Baseball Foul Pole

Baseball foul poles extend the foul lines straight up from the outfield fence so umpires, players and fans can judge fair or foul on balls hit high down the line. Every listing in this collection is a pair, from Gill Athletics and Gared Sports, in heights from 12 to 30 feet. You can choose between wingless and wing-panel designs and between in-ground and surface-mount installs, which covers everything from a youth complex to a stadium-style varsity field.

How to choose baseball foul poles

Height. Pick a pole that rises well above your outfield fence so the top stays visible against the sky on towering fly balls. Gill offers 12-foot in-ground foul poles, 16-foot poles and 24-foot poles. Gared covers the taller end with 20- and 30-foot stadium models.

Wing panel or wingless. A wing panel adds a wider, easier-to-see surface beside the pole. The Gill 12-foot model is wingless, while the Gill 16- and 24-foot poles carry 8-foot wing panels. Gared uses an 18-inch-wide steel mesh wing: 12 feet long on the 20-foot surface-mount BSPOLE-20SM and 18 feet long on the 30-foot models.

Mounting.

• In-ground: The 30-foot in-ground BSPOLE-30P sets into a concrete footing. Gared notes that in-ground poles run longer than the listed height, which is measured from ground level to the top. All three Gill poles use ground sleeves that are sold separately, so add those to the order.
• Surface mount: The 30-foot surface-mount BSPOLE-30SM and the 20-foot SM model install on the surface instead of in a footing, which suits fields where digging deep is a problem.

Construction and finish. Gill poles are heavy-duty steel pipe that comes in two pieces you bolt together on site, finished in powder coat. Gared builds on galvanized steel posts, 3-1/2 inches in diameter on the 20-foot model and 5-9/16 inches on the 30-foot models, powder coated in optic yellow for visibility.

Trainer's take: the poles are training equipment too

Most baseball players know "poles": running the warning track from one foul pole to the other. With permanent poles in place, you have fixed, repeatable markers for conditioning. Early in the preseason, keep runs at a steady pace with a walk back for rest, and add reps gradually from week to week rather than jumping to a full set on day one. Later, switch to shorter, faster segments to match the stop-and-start demands of the game. Put a coach at each pole so players turn at the marker instead of cutting the corner.

Baseball foul poles FAQ

Is a ball that hits the foul pole fair or foul?

Fair. Despite the name, the foul pole marks fair territory, so a fly ball that strikes the pole above the fence is ruled a home run.

Are foul poles sold one at a time or in pairs?

Every foul pole listing in this collection is a pair, which covers both the left and right field lines.

What is a BSPOLE?

BSPOLE is the model prefix Gared Sports uses for its foul poles. The suffix matches the mount: the 20SM and 30SM are surface-mount versions, and the 30P is the in-ground version.

Do I need ground sleeves?

For the Gill poles, yes; each listing names the ground sleeve to order separately. Gared offers optional sleeves for its in-ground 30P that must be ordered with the poles so the factory can modify them, while its surface-mount models skip sleeves entirely.

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