Quirky fields

[voiceoflg]

What are some of the quirkiest fields you've worked on and what made them that way?

In Columbus, Ga. there is Jordan High School that shares a baseball field and a softball field. Picture a perfect square about 450' on each side with a fence enclosing it. The baseball field is on the NW corner and the softball field is on the SW corner. By my math, the opposite corner in straightaway center field is about 600' from home plate.

Oh, and it has a fire hydrant in left field about 300' from home plate.

[SAump]

A coach once told me that if a ball lands in those trees over there, it is a home run; but if it rolls underneath them, we play on. There was no outfield fence.

[radwaste50]

One of our local fields shares an out field with a soccer pitch. So left and right field lines are about 320 and center is 490. Think of the old Polo grounds layout.

Lots of fields in outlying areas have no grass, none zip nada so many times the ball will hit a rock or soft spot in the outfield and either stop on a dime or skid on the ground and roll to the fence, lots of triples.

[tibear]

I remember coaching a rookie game (10-11 year olds) where the outfield had trees and a park bench!!!

I remember talking to the home coach about the situation and his reply was, in over 5 years only about 5 or 6 kids have actually run into a tree or the bench so no one sees the need to do anything to clean up the field. Many of them had to run around the trees and bench but only a couple players had been hurt.

I told the coach that I wasn't going to take the chance with my players and we left the field. They gave us a default for the game, I protested (and lost) but my point was made.

No game is worth the chance of a player getting seriously hurt. We only had the one game scheduled for that field and since I've started umpiring I've never had a game on that field so I don't know if anything has changed.

I can't believe any umpire would take the chance to be in charge of such a situation!!!!!

[Don Mueller]

Originally Posted by tibear

I remember coaching a rookie game (10-11 year olds) where the outfield had trees and a park bench!!!

I remember talking to the home coach about the situation and his reply was, in over 5 years only about 5 or 6 kids have actually run into a tree or the bench so no one sees the need to do anything to clean up the field. Many of them had to run around the trees and bench but only a couple players had been hurt.

I told the coach that I wasn't going to take the chance with my players and we left the field. They gave us a default for the game, I protested (and lost) but my point was made.

No game is worth the chance of a player getting seriously hurt. We only had the one game scheduled for that field and since I've started umpiring I've never had a game on that field so I don't know if anything has changed.

I can't believe any umpire would take the chance to be in charge of such a situation!!!!!

I remember playing on this one field that had a fence around it. This one game a kid ran into it and got hurt pretty bad. After that I wouldn't let my kid play on any fields with a fence.

[GarthB]

One of the fun things about calling college and high school games in the same season around here is that we go from well designed, nearly immaculately maintained fields to places like Reardan High School, at which the school's track cuts through right field (concrete curbing and all) and a football light standard is in center field.

The school's ground rules are that balls careening off the concrete curb and concrete base of the light standard remain in play; unless, of course the bounce takes them out of play. Then it's a ground rule double.

[tibear]

Originally Posted by Don Mueller

I remember playing on this one field that had a fence around it. This one game a kid ran into it and got hurt pretty bad. After that I wouldn't let my kid play on any fields with a fence.

You mean to tell me you would umpire a game when you know there is a dangerous situation just waiting to happen. Gopher holes, tree stumps, etc?

I think we all realize (including the players) that fences are around baseball fields so the players should know about the fence. However, in the field that I was talking about, who would think to watch out for a park bench when chasing down a fly ball???

[Don Mueller]

Originally Posted by tibear

You mean to tell me you would umpire a game when you know there is a dangerous situation just waiting to happen. Gopher holes, tree stumps, etc?

First off, gopher holes and tree stumps were not part of your first post.

Second, If I deem a situation dangerous, I would not umpire the game. However, what is considered dangerous is a judgement call and requires discernment.
I was perhaps a bit too sarcastic with my first response but your OP struck me as being overprotective.

Here's my thinking:
1. Rather than refusing to play, suggest a ground rule that if the ball goes near the bench it's a GR double.

