Baserunning Drill

Baserunning is extremely important to the game of baseball. It should be practiced every day. How many of us do that? We are more concerned with pitching and hitting and fielding. Here’s a sure fire baserunning drill that takes very little time yet covers most of the fundamentals of running the bases. The players love it and it is a lot of fun. More importantly, you are covering an important aspect of the game of baseball. We ended our practice on a high note when we used this baserunning drill.



Four lines are set up, one at each of the bases. Even up the lines as best as you can. The drill begins with one runner at first, one at second, one at third and finally the starter at home plate.

Home Plate The player at home plate is the starter. He will take an imaginary swing to either left, center or right field. He then proceeds to first base, taking a wide turn as if he hit it to the outfield. He runs as hard as he could and touches the inside of first base and then stutter steps as if the outfielder bobbled the ball. He then runs to second base, taking the extra base on his base hit. After he reaches second base, his job is over. He then goes back to the first base and gets in the line.

First Base The player at first base takes a primary lead. On the swing from the starter, he takes a secondary lead and goes from first to third, touching the inside of second base. He runs as fast as he could and upon reaching third base, his job is completed. He then goes back to second base and gets in line.

Second Base The player at second base takes a primary lead off second base. On the swing from the starter, he takes his secondary lead and goes second to home, touching the inside of third base thereby cutting his turn as much as possible. Upon reaching the plate, his job is over and he then goes back to the line at third base.

Third Base The player at third base takes a short lead at third base. After the swing, he goes back to the base attempting to tag up from third base. He then pauses until the runner from second is close to the bag and then both the second base runner and the third base runner sprint home in a foot race. After crossing home plate the runner from third stays in the line at home plate awaiting his turn.

After each player has completed his turn at each base, the team gathers at home plate for an inside the park home run. Proper turns are stressed at each base.

Four things are going on at once and four new runners start the drill each time. In a matter of minutes you are covering wide turns at first, stutter step, primary leads, secondary leads, going home to second, going first to third, going second to home and tag up plays at third. Its a great drill because so much can be covered in a short time. The drill will reinforce your teachings at each base. Be creative. Use a stop watch and time each group of four. They will have fun and will go all out.

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Pitching Drills : 1 to 5

Pitching mechanics are extremely important if one is to become an accomplished pitcher. The following 1 to 5 progressions will greatly aid the pitcher in achieving this goal. They can be performed daily and can be done at very short distances thus saving the pitcher’s arm. Although they can be utilized by pitchers of all ages, they are especially helpful to the youth league coaches who are trying to develop young pitchers. Try them! They really work.




Progression 1
1. Show and Throw
2. Point and Dangle
3. Tuck and Pivot
4. Throw

A. THINGS TO LOOK FOR:
- ball in hand facing directly opposite the pitcher
- glove arm pointing toward target
- glove tucks to the side of the pitcher as he pivots. This gets the glove out of the way.
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Progression 2
1. Balance :ball in glove
2. Step and reach to show and throw position. Stop and check
3. Throw

B. THINGS TO LOOK FOR:
- lead leg lifts to about waist high with ball in glove
- lead leg foot points down to the ground
- ball taken out of the glove before the pitcher starts forward
- make sure he stops at the show and throw position
- all of “A” above

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Progression 3
1. Balance :ball in glove
2. Step and reach to show and throw position.
3. Throw

C. THINGS TO LOOK FOR:
- “A” above
- “B” above
- when the lead leg steps forward and reaches the ground, the throwing arm should be at the top of it’s arc. This is referred to as the power position. Reaching the power position will prevent the pitcher from rushing—a major factor in losing power and location

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Progression 4
1. Short step back
2. Step in hole
3. Balance Position
4. To Show and Throw
5. Stop


D. THINGS TO LOOK FOR:
- pitcher steps straight back with the lead foot keeping his target directly in front of him and not moving side to side
- pivot foot steps into the hole in front of the rubber and not on top , keeping his balance and also a push off area
- ball taken out of glove before he starts forward
- reaches power position

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Progression 5
1. Progression 4 without stopping
2. Follow through after releasing the ball
3. Square himself to be in a good fielding position

E. THINGS TO LOOK FOR
- “D”
-throwing arm travels along side the lead leg to complete the follow through.
-the pitcher actually faces sideward after a good follow through

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Building a Baseball

This time lapse video was taken during the “Canstruction Chicago 2007” at the Museum of Science and Industry. Thirteen teams of Chicago architects and engineers built structures entirely out of cans of food. After the event, over 50,000 pounds of food were donated to the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

The baseball, titled “Catch Me If You CAN!,” completed by the architecture firm BoothHansen, was awarded “Jurors Favorite” and “People’s Choice.” The baseball was constructed using a total of 5,500 cans including Bumblebee tuna (ball), Hormel ham (stitches), Perrier water (grass), and Jewel Peanut butter (dirt). It took about 7 hours to build.

