Defensive Baseball Wins
Games
The Importance of
a Solid Infield – Learn the Proper Fielding Techniques for the Ready Position
and How to Field a Ground Ball
Baseball
hitting takes a lot of ability, hard work, some God given talent, and can be
shut down quickly by terrific pitching.
Playing the defensive side of the game well is important because when the
team is not hitting well the games can still be close and just as fun as when
both teams are scoring large numbers of runs. Coaching a team to be a great defensive
team requires some discipline and the patience to work with the entire team to
reinforce the mental aspects of the game. I find that if a player knows what their
role is for their position in every situation and if they have worked with
that knowledge long enough to make it second nature, the physical part of
playing defense can really shine because they can perform without having to
think about it. Nothing shuts down
a big inning of the great hitting team better than a great defensive play and
nothing can send the message to the opposing team that you are a solid baseball team like
repeatedly making sound defensive plays behind solid pitching.
I will walk
through a few basic fundamental concepts regarding the ready position and how to
properly catch a ground ball in this first segment. I will then go through each of the
positions on the field to discuss the roles and responsibilities for players in
those positions for different situations in a game. I love to receive feedback so I can
continually add to these sections – please let me know if there are points that
I should include.
The Ready
Position
I will first
discuss the proper stance for an infielder to assume prior to a pitched
baseball. I have seen teams do
about everything imaginable while waiting for a ball to be pitched during a game
in order to be in what they consider to be the ready position. I have witnessed teams pounding their
gloves in unison, yelling at the batter, creep stepping a few steps with each
pitch, getting so low to the ground that they can barely move, spreading their
legs so far apart they appear to be practicing the splits, and even jumping up
and down in order to have their legs ready to react to batted balls. I commend the coaches for getting the
players on those teams to do something in a uniform approach and for getting the
team to listen to them, but I prefer a much simpler method of preparing for a
pitch.
We discussed
the “Athletic Stance” in the hitting section of this article series. The athletic stance is a stance that
allows the players to have their legs slightly flexed while still being relaxed,
having their weight on the balls of their feet, leaning forward slightly with
one foot slightly in front of the other (about half the length of one foot,
typically the foot on the non-throwing side of the body is in front), and arms
comfortably in front of the body, hands reaching downward, with the glove
palm-side up. They key concept for
this stance is comfort. The players
will return to this stance 50 to 100 times during each game and they need to do
it in a way that can provide them with the ability to react quickly and to be
comfortable. I also teach that a
player should be ready to move forward as the ball is pitched. Most ground balls are best fielded by approaching the ball - having
the player's weight move forward helps to get the player in the right position
on the balls of their feet as they begin their approach. I enjoy watching major league ball
players in their stances. Check out
Alex Rodriguez at third base for the Yankees, he is comfortable, relaxed, and
can be cat-like quick when a ball is hit his direction.
Between
pitches I like to let players do what they feel most comfortable doing. The only rule I have is that they not
take their eyes off the action happening on our baseball field. I like to see players move around
slightly to relax their legs, kick some dirt, smooth out areas around them in
the infield, move their arms slightly from side to side, etc. The key is to allow them to be
comfortable while getting into a rhythm between pitches. I
try to get them to think about the next play,
what might happen, what they will do with the ball when it comes to them, and
to visualize a successful putout involving them picking up the ball cleanly, setting
their feet and making a crisp, clean throw to first base. A little bit of positive
chatter is always appreciated.
How to Field a Ground
Ball
The proper
procedure to use while fielding a ground ball is something that needs to be
taught every year to every level of team.
I see too many players on their heels, moving away from the ball, hands in an awkward position, and allowing
the ball to play them (rather than the other way around) throughout the course
of a season. This type of improper
fielding technique leads to increased errors and lowers team and personal
confidence. Here is the simple way
to properly catch a ground ball:
Be moving
forward as the ball comes to you.
Once in a while a ball will be so hard hit
that you do not have the time to react to it by moving forward - that is Ok
in this situation but always remain balanced.
On every other ball be sure that your weight is moving forward. I used to have a simple method of
taking a few steps in to the ball, getting my feet set with my anchor foot
(throwing side foot) slightly behind my front foot, getting down by bending my
knees and also my back (very important to bend over so that your hands do the
work and so that your head is close to the ball, and by catching the ball with
my hands in a 2 and 7 o’clock position with the glove hand down. I also would make a point of getting low
enough so that my glove hand touched the ground and so that the ball would not
have the opportunity to scoot under my glove – ever. I did
occasionally take a grounder off my chest or arms but, if it did
take a funny hop on me, the ball would stay in front of me and I could easily pick
it up and still make the play at first base.
Some coaches
do not like the 2 and 7 o’clock hand position, preferring a 12 and 6 position
instead. I like the 2 and 7 because
it allows players the ability to move their hands quicker for balls that move up
and down and side to side, rather than just up and down.
When fielding
a ball to your backhand side, take a few steps in the direction of the ball,
plant the leg that is on the side of your body as your glove hand, turn so that
the back of your glove hand shoulder is facing the ball, keep the glove face
open and squeeze the ball into the glove.
Be sure to watch the ball the entire way into the glove. After you catch the ball, shuffle your
feet to get your throwing hand foot planted and then push off towards the
direction you intend to throw the ball by shuffling the feet again. With practice, the backhand play can be
easy to complete and can increase your range significantly.
Now that we have covered the
basics of defensive baseball, have learned the proper fielding techniques to get
a player into the ready position and the correct method to learn how
to field a ground ball successfully, let’s review the roles and responsibilities of each of the infield
positions. Let’s go around the
horn and begin with the Third
Base Position
.
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