Required distance from Home Plate to the Backstop?

I think on a lot of fields it is dictated by the distance available. Our kids played on a field as 12U where the catcher could turn around and just about reach the fence from his crouch. You had to worry about the pitcher throwing you out on a pass ball, not the catcher.

Most the high school fields we've been on a 30 ft +.

I believe 60' is typical at the HS level.

MN-Mom,

I’m curious about where you found the 60’ recommendation in the NFHS rulebook.

Scorekeeper,

The 60' recommendation for distance appears on page 11 of the NFHS rule book with the official measurements for laying out a baseball field.

MN-Mom,

There isn't any minimum requirement for distance from home plate to the backstop.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by pilsner:
The 60' recommendation for distance appears on page 11 of the NFHS rule book with the official measurements for laying out a baseball field.
QUOTE]

I saw that 60’ recommendation, but it was from the foul line to the nearest obstruction or dugout, not the backstop. I though mebbe MN-Mom found something somewhere else in the rulebook or casebook that specifically said distance to the BS.

I much prefer the diagram in the NCAA rule book because it shows what that 60’ distance entails much better.

I'm sorry, I didn't make it clear in my original post that the "I can find..." sentence was still part of the original question asked by the visitor to our site. I just changed my original post above - the original question is now all in green to make it more clear.

Thanks for your input!

quote:

Originally posted by obrady:
You had to worry about the pitcher throwing you out on a pass ball, not the catcher.

That's funny to hear about, but not so funny when it is your team on the field. Texan Son played on a field like that once. It was so close, that the pitcher better have good reflexes or that passed ball would be picked up by the SS.

Seems to me the answer for the visitor is kind of obvious. If they can't make it per the recommended due to lack of space, then they should make it as much as they can within the space allowed.

quote:

Originally posted by Texan:
Seems to me the answer for the visitor is kind of obvious. If they can't make it per the recommended due to lack of space, then they should make it as much as they can within the space allowed.

That’s too simple!

What a lot of folks don’t realize too is, even if there were some minimum for something like that or the distance to the fences, a waiver can always be gotten. The last time I remember that happening was when the Giants got a waiver to make their RF foul line 309’ to the fence, rather than the 320’ in the rules.