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Catchers: 2nd Most Critical Skill, Blocking Pitches

It's number two on the list of "Most Important Skills To Have As A Catcher", BLOCKING THE BASEBALL. We consider it number two even though it has a fairly low frequency rate of happening -but when it happens, how it's handled will decide the outcome of a situation or the game itself.

First lets look at the potential results of a catcher that is an inferior blocking catcher. The most obvious thing is that unless the pitcher keeps the ball up all the time for him to catch, balls in the dirt will eventually kill you and the team. The trouble with keeping balls out of the dirt, is that your pitcher needs to be able to "dump" a curve ball on , or in front of the plate to get a strikeout at times. If the catcher is incapable of handling that pitch, we just took a bullet out of his gun and that speaks loud about who reallyeffected the outcome of the game. If the pitcher has absolute control of the breaking pitch but absolutely no faith in the catchers ability to block the ball down in the dirt, he's going to hang it and all we'll see is the back of our outfielders heads all day long! That becomes a real morale killer for the whole team, not just the pitcher. He's GOT to learn how to block pitches!

The next issue with a poor blocking catcher is the most obvious, advacing runners and allowing the man on third to score uncontested. Many a run has died at third because the catcher could handle the ball in the dirt and not give up cheap victories. What can be worse than to lose a game with the number 7,8,9 hitter up with two outs and the winning run on third and a passed ball wins the day for the otherside? Brutal, absolutely brutal.

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Catchers Priorities-What are the most important things to do?

Catchers Priorities-What are the most important things to do?

Our catchers need to understand that the role they play in the outcome of the game, every game, is every bit a determining factor, as the guy on the mound. That’s not to say that there are only two important players on the field at any one given time that would be dead wrong and certainly very narrow-minded.

HOWEVER, there is no denying that everything “takes off” from that runway between the mound and home plate and because that’s the first breath of every pitch of every batter in every game, there just has to be a close relationship between winning and losing and these two positions. Having said that, it’s clear to everyone that, having the upper hand with your pitcher that can just flat out throw gas, hit his spots and mix his pitches, certainly makes things easier. The trouble is when the opposition has that same looking gasser on the mound as well. So what makes the difference, or at the very least, what can make the difference in a tight ball game?

The catcher.

We all hear the usual words and praises when we win a close one; they were on the same page; they were in sync all game long; he knew exactly what his pitcher wanted to throw, yada, yada, yada, yada. What’s really going on here?

Well, we work on those things that we believe make a profound difference in the kind of game our pitcher may throw. Realistically, nothing is for certain in this game, but when two teams are evenly matched on the mound, and the apparent difference will come to who is the most effective on the mound, then the catcher plays a huge role in that formula. So what are the key things that we drill into the catchers? There are three simple things for young catchers to learn and they are in this order and they must be second nature to him and we ask our catchers to repeat them throughout the season. They are:

1. STEAL PITCHES…ALWAYS
2. BLOCK PITCHES, even in the bull pen
3. THROW PEOPLE OUT

That’s it folks. It’s that simple and that complicated. Why do we drill our catchers in that manner and in that order? Remember, these are in their order of importance and it bears repeating; steal pitches, block pitches and throw people out.

First of all we know one thing is going to happen 100% of the time in the game; our pitcher is going to pitch a pitch, no doubt about it. That means he has the potential of throwing anywhere from 80 to 110 pitches and in that number lies the question every coach wishes he knew before the game; how many innings will that get me? A lot of that answer is dependant on the way the catcher receives the ball! Can he steal the corners for the big guy, or is he losing the strike zone by inches that can make a profound difference in final pitch count and batter advantages in the count? YOU HAVE GOT TO STEAL STRIKES 100% of the time! Every pitch, every batter, all of the time! How we do that will be in our next article.

