Baseball Infield Drainage: How to Fix Puddles, Lips and Low Spots

Quick answer: An infield skin drains across its surface, not down through it. When water sits on the skin, it’s almost always one of three things: a lip at the grass edge that dams the runoff, low spots worn in by play, or a skin that has lost its grade. Clear the lip, fill low spots with matching mix, and laser grade the skin to about 0.5 percent for baseball or 0.4 percent for softball (SportsField Management). On game day, get the standing water off first, then use drying agent sparingly.

How a healthy infield sheds water

Water moves slowly through infield mix. The MLB groundskeeper blog explains that this is why fields are built with a slope that carries surface water off the clay and into the grass. Here’s what a correct grade looks like:

• The mound is the high point. The field slopes away from it in every direction except toward home plate. Between the mound and the plate it’s flat, with a grade toward the foul lines (Profile Products).
• Baseball skin: about 0.5 percent. SportsField Management’s Jamie Mehringer says that’s all you need. At 1 percent, topdressing runs off into the outfield grass in heavy rain.
• Softball skin: 0.4 percent from the pitching rubber in all directions. Any steeper and the surface looks like it has a mound.
• Outfield: 1 to 1 1/2 percent toward the fence and foul lines or toward drains. The infield sits higher than the outfield (Profile).

A consistent grade matters as much as the number. A skin can average the right slope and still hold water in small dips.

Diagnose it: lip, low spot or grade?

Walk the field during or right after a rain and note where the water sits.

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix	DIY or contractor
Water backs up along the grass edge; grounders hop at the transition	Lip	Wash or cut built-up material out of the turf edge	DIY for loose buildup; sod cutter or contractor for a hard ridge
Same puddle, same spot, every rain	Low spot worn in by play	Fill with matching mix, pack, level, topdress	DIY
Water stands across much of the skin or runs the wrong way; skin sits below the grass	Lost grade or too little mix	Laser grading, plus more mix if needed	Contractor
Skin drains, but the grass around it stays soggy	Nothing collects the runoff	Interceptor drains around the field	Contractor

Problem 1: A lip at the grass edge

A lip is infield mix that has worked into the turf edge and built up into a ridge. It dams runoff and kicks ground balls, and Profile Products calls it a safety hazard that must be eliminated.

Check for it: Keith Winter’s test in SportsField Management is to put your foot half on the dirt and half on the turf. If you feel a bump, you have work to do.

• Turf high, mix low: Add infield mix, in bulk with laser grading if you can or along the edges if the budget is tight. Then roll with half the drum on the dirt and half on the turf until it’s flush (Winter).
• Ridge built up in the turf: Cut and save the sod over it with a sod cutter, then remove material until the area sits slightly lower than the infield surface. Put the sod back, topdress bare spots, level with a garden rake and water lightly every day until the sod knits (Profile).
• Looser buildup: Blast it out with a high-pressure hose nozzle aimed at a 45-degree angle toward the infield (Profile), or shave hardened spots with a sharpened iron rake (Beacon Athletics). Beacon says to do hose work on a cloudy day to protect exposed turf crowns. Winter suggests a 3/4-inch hose with a controllable nozzle because high-volume water damages the crown.

Problem 2: Low spots and birdbaths

Little League International notes that low areas develop from play over time and collect water. Twins head groundskeeper Larry DiVito, quoted by Profile, stresses keeping the grade right around the bases and player positions. Here is Profile’s method for correcting low areas:

1. Soil-test your infield to learn its sand/silt/clay mix. Fill with the same material as the rest of the skin, not whatever dirt is handy.
2. Blend about 20 percent calcined clay into the fill so it absorbs water during rains. Profile names its own Turface MVP or Pro League Elite.
3. Scrape out the loose mix, then fill, pack and level until the low spot is gone.
4. Topdress to match the rest of the surface, then tamp or roll to the firmness of the surrounding soil.

If you need matching material, check our directory of infield mix suppliers. If you’re filling low spots all over the skin, you probably have Problem 3.

Problem 3: The skin has lost its grade

If water stands across the skin or runs the wrong way, or the dirt has sunk below the grass, the slope is gone or uneven. Mehringer notes that infields often get drain tile when what they needed was more mix to get back to grade. For reference, the MLB groundskeeper blog gives about 5 inches as a general skin depth on new or rebuilt baselines.

The fix is laser grading, and the sources agree on that. Profile calls a qualified contractor with laser-grading equipment “the best investment” for building or renovating and recommends laser grading infields before each season. Little League says periodic laser grading drastically improves surface drainage. Mehringer is blunt: “Under ALL circumstances lasers should be used.” If you don’t have a laser, the MLB blog describes string lines moved every 1 to 2 feet and checked with shovels and rakes.

Why drain tile under the skin usually isn’t the answer

Mehringer gives two reasons. First, finer soil sitting over coarser stone has to fully saturate before any water moves into the stone. Second, a correctly compacted infield is too firm to let much water percolate. Trenching into an existing infield can also contaminate the mix with gravel. His advice is to skip subsurface drainage on the skin and laser grade often.

Drains belong around the field. Cornell’s sports field program says water moved to the sides of a field needs interceptor drains to carry it away. It also says subsurface systems work best when good surface and internal drainage are already in place.

