A homemade pitching mound can provide a place to practice your pitching. The construction of a pitching mound is not simply a pile of dirt, however. Following specific guidelines when constructing your pitching mound will give you a much closer experience to a mound on an actual field, allowing you to get the feel of the real thing. With the right materials, equipment and some time, you can build a pitching mound in your own yard.
Step 1
Determine the area to be used for the pitcher's mound. The area should be level and wide enough to accommodate the mound easily. It should also provide sufficient distance between the pitching rubber and a target area that will represent home plate. There should be 60 feet, 6 inches between the tip of home plate and the front of the pitching rubber.
Step 2
Create a packing clay mixture by combining 40 percent sand, 40 percent clay and 20 percent silt. Ensure that this mixture is thoroughly blended and moistened to allow for easy packing.
Step 3
Drive a stake in the ground that will act as the center point of the mound. Tie a string to the stake and measure off the line to the distance of the radius of the mound--9 feet. Pull the line taught and walk in a circular pattern, using the line as your measure. While walking, mark the ground with landscaper's paint.
Step 4
Remove any sod or other debris from within the marked area and ensure that the area is raked and level. Tamp the soil thoroughly. Lay down a 1-inch layer of packing clay across the entire area and tamp it down.
Step 5
Continue to add a 1-inch layer of packing clay in concentric 1-foot arcs on the front half of the mound, building up layers to a height of 10 inches in the center area of the mound. Grade these layers with a rake and tamp them.
Step 6
Create a level, rectangular area 1 foot back from the center of the mound. This area will be 5 feet 34 inches wide and 34 inches deep.
Step 7
Dig out a trench 18 inches back from the center point of the mound that is 2 feet across, 10 inches wide and 6 inches deep. Insert the pitching rubber into the trench so it is square and level. Backfill the trench around the rubber with the clay and tamp it down thoroughly.
Step 8
Fill in the back half of the pitching mound around the level area with the packing clay. Grade the packing clay to a gradual slope toward the back edge of the mound and tamp thoroughly.
Step 9
Spray the mound with water over the entire mound, rake out any bumps and fill any depressions.
Things You'll Need
- Shovel
- Rake
- Soil tamper
- Baseball clay
- Construction sand
- Silt
- Landscaper's spray paint
- String
- Stake
- Pitching rubber
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