hours.
Step 3
Measure off 46 feet from the back of home plate to the center of the infield to determine where your pitcher's mound will go. If necessary, build up a mound by filling a wheelbarrow with dirt to make the base of the temporary mound. The mound should be 6 inches high. Use shovels to move the dirt from the wheelbarrow to the pitching area and use a tamp to shape the base of the mound.
Step 4
Put six long spikes in the artificial turf portion of the temporary mound. Four should go in the front portion of the turf and two should be used in the area behind the rubber. Then pound those spikes flush into the ground at the premeasured spot--46 feet from the back corner of home plate--with a mallet. The temporary mound is now ready to go.
Things You'll Need
- Artificial turf
- Pitching rubber
- Rubber cement
- Grounding spikes
- Mallet
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