<P> Foul poles are typically much higher than the top of the outfield fence or wall, and often have a narrow screen running along the fair side of the pole . This further aids the umpires' judgment, as a ball that bounces off this screen is a home run . It can still be a difficult call, especially in ballparks with no outfield stands behind the poles to provide perspective . Wrigley Field is notorious for arguments over long, curving flies down a foul line (most notably in left field) that sail higher than the foul pole . </P> <P> At Major League Baseball fields, foul poles are usually yellow . Those at Citi Field are orange . At the Rogers Centre, there are no foul poles, but large nets suspended from the roof that serve the same purpose . At Petco Park, there is no foul pole in left field; the pole's function is served by a yellow metal strip along the corner of the Western Metal Supply Co. building . </P> <P> In roughly the middle of the square, equidistant between first and third base, and a few feet closer to home plate than to second base, is a low artificial hill called the pitcher's mound . This is where the pitcher stands when throwing the pitch . Atop the mound is a white rubber slab, called the pitcher's plate or pitcher's rubber . It measures 6 inches (15 cm) front - to - back and 2 feet (61 cm) across, the front of which is exactly 60 feet 6 inches (18.44 m) from the rear point of home plate . This peculiar distance was set by the rule makers in 1893, not due to a clerical or surveying error as popular myth has it, but intentionally (further details under History). </P> <P> In Major League Baseball, a regulation mound is 18 feet (5.5 m) in diameter, with the center 59 feet (18 m) from the rear point of home plate, on the line between home plate and second base . The front edge of the pitcher's plate or rubber is 18 inches (46 cm) behind the center of the mound, making the front edge's midpoint 60 feet 6 inches from the rear point of home plate . Six inches (15 cm) in front of the pitcher's rubber the mound begins to slope downward . The top of the rubber is to be no higher than ten inches (25 cm) above home plate . From 1903 through 1968, this height limit was set at 15 inches (38 cm), but was often slightly higher, sometimes as high as 20 inches (51 cm), especially for teams that emphasized pitching, such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, who were reputed to have the highest mound in the majors . </P>

How far the pitcher's mound is from home plate