Return To ... "It is Happening ...... The Work has Started ...... September 2009" ... Index Page
and this page includes twenty-four photos and one video
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Rebuilding of Diamond One

PAGE #01 - How the field has progressed - CLICK HERE
Sunday 4th October 2009 to Wednesday 27th January 2010
grass is starting to grow ... picking up rocks and sticks ... first mowing ... spreading gypsum
pulling out sensitive weed ... top dressing the infield ... changing the soil mixture in the running
tracks and skinned infield ... the bauxite has been delivered ... sensitive weed

PAGE #02 - How the field has progressed - BELOW
Sunday 21st February 2010 to Sunday 21st March 2010
marking the dirt to grass edges ... mound position and height ... the bags of bauxite have been
dragged on to the diamond ... unfired clay bricks being put in the catcher and batter's boxes
chipping the dirt to grass edges ... spreading and levelling the bauxite
mowing the infield ... aerial and panoramic photos

PAGE #03 - How the field has progressed - CLICK HERE
Wednesday 24th March 2010 to Friday 2nd April 2010
inground supports for first, second and third base ... aerial and panoramic photos
collecting ant bed for the mound from the Tablelands

PAGE #04 - How the field has progressed - CLICK HERE
Wednesday 7th April 2010 to Sunday 11th April 2010
marking out and building the mound ... buried 'secrets'
shaping the top and front of the mound with ant bed ... crusher dust for the outside slopes

PAGE #05 - How the field has progressed - CLICK HERE
Monday 12th April 2010 to Friday 16th April 2010
final touches to the mound ... unfired clay bricks added to the foot mark / hole
the mound is finished ... marking the field for the first time and it's ready
the first game and the first home run ... the highly qualified grounds crew

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this page includes 43 photos and 4 videos and, yes, I know that's a lot
however, it's the best way to look at how the field has progressed and the ongoing improvements
so just be patient while it downloads completely ... will not take long !!

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Sunday 21st February 2010

Looking at the field from the grandstand on the first base side ...

... and from high up on the third base side ... looking like a Major League Standard Diamond !!

The tarpaulin at home plate is just to keep down the weeds ... saves a bit of poisoning

Looking from third across to first base

Below is the infield ... which had just been mown

The peg marks where the pitcher's plate will be and the pink paint shows the height of the mound
which is exactly ten inches above home plate ... as the Baseball Rules state

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The height of the mound has not been constant, or even well defined, through baseball history

Before 1893, the pitcher threw from a pitcher's box, which worked better with a level surface rather than a sloped one

In 1893, the pitching distance was changed, and the box was replaced with the pitcher's rubber

Pitchers discovered that they could get more speed on the ball if they were allowed to stride downhill,
so their groundskeepers would provide them with a mound

Those early mounds were not regulated; in Pitching in a Pinch, Christy Mathewson commented
that the height of the mound might be changed from day to day to suit the pitching style of the home team's pitcher

The regular changing of mound height was eventually prohibited

Teams settled on a height of 15 inches for the mound

Despite this regulation, some teams were accused of using a higher than regulation height mound
and Dodger Stadium was particularly notorious for having a high mound

Following the incredibly low scoring in 1968, the rules were changed to reduce the mound to the contemporary 10 inch height

Some accusations of gamesmanship with mounds continue, usually with visiting teams complaining that the mounds in the
visitor's bullpen don't match the mound of the field, so that relievers entering the game aren't properly adapted to the game mound
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A close-up look at the grass coverage on the infield

Still a way to go !! ... despite many applications of fertiliser and many thousands of litres of water !!
and, unfortunately, the sensitive weed is still around !!

The two shots below show the cut-out area around third base

An underground drainage pipe is going to be laid on the back edge ... where the water is currently pooling

The 'pink-pavers' mark the edge of the infield cut-outs and running tracks

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Thursday 4th March 2010

Ritchie dragging the bags of bauxite across to the Diamond so it can be spread on the tracks and infield playing areas

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Saturday 6th March 2010

A look at the field from down the first base fence line

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Saturday 13th and Monday 15th March 2010

Both the catcher's area and the batter's boxes have been "problem areas" over the years
with the players digging holes in an effort to find that 'perfect surface' to play on !!

Follwing examples on this web site ...

... it was decided to add secure footing to these areas

CLICK HERE

for complete details on the use of unfired clay bricks

CLICK HERE

to go to DiamondPro's Official Web Site

The clay bricks soon after they were added to both batter's boxes ...

... and here they are after they had been compressed

Below Ritchie is adding more bricks to get the levels at the correct height

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Thursday 18th and Friday 19th March 2010

Chipping the grass away that had grown into the bases, running tracks and infield playing areas

This had to be done so the bauxite could be spread during the Working Bee to be held on Sunday 21st March 2010

The edges and running tracks look great !!

The photo below shows that the job is almost finished ... just these couple of spots to be done !!

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Sunday 21st March 2010

Working Bee

Finishing the chipping of the grass / dirt edges ... and collecting all the rubbish ready to spread the bauxite

The next two shots show Ritchie digging out the catcher's box as per the method on Saturday 13th March 2010 above

Finally ... the bauxite can be spread !!

Levelling the surface by using a drag mat

Kahlia and Tai
25 seconds


video=http://www.ronebergcairns.com/2010onwards/general2010_1555.flv
Geoff and Tai
35 seconds


video=http://www.ronebergcairns.com/2010onwards/general2010_1555.flv

The Finished Result

Kahlia and Sharon ... "The Expert Sensitive Weed Removalists" ... having a break !!

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Sunday 21st March 2010

The "New Look" Baseball Diamond

Two more jobs to complete----------#1 ... building the mound----------#2 ... concrete in supports for first, second and third bases

The shot below was taken from the top of the backnet

Three more photos and these were taken at ground level

Looking in from centrefield

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Video Number One

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17 seconds

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Video Number Two

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36 seconds

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and now CLICK HERE to go to PAGE #03

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