Section 3: Playing Area
Appendix 1 sets out the official diamond and field layout. Bases are 18.29 m (60 ft.) apart, measured from the back part of home plate to the back of first and third base; home plate to second base measures 25.86 m (84 ft. 10¼ in.) to the middle of the base. Home plate is a five-sided figure 43.2 cm (17 in.) wide across the edge facing the pitcher, with sides 21.6 cm (8½ in.) long parallel to the batter's box lines and a point facing the catcher formed by two 30.5 cm (12 in.) sides. The pitcher's plate is a rubber slab 61 cm (24 in.) long and 15.2 cm (6 in.) wide, with its top level with the ground.
Per the Appendix 1.F Distance Table, pitching distance and minimum outfield fence distance vary by division: Junior Women's 15-and-under pitch from 12.19 m (40 ft.) with a 60.96 m (200 ft.) minimum fence; Junior Women's 18-and-under and Women's pitch from 13.11 m (43 ft.) with a 67.06 m (220 ft.) minimum fence; and Junior Men's and Men's pitch from 14.02 m (46 ft.) with a 76.20 m (250 ft.) minimum fence.
The batter's box on each side of home plate measures 0.91 m by 2.13 m (3 ft. by 7 ft.), with its inside line 15.2 cm (6 in.) from home plate and its front line 1.22 m (4 ft.) in front of a line through the center of the plate. The catcher's box measures 3.05 m (10 ft.) long and 2.57 m (8 ft. 5 in.) wide behind home plate. A one-meter (3 ft.) running lane is drawn parallel to and one meter from the baseline between home and first base, starting halfway between the two bases. The on-deck circle is a 1.52 m (5 ft.) circle of 0.76 m (2 ft. 6 in.) radius adjacent to the dugout end closest to home plate, and the pitcher's circle is a 4.88 m (16 ft.) circle of 2.44 m (8 ft.) radius drawn from the center of the front edge of the pitcher's plate.
A double first base – a fair-territory base joined to a foul-territory base of a contrasting color – is used to separate the batter-runner's running path from the first baseman's fielding path under Rule 5.6. The backstop and sidelines (dead-ball line) must be set back a minimum of 7.62 m (25 ft.) and a maximum of 9.14 m (30 ft.) outside the foul lines, and a warning track of dirt or gravel, distinguishable from the playing surface, must run a minimum of 3.66 m (12 ft.) to a maximum of 4.57 m (15 ft.) inside the outfield and/or side fences.