How about the next critical element in the catchers role – BLOCKING. This is where we separate the men from the boys. There is nothing more impressive than watching a young man block and CONTROL the ball in a crucial situation. We have actually placed a box for blocked pitches that prevent a runner from advancing or a run from scoring. There should be a stat called RBO, (Run Blocked Out), for the catcher because that one simple task effect’s so much of the game, that when done correctly, they are clearly game savers; and when not…game losers. While it ranks number 2 in frequency to stealing pitches, it really takes an exceptional young man to WANT to block an 85-95 MPH fastball being thrown at him. The good ones know that it’s the overlooked skill from the bleachers, most people are easy on the catcher when it comes to calling a pass ball versus a wild pitch. However, our catchers get called past balls when they are warming up the pitchers in the bull pen and in between innings! So they know that they have to perform all the time. They also know that great blocking catchers do nothing but endear themselves to the pitchers and coaching staff. There are just a few people around the team that realize just how much better you made the pitches breaking pitch, when he knows that you’re a lean, mean, blocking machine back there.

The last and most overrated skill needed is to throw people out. Yep, overrated. Now let’s face it there is nothing more intimidating to the other team and their coach than to see a 1.90 -2.0 arm behind the plate. But there are some real conditions that must exist with that kind of arm if you really want to be sure that he is a good throwing catcher. The first is, does he throw 1.90 in pre-game while he’s standing up, because that's no big deal. What does he do from the squat? How quick are his hands and feet? How accurate are his throws? However, the real question for the start of the game is, who’s pitching and what is his time to the plate from the half. That’s what really matters and that’s why we place the least amount of emphasis on throwing. Our catchers cannot control how quickly the pitcher will get them the ball, but they can and must absolutely control stealing pitches and blocking pitches. Furthermore, when you look at the major league level, you see some starters throwing out less than 25% of the steal attempts and others averaging in the high 30’s. Every once in a while there comes along a Pudge that skews the average, but NEVER throws out 100% of the base stealer's. In case you’re wondering, we also spend a lot of time with our pitcher’s getting the catcher the ball with something on it in about 1.3 seconds or less. If you have a guy getting the catcher the ball in 1.5, 6, 7 or 8, you might as well go to the drugstore and buy a bottle of Dramamine because you’ll be feeling like your on a merry-go-round by time the nights over!

So we are back to what happens the most often and what will affect the pitchers performance the most and it clearly is not base stealing or throwing runners out and it’s not blocking a pitch. It’s what we work constantly on in the off-season, in pre-season and during the games…STEALING PITCHES.

So if you're looking for the smoothest thief in da joint, here's a hint, he’s squatting behind the plate!

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Catchers, Steal Pitches for Your Pitcher

OK. We spoke of the three critical elements of development for becoming a solid defensive catcher. Not only does it bear repeating, but it is important to get the message across to that young catcher enough so that he can recite the mantra in his sleep; “STEAL STRIKES, BLOCK PITCHES, THROW PEOPLE OUT!” Lets start with the first, and what we believe to be the most important, skill of all and that is to STEAL PITCHES.

While we have actually had a select few parents complain the term, “STEAL PITCHES” as being too negative a connotation (being PC is not what catching is about folks) the fact of the matter is we do need to understand that learning how to “steal” pitches is a subtle skill that comes with a ton of practice and concentration. There are some umpires that are in tuned to what the catcher is trying to do, and if he’s been in and around the game long enough, he would call exactly what he sees, and recognize that “stealing strikes” isn’t about showing him up, but in fact it’s about helping the umpire see what actually happened. We have had one umpire tell our catcher that there would be “NO FRAMEING ALLOWED!” in the game. Obviously he’s not one of the better umpires in a one square block area, let alone in our region. There is always the danger that after spending countless hours learning how to “steal strikes” this particular umpire would actually “punish” the pitcher for what is recognized as good fundamental catcher receiving skills at every level of baseball. Needless to say we have all levels of skilled players and all levels of skilled umpires. That’s what makes the game so interesting.

