pitching mound

the raised ground in the middle of a baseball diamond where the pitcher stands; in Major League Baseball, a regulation mound is 18 feet (5.5 m) in diameter, with the center 59 feet (18.0 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 (rubber) is 18 inches (45.7 cm) behind the center of the mound, making the front edge's midpoint 60 feet 6 inches (18.4 m) from the rear point of home plate. Six inches (15.2 cm) in front of the pitcher's rubber the mound begins to slope downward; the top of the pitcher's plate to be no higher than ten inches (25.4 cm) above home plate.