Starting the Baseball Mound Project
Okay so I finally bit the bullet and ordered this DIY baseball mound kit last Tuesday. My kid’s been begging for a proper pitching practice spot in the backyard forever, and the prefab ones cost like crazy money. Figured building it myself couldn’t be that hard, right?
What Actually Came in the Box
Unboxing day was kinda messy. Here’s what was inside:
- The rubber slab – way heavier than I expected, like dragging a dead body
- Weird metal stakes that looked like giant nails
- This wonky measuring tape with faded numbers
- Instruction papers that got rained on during delivery
Already sweating just hauling the rubber piece across the lawn. Pro tip: do NOT try this alone.
Hands-on Building Process
First I eyeballed where the mound should go. Big mistake. Had to dig up like three wrong spots before busting out the crumpled instructions. Turns out you need exactly 60 feet 6 inches from where you want home plate to be.
Started hacking at the dirt with my old garden shovel – that lasted about ten minutes before the handle snapped. Borrowed my neighbor’s tiller and tore up a 8-foot circle. Then spent forever stomping down dirt and leveling it with a cracked 2×4 board.
The real nightmare was securing that pitcher’s rubber. Those metal stakes bent like spaghetti when I hammered them. Had to duct-tape the instructions back together to see how deep they needed to go. Ended up using regular wood stakes from my shed.
Last-Minute Surprises
Forgot to check the damn slope! The whole thing looked flat until my kid tried throwing from it and nearly faceplanted. Had to re-dig the front edge lower than the back. Took two more trips to Home Depot for extra topsoil and tamping sand.
Also got super paranoid about rain washing it away. Ended up mixing grass seed with the top layer and nailing scrap plywood boards around the edges like a total redneck engineer.
Final Thoughts
Took three weekends instead of the “easy afternoon” the box promised. Looks kinda Frankenstein but hell, the kid’s pitching velocity already improved. Wouldn’t call it “fast” to build though unless you’re some earth-moving pro.
Total cost ended up being half a pre-built mound, but add in the ruined shovel and my dignity… eh, toss up. Still saving lawn-mowing money where the mound is now!