While it takes a time and the right gear to create a professional baseball pitch, you can chalk out your own baseball diamond with a few items of equipment. You'll need to follow a dimension plan. Ideally, you also need a chalk marker -- a small buggy that lays down chalk lines. Amateur teams typically have one of these, or you can pick one up for around $125 or less as of January 2011. Once you have the lines down, you can refresh them every few games or after a downpour.
Step 1
Measure and cut around 94 feet of string and mark the start and end of 90 feet with a marker. Leave a few feet on either side of the marks for tying. Do the same with another length of string, with marks to indicate a distance of 127 feet and 3 3/8 inches.
Step 2
Choose a spot for home plate. This is the bottom tip of your baseball diamond.
Step 3
Drive a stake into the ground and tie the loose end of the 90-foot length of string so that the black mark starts at home plate. Run the string along the ground to the right at a 45-degree angle until you see the other black mark. Pound in another stake at that point and tie the string to the stake.
Step 4
Insert the chalk into the chalk marker. Push the chalk marker alongside the string from home plate until you reach the stake. This is first base.
Step 5
Tie the longer length of string to the home plate stake. Untie the smaller string from home plate. Pull the longer string from home plate to the vicinity of where second plate should lie and pull the shorter one over from first base. Where both pieces of string meet at their black marks, drive another stake into the ground -- that's second base.
Step 6
Turn the marker 45 degrees and follow the line of the string to the stake in second base. You should now have half a chalk diamond marked out. Run the short string from the second base stake out toward third base. Stretch the longer string from first base out toward third base. Where the two black lines on the string meet, that's your third base.
Step 7
Follow the line to third base with the chalk marker. Tie the string from the stake at third base to home plate. Continue along the line with the chalk marker until you return to home plate to complete the entire diamond.
Step 8
Use a batter's box chalker if available to create the batter's boxes either side of home plate. If you don't have a box chalker, use the wheeled chalker to draw a rectangle 4 feet wide by 6 feet tall rectangle on either side of home plate.
Tips and Warnings
- If you're just marking a pitch for a casual game, a large piece of hand chalk may suffice. Mark out two coaches' boxes 15 feet from the foul line if you want coaching areas.
Things You'll Need
- Chalk marker
- Powder chalk
- Long measuring tape
- String
- Black marker
- Metal stakes
- Mallet
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