‘Raking’ is derived of course, from the word for the common garden tool and indicates ’to sweep or traverse with shot’ only with the baseball bat. Uses of the term ‘rake’ in the baseball realm date as far back to 1990.
What does pitchers who rake mean? In baseball, “pitchers who rake” is a phrase used to describe pitchers who can hit the ball very well. Pitchers who can rake are known for hitting a lot of extra-base hits, which are a rare occurrence in Major League Baseball.
Adequate moisture through the skin will act to reduce the hardness of the soil profile and lead to truer bounces and improved playability of the surface.
Ball Field Aggregate
Have you ever wondered what that RED STUFF on baseball and softball diamonds is? Welcome to the home of Red Ball Diamond Aggregate or R.B.D.A.. This highly specialized product is a finely crushed dolomitic limestone, mined in Shakopee, Minnesota.
The two reasons for nail dragging on a game day are: To get all the cleat and traffic marks cleaned up from the previous day. To ‘set up’ the infield surface for the game.
A screen drag should be used after every game or practice. Screen drags come in a variety of sizes and configurations; the largest types tend to sling more material when turning, so avoid using very large or heavy screen drags. Some screen drags are fitted with a leveling bar in front (Figure 3).
Using a drying agent…
Typically a drying agent will be a calcined clay material. Spread some drying agent out over the wet area, then lightly rake the drying agent into the wet areas to allow it to help with absorbing remaining moisture. You can repeat this procedure on other areas that are soft or wet.
Drag your infield with a rigid steel drag mat to help seal off the surface. Again, always important to make sure there is some moisture in the infield surface otherwise it will not seal off. Do not nail drag or open up your infield prior to a rain event.
Every skinned infield is comprised of three unique components: Sand, Silt, and Clay. Understanding the characteristics of each component goes a long way toward helping with the management of a baseball or softball field. Sand, for example, is going to drain very well but will have a tendency to be loose or shifty.
There is, of course, a female counterpart to the Rake, the figure of male fantasy which no man can resist. She is the Siren, but that is a tale for next time.
Freebase. Rake. A rake, short for rakehell, is a historic term applied to a man who is habituated to immoral conduct, frequently a heartless womanizer. Often a rake was a prodigal who wasted his fortune on gambling, wine, women and song, incurring lavish debts in the process.
Rake is the scaled commission fee taken by a cardroom operating a poker game. It is generally 2.5% to 10% of the pot in each poker hand, up to a predetermined maximum amount. There are also other non-percentage ways for a casino to take the rake.
Speaking to The Oprah Magazine, Eva Devon, author of romance novels including The Spinster and the Rake confirmed that a rake is “a fella who loves a very good time. Monogamy need not apply.”
With a scuffed or dirty ball no longer useable in a game, the teams began to permit foul balls and home runs to be simply kept by fans as a souvenir. Previously, the crowd were not allowed to keep a ball and it had to be thrown back into the pitcher so that it could continue to be used in the game.
Today major league clubs often use a sports dirt mix called Beam Clay, made by Partac Peat Corp. Its dirts for the diamond, pitcher’s mound, and home plate contain different ratios of red clay (for firmness) and orange sand (for drainage and softness).
On playing fields and parks with already established grass, weed killers (herbicides) are the most common pesticide applied. They are likely to be sprayed at least once but usually not more than 3 times a year.
This area, known as the “three foot lane”, was created for the runner to run inside of on his way to first base, so he would not interfere with players fielding the ball. The only time the runner is allowed to go outside the three foot lane is to avoid interfering with the defense fielding the ball.
In addition, the dirt surface speeds up the balls coming off the bat. In softball, balls are bigger and a bit softer than in baseball, so on dirt, they move faster and have more chances of reaching the outfield. This improves the pace of the game and makes it more interesting.
Another name for the baseball field is the “diamond” because of the shape of the infield. The infield is the area from the grass line in to home plate. It includes all the bases and is where most of the action in the game of baseball takes place. The bases are perhaps the most important part of the baseball field.
Aggressively overseeding – applying grass seed over an existing field at high rates – is the most effective way to significantly reduce weeds on sports fields, writes Jason Henderson, associate professor.
Start by placing your mat drag approximately one foot inside the lip of your infield surface. The pattern should begin along the outside edge of the infield surface working your way inward. Alternate pattern in clockwise and counter clockwise direction. Dragging should be completed at a top speed of 3- 4 mph.