Walking the field

[Steve M]

For high school or college ball, I walk the field before every game - or the first game of a double header.
For summer ball, I walk the field before my first game of the day.
For tournaments, I walk the field before my first game of the day.

There's too much grief that can be prevented from coming back to bite me for me not to walk the field. I'll sometimes find bottles or broken glass. I've had to get the grounds crew to fix a wrong length base setup. It also lets me check to see what shape a fence is in - if it's there.

And then at the pre-game, I do the ground rules, not the home coach.

Part of the reason is to prevent problems. Another large part of the reason is appearance - I want the coaches & players to know things will be done right.

[Mountaineer]

I walk the field before the first game at every level I do - LL through college. Actually in HS in WV, it is required. There's too much of a liability factor. Even if I had been at the field yesterday - I'll walk it today. Imagine someone cutting grass outside the field and tossing a board over the fence - meaning to get it before he leaves and forgets . . . and now imagine a HS kid stepping on that board. I like my house and want to keep it!

If there's something that needs to be done - something moved - I make the home team do it. Not sure where it happened, but last year two umpires took a piece of plywood that was leaning against the fence (inside) and tossed it over the fense. During the game the wind picked up and actually blew the board into a spectator and they got sued. It's all about liability for me.

[Skahtboi]

My routine, for college and high school ball is this. After my partner(s) and I are dressed, we will walk to the field about 20 minutes before game time. We will check the equipment in the home dugout first, then leave there via a walk around the outfield, checking for potential trouble spots, then arrive at the visitors dugout where we will check their equipment. It is also a chance to cover any mechanics issues with a partner when I have never worked with them before.