How to drag the field?

[uncdrew]

Assuming the school has the ability to add it to the budget…

Baseball mound clay is sold in bags. It is the absolute best stuff to tamp into the low spots on the batters box and in the pitchers circle. I see so many places take the loose dirt and try to tamp it in and it lasts about one half inning before it’s a huge hole again.

Broom all the loose material out of the hole. Lightly wet the ground that is now free of all loose dirt. Then pour the mound clay into the hole and tamp away. It will last entire games that way. Eventually the batters box and circle will be all clay and will hold up incredibly well.

If the holes are really big you can do this same thing with clay bricks.

View attachment 27515

Yes, we use that. I was amazed how well it works. I was very skeptical at first, but applied it per the instructions, and it was like a new field.

Being in GA, our fields are clay. So whatever I drag is mostly clay and very compactible and similar to that product above. If it was more of a dirt field, I wouldn't waste my time tamping it down.

 

[Towny9]

Yes, we use that. I was amazed how well it works. I was very skeptical at first, but applied it per the instructions, and it was like a new field.

Being in GA, our fields are clay. So whatever I drag is mostly clay and very compactible and similar to that product above. If it was more of a dirt field, I wouldn't waste my time tamping it down.

It’s not cheap but it retains moisture so well it molds together. I guess why they used to build houses out of it in the desert!

 

[CoachJD]

what i do NOT recommend:

when the ATV dies before a playoff game, do not grab the chain and drag it along by hand.......you will come close to stroking out before you finish

Ha! I have raked -- I mean raked with an actual rake and not the chain/dragger thing -- an entire field, by hand, before. It took 4-5 hours, but sometimes you just really want to get a game in.

 

[Orange Socks]

There is something therapeutic about dragging fields. I had to drag 3 fields for 5 years at the rec league. Usually at 6:30 am on Saturdays. Nothing fun about doing a lot of concentric circles while hungover. It was like a spirograph.

 

[Cougars]

Ha! I have raked -- I mean raked with an actual rake and not the chain/dragger thing -- an entire field, by hand, before. It took 4-5 hours, but sometimes you just really want to get a game in.

I did that once last fall. Had a bunch of rain on a Friday night, and we had games Sunday morning. With the lower fall temps and sun, I knew it wouldn't dry out without some help. Raked it all by hand Saturday. Woke up Sunday feeling like I went 10 rounds against Tyson. Too old (or at least too out of shape) for that....

 

[uncdrew]

There is something therapeutic about dragging fields. I had to drag 3 fields for 5 years at the rec league. Usually at 6:30 am on Saturdays. Nothing fun about doing a lot of concentric circles while hungover. It was like a spirograph.

I wonder how many times you need to drag over puke to blend it in well enough.

 

[Gags]

I always thought "Field Maintenance" should have it's own forum on these boards - there's a lot of experience out there that could be passed on. A little surprised these questions don't come up more often.

Will try to add more later - but a de-thatching rake works great when you need to just score the surface, or it's still in "muck" status. The aluminum top-dressing rakes (36" wide) are always used incorrectly (i.e. over-enthusiastically) (which is why the tines are always bent), and will just scrape up the muck.

A landscapers rake (the rigid bow rakes) will be too heavy, and also scrape up the muck. The sharper tines of the de-thatcher, if used at the proper angle, will just leave grooves in the mud. The goal is to increase surface area so that the water can evaporate (good drainage is still your best bet, however). If you have to use one, know it's not a "playable in an hour" type of solution - that's what quick-dry / gamesaver is for.

And if you ever get to use a tractor - slow down when you get to the edges. I've seen Dad's treat it like the the Daytona 500, and end up flinging dirt onto the grass whenever they pull their "look how cool I am" 180's.

 

[Orange Socks]

The worst "hump" I have seen is at the fields for 18U Boulder IDT. At East Mapleton Fields, if you are sitting in your chain you literally cannot see the leftfielders feet and bottom shins. That hump serves as a launching pad from softball missles.

 

[Orange Socks]

I wonder how many times you need to drag over puke to blend it in well enough.

Do you see the color of my socks? I have spent many hours in the dirt. I have given up blood, sweat, tears and bile for the game of softball.

Me and the wife drive by the 6U/8U fields on the way and always say that's where it all began and it's gonna be over in a few short months.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

The worst "hump" I have seen is at the fields for 18U Boulder IDT. At East Mapleton Fields, if you are sitting in your chain you literally cannot see the leftfielders feet and bottom shins. That hump serves as a launching pad from softball missles.

I saw a girl in a 10U game get a concussion from a bad grass lip. She was playing a very close outfield when a hard grounder through the 5-6 hole bounced up and hit her right in the head. We played on that field for years, and the LL guys who dragged it only made it worse by doing what others have said.