Playing Shortstop

Baseball Field Positions - Baseball Infield: What a Shortstop Needs to Know about Playing the Most Demanding Position - Short Stop

In each of the teams that I have coached the shortstop is typically the all around best athlete on the team.  Looking back at complete season scorebooks the shortstop handles the most opportunities in the field among the positions, with the exception of the first baseman, who is involved in the catching end of most putouts. Because of this fact the shortstop generally has the greatest athletic ability among their teammates including having a great arm, superb quickness, and terrific speed.

When I am conducting tryouts for shortstop I am looking for someone who has a great feel for the ball and the game. I have seen lots of players who have the proper mechanics when a ball is hit to them and the play is ordinary, but I like to have shortstop who not only can make the routine plays, but who can also make a spectacular play on occasion to give the team a lift or get us out of a tough situation on the field.   Because of this capability, the shortstops on my teams have also been the leaders of the team both on and off the field.

I am always interested in watching and evaluating a shortstop throwing the baseball to first base and I am often surprised about how many players have a sidearm motion to their throws.  I am looking for a player who will throw the ball overhanded to produce backspin on the ball as it travels across the field to the first baseman.  A ball with basckspin is much easier to catch and travels more directly to a target than a ball with any other type of spin being put on it. Many sidearm shortstops claim that they can get a ball moving to first base quicker (quicker release) than throwing it overhanded but I have seen the results compiled over a number of seasons to indicate that throwing errors are reduced by overhanded shortstops.

Like the second baseman on the right side of the field, the shortstop needs to have great range, covering balls hit up the middle to balls hit past the third baseman.  The shortstop also has responsibility for all pop-ups on the left side of the field until they are called off by another player.  This includes pop-ups to short left field where the shortstop should go back and proceed to catch the ball until he is called off by the left fielder.  The same rule applies to foul balls hit behind the third baseman – the shortstop should be communicating with the third baseman regarding who will catch the ball and the shortstop typically has a better angle if the ball is behind the third base bag.

Double Plays

Also like a second baseman, the shortstop should flip double play balls underhanded within 15 feet of the bag to the second baseman and throw overhanded on anything outside of that range.  The shortstop will cover second base on all balls hit to the right side of the infield and back to the pitcher in double play situations.  The shortstop should plan to catch the ball and make his throw to first base depending upon where the ball is picked up on the field by his teammate.  If a ball is fielded on the inside part of the base line from first to second base the shortstop should try to catch the ball behind and towards the pitcher’s mound side of the second base bag, step on the bag and step in towards the pitching mound when throwing to first base.  If the ball is coming from the second baseman who is throwing from a deep (behind the first-second baseline) location the shortstop should catch the ball behind the bag from where the throw is originating and step to the left (towards right field) to complete the throw to first base.  The goal is to not have the ball be thrown in the direction of the base-runner and to then get themselves out of the way of the runner trying to advance to second base.

Stolen Base Attempts

On steal plays the shortstop will typically cover second base only if there is a left-handed hitter at the plate.  The shortstop should run to the front of the bag, allowing room for the runner to slide into second, catch the ball and swipe the tag down to the front of the second base bag, leaving the tag in place for the runner to slide into.  Care should be taken to not go after the runner with the tag – this may cause the tag to be made too high and for the runner to safely slide in underneath the tag attempt.   Because of all the injuries that occur when straddling the bag on steal attempts (cleats in the body, hard contact, etc), it is not recommend that players use the straddle method to tag out a runner trying to advance to next base.

The shortstop is typically the primary player in pickoff attempts at second base, allowing either the second baseman or the shortstop to act as a decoy while the other prepares to catch the ball and tag the runner out.

Cutoff Plays

The shortstop is the primary cutoff player for plays at third and home from center and left field.  Like other cutoff positions, the shortstop should follow instructions from the base player to get lined up with the throw, catch the ball on the glove side of his body, quickly move the ball from the glove to the throwing hand and then throw the ball overhanded without rotating the shoulders to make the play.

This most vital position on the team makes a large difference in your team’s overall success.  Because of this responsibility, the choice of who the shortstop is should be made with an eye towards how much work they will do in improving their fundamental aspect of their game.

As we conclude the short stop section of baseball field positions, specifically the baseball infield, we can turn our focus towards the Second Base position.

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