Do you know the official baseball field dimensions? As anyone who watches Major League Baseball knows, one of the game’s great variables is the ballpark—specifically, the different quirks and characteristics of some of the game’s greatest venues. Fenway with the wall. Wrigley with the ivy. Shea with the 747s. Given that parks often differ in square footage, it’s easy to wonder if Major League Baseball has a given set of official field dimensions. Well, wonder no more.

The Outfield
Outfield walls in Major League Baseball fall under very loose guidelines and regulations.  According to the official MLB rulebook requires the distance be 250 feet or more from home base to the nearest fence, stand or other obstruction on fair territory. Furthermore, a distance of 320 feet or more along the foul lines, and 400 feet or more to center field is deemed “preferable.” That’s it, right? Not so fast, slugger.

Amendments to the game’s official baseball field dimensions dictate that any field constructed after 1958 provide a minimum distance of 325 feet from home plate to the nearest fence, stand or other obstruction on outfield foul lines. Furthermore, once more, there shall be a minimum distance of 400 feet to straightaway center field.

Shallow Beliefs
Even with the agreed-upon restrictions, there remains at least one ballpark which features a fence well short of the mandated 325 feet: Boston’s Fenway Park. While individual measurements tend to vary, the park’s left field wall is officially recorded as laying 310 feet from home plate. However, the wall’s height—37 feet and two inches—makes up for its shallow placement, and also earns it the nickname “Green Monster.”

The Infield
Obviously, there are certain official baseball field dimensions that remain universal in MLB. Home plates, for instance, are always irregular white pentagons measuring 17 inches by 8 ½ by 12 by 12 by 8 ½. The distance between home plate and first base measures exactly 90 feet, with the distance between home plate and third base measuring identically. Accordingly, second base (or, the opposite side of the diamond) also falls 90 feet away from both first and third bases. And in case you don’t feel like doing any math, the distance from home plate to second base measures 127 feet, three inches.

Mound Control
A regulation pitcher’s mound is 18 feet in diameter, with its center 59 feet from the rear point of home plate. The front edge of the pitcher’s plate is 18 inches from the center of the mound, measuring at 60 feet and six inches from home plate. The top of the rubber can be no higher than 10 inches above home plate. And just how big is the pitcher’s plate, or “rubber” itself?  24 inches by six.

Foul Territory
Ballparks vary in terms of foul territory. While it is recommended that the distance from home base to the backstop, and from the base lines to the nearest fence, stand or other obstruction on foul territory be 60 feet or more, not all ball parks adhere to that recommendation. The most notable example is the New Yankee Stadium, where home plate rests a mere 50 feet from the backstop. So, there's your answer to the questions you have about official baseball field dimensions.