Game day: how to dry a wet infield

The MLB groundskeeper blog says the worst thing you can do after a heavy rain on an uncovered field is work it too early. Let the sun and the drier material underneath start the dry-down. Then:

1. Look first. If humidity is dropping and you have sun or a breeze, Beacon Athletics says to hold the drying agent and use it only where saturation is deep.
2. Remove standing water. Use puddle pillows: soak, wring out, repeat (Little League). The MLB blog uses 12-by-24-inch foam sponges. For a big puddle, Profile suggests surrounding it with a water-filled 1-inch hose and pulling the water off, which keeps you from dragging mud off the back of the skin. If you have to push water, use a roller squeegee instead of a rake so you don’t cut into the wet mix (MLB blog).
3. Add calcined clay a little at a time. Fill a depression with it, let it soak 15 to 20 minutes, then spread the moist material out to keep drying (MLB blog). In drizzle, put down a very thin layer with a spreader instead of pouring from the bag.
4. Open the surface. Nail drag the skin and let it sit (Little League), or back-rake with a lute to fluff just the top 1/4 to 1/2 inch of topdressing (Beacon).
5. Finish. Add more calcined clay before pregame if needed, then screen drag (Little League).
6. Clean up. Remove excess drying agent after the game, because too much changes how the infield handles moisture and future rain. You can dry the removed material and reuse it (Beacon).

“Quick dry” products: the sources disagree

Little League says to avoid products labeled “quick dry.” Their smaller particles, used over time, clog soil pores and make the area drain slower. Profile sells Turface Quick Dry for puddles and says it doesn’t harden when dry. Its directions are to pour it on and rake thoroughly after 10 minutes. Beacon notes that coarser professional grades blend into topdressing better and are less dusty than fine drying agents. Little League’s concern is repeated use.

Habits that keep water moving

• Clean the edges. Winter describes the pro routine: blow loose material off after every game, sweep with a stiff push broom at least weekly or after tarp pulls, and power-wash once or twice a season.
• Drag away from the grass. Winter says stay a foot off the edge; Little League says at least six inches. Rake with the grass edge, not into it, and edge bi-weekly.
• Keep topdressing thin: 1/8 to 1/4 inch of calcined or vitrified clay (MLB blog).
• Cover before rain. The MLB blog calls a tarp the quickest and easiest way to keep a field playable; see our tarps guide. DiVito keeps the mound and home plate areas covered because high-clay areas are the hardest to dry. He also keeps infield moisture lower when rain is expected.
• Act fast on puddles so the area doesn’t saturate, and fill low spots as they show up (DiVito).
• Laser grade before each season (Profile) or once a year (MLB blog).

When to call a contractor

• Water stands across the skin, not just in a few spots.
• You’ve cleared the lips and filled the low spots, and it still puddles.
• The skin has sunk below the surrounding grass.
• The lip is a hard ridge and you don’t have a sod cutter or a crew.
• Water leaves the skin but pools in the grass around it.

Ask whether they laser grade, what grade they’ll set and whether your skin needs more mix. If someone proposes drain tile under the skin, ask about the grade first.

Who can help

These businesses are listed in our directory. The descriptions come from their listings.

Grading, drainage and field renovation contractors

Northeast

• Greenway Athletic Field Services (Stamford, CT): laser grading, lip removal, mound construction, ballfield mix installation and drainage in Connecticut and New York.
• Sports Turf Specialties, Inc. (Wrentham, MA): laser grading, drainage installation, infield regrading and lip removal.

Southeast and Midwest

• Laserturf SE (Watkinsville, GA): annual tilling and laser grading of infields, laser top dressing and drainage.
• Level It Excavating Inc. (Swansea, IL): grading, drainage, seeding and sodding for baseball and softball field builds, with coverage into neighboring states.
• Midwest Laser Leveling (Topeka, KS): laser grading throughout the Midwest, from full renovations down to infield touch-ups.

West

• Barkshire Laser Leveling Inc. (San Juan Capistrano, CA): fine-finish laser grading, infield re-leveling, drainage correction and laser top dressing across the western United States.
• WestGro Contracting (Buckeye, AZ): infield regrading and laser leveling, lip removal and drainage correction.
• Point B Grading and Turfgrass Maintenance LLC (Goodyear, AZ): laser grading, infield leveling, aeration and drainage.
• Pacific Sports Turf (Tualatin, OR): renovation, drainage and infield soil augmentation in Oregon and SW Washington.

Drying agents, conditioners and field supplies

• Turface Athletics (Profile Products) (Buffalo Grove, IL): calcined clay conditioners including MVP, Pro League and Quick Dry, sold through authorized dealers.
• Pro’s Choice Sports Field Products (Chicago, IL): calcined clay conditioners and Rapid Dry, a drying agent for wet or puddle-prone areas.
• Diamond Pro (TXI / Arcosa) (Dallas, TX): calcined clay conditioners, infield mixes, drying agents and mound clays.
• EP Minerals (Groundskeeper’s Choice) (Reno, NV): super-calcined clay conditioners and infield drying agents.
• Beacon Athletics (Middleton, WI): nail drags, drag mats, hand rakes, tarps, infield mixes and clays, shipped nationwide.
• American Sports Fields (Knoxville, TN): drying agents, field drags, tarps, hoses and hand tools for diamonds throughout the Southeast.

Looking for someone closer to home? Browse field maintenance contractors in our directory.

After a rainout, the foul lines and boxes usually need redoing too. Our guide to field marking: hiring a striping service vs. DIY walks through both options.