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Based on another thread, I thought I would throw this one out to get some feedback on best practices when it comes to maintainence of clay mounds and  batting boxes.  In particular, when filling in holes, what "recipe" seems to work best.  Our high school had a airtight tub where one of the coaches kept what appeared to be "damp" clay which was used to fill in holes and then tamped extensively.  It seemed to immediately fix the holes and seemed to stand up pretty well during a second game of a double header (i.e. an immediate fix).  

I hate to see "groundskeepers" simply push dry clay "dust" back into holes and level it out only to have the first player come by and open the hole back up.

On this topic, from an umpires point of view, is there anything like excessive "digging" by a player that can be stopped before they dig a dangerous hole?

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I see many sweeping the loose clay out of the holes on the mound and in the box with a broom before they re-fill with clay and tamp down.  Some guys are pretty particular and take pride in their craft...kinda interesting to see all the methods. 

I don't see much excessive digging.  My 14U played on his first HS field about a month ago and said it was the first time in his life he had ever hit on a flat surface in his life...lol.  Most youth parks, if they groom a field between games just push the dry dirt back in the holes which is like hitting in sand.   

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