0How To Stripe a Baseball Field
Having clean, fresh and bright lines is vital to the game of baseball. There are two foul lines that need to be painted fresh before every game, along with the batter’s boxes on both sides of home plate. It is always better to use paint, rather than chalk. It is better for the soil and it is better for the clay on the baseball field.
Every little league and high school baseball field should have a Fox Valley Paint Athletic Super Striper in the storage shed. It is the fastest, easiest, and most professional way to create all the markings you will need for a professional-looking baseball field.
There are two lines between the left foul pole and home plate, and the right foul pole and home plate. They will each line up with the right side of first base and the left side of third base. Use a string or a laser guide to make sure the lines stay straight as you push the Super Striper machine along the path to the foul pole in the outfield.(See Diagram #1)
The first step is to make a guide for the machine to roll along side of. Place the stake into the back corner of home plate, right at the point (not the front or middle corners), and then stretch it all the way to the foul pole in the outfield. If your string is not line enough you can do it in two parts, first from home plate to the base, then from the base to the foul pole. This will ensure your lines are going to be perfectly symmetrical for both first base foul line and the third base foul line.
According to professional baseball field maintenance staff, the foul lines on a baseball field should be exactly 4” wide.
On the Fox Valley Paint Super Striper Machine, there are different height settings on the handle of the machine, when you raise them up or down it will allow you to determine the width of the line you wish to stripe. The machine can stripe lines 1” wide all the way to 5” lines. Simply look on the handle of the Super Striper, and put the desired width lined up with the arrow. After choosing the width, it is wise to then test it out on a piece of cardboard or somewhere else to make sure it is ready for striping.
The rules of baseball maintain that if the ball hits any part of the 4” line, the umpire will call it a fair ball. It is especially important to line up the machine to the outside edge of the line touching the string instead of running over the string. The outside edge of the plate should line up with the outside edge of the line, not go over it. This way all the white part of the line is INSIDE the outside edge of home plate. (See Diagram #2)
A pro tip is to make sure to pull your guide string lines tight, when the bases are in. Then remove the bases so they do not get sprayed by the paint accidently. Clay or dirt should be damp, or watered before the striping process begins, as to not allow dust to kick up whenever possible.
The benefit of using Fox Valley Athletic Field aerosol paint in the Super Striper, is that you do not need to mess around with chalk and changing the different types of paint from the dirt into the outfield grass. It is the fastest and cleanest way to stripe a baseball field.
When making the batter’s box, the easiest way is to use a template. You can purchase or make a stencil for making the batter’s box. Simply take the same Super Stripe Aerosol can out of the striping machine and spray the stencil with it, or If you want to lay it out using the machine. (See Diagram #3)
Another pro tip is to keep freshening up the lines before they disappear completely, and you must remeasure them. Simply load up a can of Fox Valley Athletic Super Stripe aerosol paint into the Super Striper machines and go over the old line quick and easy without having to use the string guide. Do this in between games during the day or every week to keep your baseball field looking fresh and ready for the next game.
Call Fox Valley Paint at 844-627-5255 to place and order or online at www.foxvalleypaint.com
Posted in Blog on June, 2020