THE BALL GROUND.
RULE 1. The Ground must be an inclosed field, sufficient in size to enable each player to play in his position as required by these Rules.
RULE 2. To lay off the lines governing the positions and play off the
Game known as Base Ball, proceed as follows:
From a point, A, within the grounds, project a right line out into the field, and at a point, B, 154 feet from point A, lay off lines BC and BD at right angles to the line AB; then with B as centre and 63.63945 feet as radius, describe arcs cutting the lines BA at F and BC at G; BD at H ; and BE at I. Draw lines FG, GE, EH and HF, and said lines will be the containing lines of the Diamond or Infield.
THE CATCHER'S LINES.
RULE 3. With F as centre and 90 feet radius, an arc cutting line FA at L, and draw lines LM and LO at right angles to FA; and continue same out from FA not less than 90 feet.
THE FOUL LINE.
RULE 4. From the intersection point, F, continue the straight lines FG and FH until they intersect with the lines LM and LI, and then from the points G and H in the opposite direction until they reach the boundary lines of the grounds.
THE PLAYERS' LINES.
RULE 5. With F as centre and 50 feet radius, describe arcs cutting lines FO and EM at P and Q, then with F as centre again and 75 feet radius describe arcs cutting FG and FH at R and S; then from the points P Q R and S draw lines at right angles to the lines FO, FM, FG, and FH, and continue same until they intersect at the points T W and W.
THE CAPTAIN AND COACHERS' LINE.
RULE 6. With R and S as centres and 15 feet radius, describe arcs cutting lines RW and ST at X and Y, and from the points X and Y draw lines parallel with lines FH and FG, and continue same out to the boundary lines of the ground.
THE THREE FOOT LINE.
RULE 7. With F as centre and 45 feet radius, describe an arc cutting line FG at 1, and from 1 out to the distance of 3 feet draw a line at right angles to FG, and marked point 2; then from point 2, draw a line parallel with the line FG to a point 3 feet beyond the point G, and marked 3; then from the point 3 draw a line at right angles to line 2, 3, back to and intersecting with line FG, and from thence back along line GF to point 1.
THE PITCHER'S PLATE.
RULE 8. With point F as centre and 60.5 feet as radius, describe an arc cutting the line FB at a point 4, and draw a line 5, 6, passing through point 4 and extending 12 inches on either side of line FB; then with line 5, 6, as a side, describe a parallelogram 24 inches by 6 inches.
THE BASES.
RULE 9. Within the angle F, describe a square the sides of which shall be 12 inches, two of its sides lying upon the lines FG and FH, and within the angles G and H describe squares the side of which shall be 15 inches, the two outer sides of said square lying upon the lines FG and GI and FH and HI, and at the angle E describe a square whose side shall be 15 inches and so described that its sides shall be parallel with GI and IH and its centre immediately over the angular point E.
THE BATSMAN'S LINE.
RULE 10. On either side of the line AFB describe two parallelograms 6 feet long and 4 feet wide (marked 8 and 9), their length being parallel with the line AFB, their distance apart being 6 inches, added to each end of the length of the diagonal of the square within the angle F, and the centre of their length being upon said diagonal.
RULE 11. The Home Base at F and the Pitcher's Plate at 4 must be of whitened rubber and so fixed in the ground as to be even with the surface.
RULE 12. The First Base at G, the Second Base at E, and the Third Base at H, must be of white canvas bags, filled with soft material, and securely fastened in their positions described in Rule 9.
RULE 13. The lines described in Rules 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10 must be marked with lime, chalk, or other suitable material, so as to be distinctly seen by the Umpire.