Originally Posted by tibear

I think we all realize (including the players) that fences are around baseball fields so the players should know about the fence. However, in the field that I was talking about, who would think to watch out for a park bench when chasing down a fly ball

I think pointing to it and saying stay away from the bench should suffice.

[DG]

I did a summer tournament game in the summer of '05 on a field that had no outfield fence. There was a small hill in RF that led up to a street (about 50 feet from the bottom of the hill to the street). CF and LF were wide open with a significant level dropoff once you got beyond where a fence should have been.

The ground rule was that if a fly ball landed on that hill in RF it was a HR because they did not want players running up that hill after a ball and into the street, so if F9 feels himself running uphill after a ball he can stop because it's a HR. In LF and CF the ground rule was "get all you can". Due to the dropoff a fielder could disappear from view chasing a ball and come back into view throwing.

Another field I get a game on about every other year there is a brick fence but it is far away no King Kong could ever hit one over it, but in LF there is a small hill (again) with a bunch of bushes on it and CF and RF are wide open. Similar ground rules, if the ball lands in the bushes on hill in LF it is a HR. I forget what kind of bushes, but some kind of poisonous bush they don't want the players going into to get a ball. In RF and CF it is "get all you can" except unlike the 1st field mentioned it is fairly level. If you get a hard hit line drive into right center field on this field it will roll down to the girls softball field for an easy HR (on fence on the softball field either to stop it).

[IceGator8]

There was a high school field in Salt Lake City that up until a few years ago had part of the running track going right through center and right field at about 300ftin center and less in right with no fence beyond. The track was considered in play. They finally got the goverment to fix the situation.

When I played football there was a high school in our region who tried to cram the running track around the football field in space that could really only accomodate a football field. A sizable portion of each end zones corner was track. I remember them having painted the end zone lines into the track and setting up the corner pylon on it. I creamed a guy in one of those corners defending a pass and remember it not feeling good.

I sometimes wonder what goes through peoples heads when it comes to designing these fields.

[Toadman15241]

There is a city league school in Pittsburgh where there is a hill with about a 30 degree incline and a fence at the top of the hill, which is in play. The one (and only) game I ever did on that field produced the best catch I have ever seen. A kid ran half way up the hill, dove, and caught the ball. Even the other team's players clapped.

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by voiceoflg

What are some of the quirkiest fields you've worked on and what made them that way?

In Columbus, Ga. there is Jordan High School that shares a baseball field and a softball field. Picture a perfect square about 450' on each side with a fence enclosing it. The baseball field is on the NW corner and the softball field is on the SW corner. By my math, the opposite corner in straightaway center field is about 600' from home plate.

Oh, and it has a fire hydrant in left field about 300' from home plate.

What you're describing is common in New York City parks, except for the hydrant; however, there might be a manhole cover instead. And each corner has a diamond. This allows 4 simultaneous games, with the other infields as part of each field's outfield.

Robert

[soundedlikeastrike]

My old HS field had some intersting quirks:
Center field was butted up to the track, no fence. If no track rats were around it was in play, a ball would roll across hit the curb and you'd have to chase it, if it kicked down the track, you could work on your 100 yd. dash times. If the track rats were around 2 bases, if a ball cleared the track in the air, HR.
Then on over to RF, which had a very steep bank, with a cement retaining wall at the bottom about 5' high and a 6' cyclone at the top, problem was it was only about 270' down the line, anything on the bank 2 bases, cleared the monster on top HR. As you moved from the RF corner towards CF the retaining wall stopped after about 50' but the bank was still there, if a ball rolled up on the bank "play it", in the air 2 bases. Fortunately this field has been replaced.

We still have a local BR field with the light poles inside the fence, last time I was there they had them wrapped with padding at least.

We also have a new baseball diamond here locally, state of the art, beauty, but when our associatlon went out to check it out, first thing we noticed was the Foul Poles, great big screens, just like the majors but, they were swung out to the "foul side". We were able to convince the County that those needed to be corrected.