How to Select the Best Baseball Padding

Keeping your players safe is crucial in any sport, including baseball, and that's why it's so important to choose the right baseball padding for your facility. It should also be durable and weather-resistant as well as comfortable and safety enhancing. Let's take a look at the different types of padded baseball accessories out there that you should consider adding to your stadium or field. There are some basic places that benefit the most from this extra layer of protection.

Top rail padding: There's nothing worse than the feeling of falling onto a chain link fence and feeling those sharp triangles bite into you. Fix that by installing top rail padding for fences. It can be wrapped around the top of the fence in a cylindrical shape, and should be about one inch thick at the least.

Baseball rail padding: Very similar to top rail padding, this is designed to go over the cylindrical metal rails found at many sports locations. They can be wrapped around any rail, not just the top part, and should also be at least one inch thick. It's where the players spend a lot of their time, so it should be properly protected. Get dugout padding for the guardrails and possibly the walls and benches as well—it will enhance comfort as an added bonus, keeping your players feeling good and ready to hit the field. One to two inches will be fine.

Outfield padding: Ever seen a player slip and skid into the outfield wall? This is a perfect solution. Most professional stadiums and fields have padded outfield wall, which you should have too. This padding should be thicker; ideally about two to three inches. The tops of chain-link fences aren't the only things that should be protected, so invest in some fence padding to catch thosewithout causing injury.

Factors to Look For

Not all baseball padding accessories are created equal. There are some things you should make sure your padding has or does before you outfit your stadium with it.

Material: The best material for padding will be vinyl, which should be UV-treated to help it resist sun and weather. Thicker padding like the kind found in outfields and backstops can have a plywood backing.

Thickness: We've given you some basic guidelines for how thick each kind of padding should be, so use that as a starting point. Better too much padding than too little!

Durability: You don't want to replace your padding all the time. Make sure you opt for sturdy padding that has been shown to stand the test of time.

Customizability: Padding is a great place to show off your team's logo, so inquire about custom graphics emblazoned on your padding.

Installing baseball padding doesn't have to be complicated. Just consult with a professional and get the best out of your facility and your program.