Construction Specifications for a Baseball Pitcher's Mound

The construction specifications for a pitcher's mound are the same for high school, college and major league baseball. A properly constructed pitcher's mound is intended to balance out any advantage to the hitter or the pitcher; a higher or closer mound gives the edge to the pitcher while a lower mound, or one farther back, increases the hitter's advantage. Properly constructing the mound will also prevent injuries to the pitcher.

  1. Placement

    • The pitcher's mound should be in line with home plate and second base. From the apex of home plate, the distance to the front of the pitching rubber is 60 feet, six inches. The pitching rubber is 24 inches long, six inches deep and should be centered and squared to home plate. The center of the mound is marked at 18 inches in front of the pitching rubber.

    Size of Mound

    • The mound is 18 feet in diameter. The diameter of the mound should be determined from the center point of the mound, not from the rubber.

    Pitcher's Plateau

    • The pitcher's mound structure does not build up to an apex but rather to a plateau to give the pitcher a firm and level area. The plateau measures five feet wide by three feet deep. The plateau extends 24 inches from the front of the rubber and six inches from the rear of the rubber. On each side of the rubber the plateau extends 18 inches.

    Height and Slope of Mound

    • The pitching rubber sits 10 inches above home plate. With the plateau and outer diameter of the mound placed properly, the slope of the mound, from the edge of the plateau to the edge of the mound, should drop one inch for every one foot of distance.