baseball field tarp

A baseball field tarp can not only help your sporting league get back to playing the game faster after a rain delay, this tool can even help to maintain the field’s soil for better all-around play. In order to ensure your baseball field tarp performs at an optimal level, it is important to perform routine maintenance on the tarp.

Like our outdoor fabric shelters, there are a variety of simple ways to keep a baseball field tarp in great shape, which will not only keep it working properly, but will allow it to last season after season. Here are surefire ways to keep your baseball field tarp working for you all season long.

What is a Baseball Field Tarp

If you’ve ever seen it rain during a Major League Baseball game, you have also seen groundskeepers race to cover the field with a giant cover that shields the grounds from oncoming rain. The baseball field tarp is what protects the field itself from becoming too saturated to play the game.

A baseball field tarp isn’t only reserved for professional baseball. In fact, plenty of programs in all age groups utilize these tools in areas where rain delays are common. A baseball field tarp can not only save time by avoiding cancellations, it can also have a positive effect on the field itself by avoiding large amounts of water seeping into the soil.

It's easy to be fooled by the well-managed, highly trained ground crew as they skillfully, and in synchronized fashion, roll out and deploy a huge baseball field tarp over the infield in less than 5 minutes! Unfortunately for those who aren't trained professionals, it's a little bit of a different story.

Setting up a baseball field tarp is a complex, meticulous procedure that must be fully understood to implement. Unpreparedness can cause damage to the field that you're trying to protect, the tarp itself, and sometimes even the crew members.

To avoid the risk of any level of damage, you must learn the steps and critical instructions of handling a baseball field tarp that will enable you to participate in this important task confidently.

Why a Baseball Field Tarp is Important

We all know the uncertainties of the weather are always considered when planning season games. Field damage is common throughout season-long campaigns and during training days.

Daily maintenance is necessary to ensure that the field can withstand the constant activity of the athletes and their cleats and natural elements...

Wet baseball infields can be more than a pain in the neck for your baseball or softball program. They can be a pain in the ankle, foot, or knee.

Although there is always a chance of getting injured during a baseball or softball game when the field is dry, then rain increases the chances of injuries to players from youth to adult leagues. The best way to prevent injuries from occurring is to use a baseball field tarp to cover your infield.

What Is a Baseball Field Tarp?

A baseball field tarp is designed to extend just beyond the infield skin and cover the coach's boxes and on-deck circles. These tarps are made of durable polyethylene fabric and have pull handles and grommets every 10 feet, which makes getting the tarp unrolled and on the field quick and easy.

During a game, if it starts raining, a baseball field tarp can be rolled out to cover the infield and secured with either weight bags or spike anchors. When the rain stops, the tarp can be removed from the field, and the baseball or softball game can be continued.

Additionally, a baseball field tarp can be rolled out in anticipation of a rainstorm. For example, if the tarp is applied to the infield skin at night, in anticipation of a few hours of overnight...

There are many reasons to buy a baseball field tarp. By protecting your field, you can save thousands per year on soil and turf maintenance, plus you can save money on rescheduled and rained-out games. A good tarp will also protect your field from frost damage, help maintain steady growth, and can provide consistent team branding, but how do you choose the right tarp or field cover?

This article will explain what you should consider when buying a tarp for your program's baseball or softball field. We will also go over the different types of field covers, including full field tarps, which cover the entire infield skin, and spot covers, which are used to cover and protect the mound, batting area, and the on-deck circle.

Full Field Covers

Perhaps the most important type of baseball field tarp, the full field cover, is designed to protect the entire infield skin. Typically, a full field cover will reach just beyond the infield covering the whole area from the third base coaches box to the first base coaches' box down to the home plate circle. Most quality full field tarps will extend roughly 3-5 feet into the outfield, which helps prevent rainwater from running into the infield skin in the event of inclement weather.

Generally speaking, there are two options available when considering which type of full field tarp to purchase for your field: one-piece tarps and two-piece tarps. In almost all cases, a one-piece full field cover will be much better than a two-piece tarp for a couple of reasons.

Number one, a one-piece full field cover is simply much more efficient and effective. Number two, it’s considerably easier to align a one-piece tarp as it doesn’t need to be overlapped and affixed in the same way that a two-piece full field cover does. Finally, it can be almost impossible to get a two-piece tarp together when bad weather strikes due to heavy winds. For these reasons, you should always aim to purchase a one-piece full field cov...