What should be the height for a high school pitching mound? Height above grade or is it the height from top of the mound to home plate?
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I don't remember any thing different from MLB; 10" above the plate.
True, above the plate. And now you know something that few people know.
Most people know, but flout the rule.
Everywhere we go, high school mounds are illegally high. I don't know why; seems like any supposed advantage the home team is giving itself, it's also giving to the visitors.
Most people would be well advised to worry less about building the mound higher than 10", and to focus more on installing the proper slope on the mound's front. I can't tell you how many 16" mounds I see that drop only an inch or two from the rubber to the area where the stride foot lands.
And then there are the folks who build mounds with no flat area behind the rubber. Always fun to see the pitcher rock back in the full wind up and end up falling on his butt.
Then there are the mounds built so narrow that the pitcher stumbles every time he throws over to first.
How hard is it to look up the proper size and shape in the NFHS rule book and build it to the book specs?
That's a rhetorical question. Having done it myself, the answer is, not hard at all!
So what I always wonder is, why doesn't somebody crack down on illegal mounds?
If the bases were set at the wrong distances, or if the foul lines were marked crooked, someone would step in and insist it be done right. We should enforce the mound rules the same way.
Everywhere we go, high school mounds are illegally high. I don't know why; seems like any supposed advantage the home team is giving itself, it's also giving to the visitors.
Most people would be well advised to worry less about building the mound higher than 10", and to focus more on installing the proper slope on the mound's front. I can't tell you how many 16" mounds I see that drop only an inch or two from the rubber to the area where the stride foot lands.
And then there are the folks who build mounds with no flat area behind the rubber. Always fun to see the pitcher rock back in the full wind up and end up falling on his butt.
Then there are the mounds built so narrow that the pitcher stumbles every time he throws over to first.
How hard is it to look up the proper size and shape in the NFHS rule book and build it to the book specs?
That's a rhetorical question. Having done it myself, the answer is, not hard at all!
So what I always wonder is, why doesn't somebody crack down on illegal mounds?
If the bases were set at the wrong distances, or if the foul lines were marked crooked, someone would step in and insist it be done right. We should enforce the mound rules the same way.
Midlo brings up some good points - shoudl be flat 12 inches behind the mound and 6 inches in front, then drop one inch for every foot of distance away from the rubber...not very difficult specs to build to.
PS - I might be off a little on the 'flat' behind and in front, but it is very close to that, if not exactly. I know the slope part is right.
Enforcement is no-existent from what I have seen
PS - I might be off a little on the 'flat' behind and in front, but it is very close to that, if not exactly. I know the slope part is right.
Enforcement is no-existent from what I have seen
cracking down on mound height in high would be to hard to do. Most schools cant afford to have their mounds rebuilt if they were out of regulation. (didnt know high school had a regulatoin size, but then again it makes sense to have regulatuon sizes) In high school every mound was different. in college the mounds tend to be more of the same height, have same slope, etc.
So what would you suggest an ump do if he suspects a mound is too high? How would he compute the height? A water level perhaps? And what should be done if the mound were too low?
Seems like equal opportunity trivia to me.
OTOH, rutted mounds present an injury risk and are more of a concern. Still those abound.
I believe a pitcher is allowed to do some landscaping on his own, by the way.
Are mounds easy to build? I briefly looked into building one and it sure didn't seem so easy to make one that wouldn't wash away in the first 5" rain. As I recall, a lot more is involved to get it right than just piling up dirt.
Seems like equal opportunity trivia to me.
OTOH, rutted mounds present an injury risk and are more of a concern. Still those abound.
I believe a pitcher is allowed to do some landscaping on his own, by the way.
Are mounds easy to build? I briefly looked into building one and it sure didn't seem so easy to make one that wouldn't wash away in the first 5" rain. As I recall, a lot more is involved to get it right than just piling up dirt.
quote:Originally posted by Rock 44:
cracking down on mound height in high would be to hard to do. Most schools cant afford to have their mounds rebuilt if they were out of regulation.
Mounds are not that hard to build. I doubt if most schools are paying anyone to build their mound. IMHO, the extremely out of spec mounds should be flagged by officials. Forcing the school to do it right.
Midlo, your observations match mine. Except I see more over-height mounds where the front slope is extreme (rather than a high mound with too little front slope). No excuse for it.
How would you enforce it? Have a district official look at each facility prior to the start of the season, and maybe from time to time during the season. Also invite visiting coaches to report complaints. It's not that hard to spot the illegal mounds.
Costly to fix? Give me a break! You get the dirt soft with some water, then you spade off a few layers of dirt. I've done this myself. It costs nothing but an hour's labor by one guy.
Mounds washing away? Somebody's using the wrong kind of dirt. Plus, they sell these things called tarps.
The penalty should be loss of home games, i.e., make them play their home games at the visitors' fields.
All of this is easy. It's just a mystery to me why no one is trying to enforce the rules.
Costly to fix? Give me a break! You get the dirt soft with some water, then you spade off a few layers of dirt. I've done this myself. It costs nothing but an hour's labor by one guy.
Mounds washing away? Somebody's using the wrong kind of dirt. Plus, they sell these things called tarps.
The penalty should be loss of home games, i.e., make them play their home games at the visitors' fields.
All of this is easy. It's just a mystery to me why no one is trying to enforce the rules.
i've built a mound in my back yrad. easy just built a wooden frame, filled in with some busted and left over bricks from the yard and covered it with dirt.
as for the cost to build a mound to play a game on, to rebuild the whole mound you buy new clay bricks, form what i hear, that cost some money.
as for the cost to build a mound to play a game on, to rebuild the whole mound you buy new clay bricks, form what i hear, that cost some money.