The World is Covered By Baseball Diamonds

I caught a bit of Fields of Dreams tonight. I’ll be mocked for this, but I’m quite fond of the movie. It’s as American a film as I’ve ever seen, it’s flamboyantly sentimental and embraces a kind of magic realism that I always enjoy. It also features one of the finer speeches ever performed in a Hollywood film.

The movie is based on the book Shoeless Joe, by Canadian author W.P. Kinsella. While watching the movie, I was reminded of an idea that I think first read in that book: the world is, theoretically, covered by baseball diamonds. A baseball diamond doesn’t end at the wall. As you know, a player can reach or dive into the stands to catch a ball. From the major league rulebook:

No interference shall be allowed when a fielder reaches over a fence, railing, rope or into a stand to catch a ball. He does so at his own risk.

Each baseball field is therefore an infinite area expanding out from home plate at a 90 degree angle. The wall is there only as a convenient demarcator, not an end to the field. As such, the entire planet is fair territory.

Did I read this idea in Shoeless Joe, somewhere else or invent it on my own? I’m pretty sure it’s the former. I tried searching the text of the book, but no joy. I may have to just reread it.