60' 4"

photo by Ballard Avenue

We recently wandered up to Capitol Hill for a baseball game between the Seattle University RedHawks and the Big Bend Community College Vikings. The RedHawks play at Bobby Morris Field, a multi-purpose playfield for all sports, so the baseball teams have to use a portable pitching mound. Something didn't look quite right, so they got a tape measure and found that sure enough, the pitching rubber was only 60' 4" from the plate, not the regulation 60' 6". The home plate umpire conferred with the two coaches who said, "Aw, let's just play the game!" Maybe they figured being a couple inches closer might help their pitchers get those early season curveballs to break over the plate, not in the dirt in front of the plate.