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A farmer stands in the middle of his cornfield when he hears a voice: "If you build it, they will come." He looks around and doesn't see anybody. The voice speaks again: "If you build it, they will come." In this scene from the 1989 Oscar-nominated film Field of Dreams, the farmer sees a vision of a baseball diamond, right there in his cornfield. If he builds it, the voice says, Joe Jackson - Shoeless Joe, who was a member of the infamous 1919 "Black Sox" team that was accused of fixing the World Series - and his teammates will play there.
Well just imagine you had to build a ballpark right in your backyard or neighborhood park! Where would you start? First you might look at some of the great ballparks built through history. Early ballparks, like Boston's Fenway Park or New York's Yankee Stadium, capture baseball's past. Or you might consider more modern parks, like Atlanta's Turner Field or Detroit's Comerica Park. Parks differ in setting, feel, architectural design, and atmosphere. But what they all have in common are many regulation measurements on the field.
A baseball field has three sections: the infield, the outfield, and foul territory. When building your field, you'll be happy to hear that the shape of a baseball infield has remained unchanged since the first game was played. Two foul lines run from home plate through first and third bases to create a 90-degree arc. A diamond is formed by the bases at each corner of the infield, 90 feet apart from each other. If your measurements are right, you should have 127 feet 3 3/8 inches between home plate and second base. The outfield is formed by the foul lines that extend to the outfield fence.
To set up the pitcher's box, you will need to measure 60 feet and 6 inches from home plate. The piece of rubber that the pitcher stands on will be 24 inches by 6 inches, and each base will measure 15 inches by 15 inches. The batter's box will be 4 feet by 6 feet, and home plate must be five-sided, measuring 17 inches by 8 ½ inches by 8 ½ inches by 12 inches by 12 inches, with the point facing to the rear.
After adding dugouts, scoreboards, and seating, you will have your park. Once you build it, will they come? If he builds it, the voice says, Joe Jackson (Shoeless Joe, who was a member of the infamous 1919 "Black Sox" team that was accused of fixing the World Series) and his teammates will play there.
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