When baseball and softball seasons go idle later in the fall, many sports turf managers contemplate annual renovations of their ballfields to prepare them for next spring’s season. That typically means putting the field to bed for the winter so it’s ready to play on for next spring. But part of that renovation may include edging the infield skinned turf edges.

Many of you rely on Beacon’s “Ballfield Dimensions & Resource Guide” or the online version for the dimensions needed to measure all of your cutouts. Dimensions listed in our guide are, for the most part, collected right from the governing body’s rule book. However, many of those measurements are actually just recommendations, not absolute measurements. In those cases, the discretion is actually up to the groundskeeper to determine what he or she wants the dimensions to be based on wear patterns and other preferences unique to their ballfields.

Major League Baseball’s actual Rule #2.01 reads: “The grass lines and dimensions shown on the diagrams are those used in many fields, but they are not mandatory and each club shall determine the size and shape of the grassed and bare areas of its playing field.”

Don’t be afraid to be creative! Cut your field grass edges in a way that minimizes your wear and works to your field maintenance advantage.

► With the MLB’s “Shift Rule”, there’s an interesting debate around that topic that continues … you can learn more about that here: “The Shift, The Dirt, and Getting It Right: How the Coming Rule Will Affect the Game…and Groundskeepers”