So what does it take to steal a strike? Well the first technique serves two (2) purposes; the first and most important thing is to receive the ball as close to the plate (without incurring catchers interference), thereby “sticking” the pitch as close to the corners, knees and arm pits as possible before it travels outside the critical one ball width wide, and one ball width high strike zone and steal that strike from being called a ball. We try to get our catchers to understand that one ball high and one ball wide strike zones are probably the most that you could steal consistently for strikes for your pitcher, and given the trend that many umpires have taken from major league baseball, seeing strikes being called three (3) to four (4) ball widths outside “the black”, isn’t unreasonable. When we start getting two ball widths outside that zone the probability for stealing strikes drops significantly. What generally happens here is that a two-ball width or more pitch requires more than a slight “cupping of the outside part of the ball on the corners, the top of the ball on the upper strike zone and the top of the ball on the low pitch. It more than likely will require a drastic movement of the shoulder on the catching hand side, toward the plate and a “slide” with our hand and elbow parallel to the ground in a 3-o’clock and 9-o’clock position on the throwing hand side. Those two actions are enough to set the umpire off when he knows what he is doing, let alone the one like we have - that doesn’t!

What must be learned in this case is that we need to get as close to the plate as we can and not cause catchers interference. We must not “reach” with the glove to give the pitcher a strong target. The end result of that set up brings on three probable results; the first is catcher’s interference which we should be able to control, the second is hands of stone due to our “locked-out elbow” and third, and very important one, is we would have move our feet back one half of whatever our arm length may be thereby “creating” more pitches needing to be blocked than necessary. We “try” to get our catchers to get their glove hand just slightly in front of their knees, almost creating letter “V” at a 45-degree angle. This position will be very critical to two other skills that we must have, balance to throw and short, quick movement to get to our knees to block pitches. We’ll deal with more of that technique when we talk about blocking and throwing.

With our glove just slightly in front of our knees and our pointing finger at 12 O’clock and our palm facing the pitcher as the pitcher winds up to throw, our forearm is in a very muscle-tight position and of course that will create muscle fatigue if held there for a long period of time. Fortunately we don’t have to do that for very long. As the pitcher is about to release the ball, we will ¼ turn our glove so that the forearm rotates to a flat position and our forearm muscles relax and become capable of making a ¼ turn to block a ball in the dirt or to catch any other pitch around the plate. So lets move “around the clock” for a moment to try to visualize a ball caught in various positions across the plate.

Lets think of an analog clock resting directly in front of your catcher as he is squatting down. Now lets draw an imaginary vertical line and horizontal through the circle. As we “see” these two lines, we also see four (4) quadrants – Quad 1- upper left, Quad 2- upper right, Quad 3- lower left and last, Quad 4- lower right. This analogy works well with very young catchers and helps them respond to their end result of catching every pitch either in practice or in the game.

If the ball is caught in the upper left quad, or Quad 1, we want to emphasis the need to catch the “outside of the ball” with our pointing finger at 12 O’clock and our elbow at 6 O’clock and as with ALL pitches, we should hold that catch solidly for a one second count, and not take the ball out of the strike zone immediately. Why the hold? Well there are some umpires that will call the pitch in their mind BEFORE the ball crosses the plate, some as it crosses the plate and there are many that give themselves time to have the pitch, the path of the ball and the final catch register before they call it and that one second hold helps confirm the call in the umps mind, one way or the other. One note here; it’s important to emphasis this hand position in this quad because one of the most damaging injuries a young catcher can get is a jammed thumb that results in catching the ball in that quad with a 3 O’clock – 9 O’clock, thumb pointing down position. Once that thumb joint is bruised, no amount of padding can relieve the anticipated pain on every hard thrown fastball our young man has to receive.

Quad 2 is an area that we work on constantly because the most common fault we find with all young catchers is that in this quad, whether the pitch is a fast ball or a slider or a curve, the catcher wants to catch the “front” of the ball, instead of the outside, or the right side of the ball. Invariably when catching the front of the ball the arm will slide on the 3 O’clock – 9 O’clock position and the force of the pitch will carry both the pitch and the glove outside the black and cost our pitcher a strike. We work constantly on verbal and visual clues that register in our players mind on “cutting off” the travel or the path of the pitch, by “digging to the corner at a 45 degree angle and catching the outside of the ball. This type of reinforcement works most of the time, but finding that verbal and mental clue that sticks with the player and gets the message of the method across is different from player to player, so never quit talking!

Quad 3 is a tough one because it gets our glove and our knees wrapped up in a battle of which one is in the way of the other. The most often seen method of catching the pitch in Quad 3 with a young catcher is to throw his left knee far to the left and to catch with his thumb in the 6 O’clock position. That means his elbow is generally locked in between his legs and he is severely off balance and the possibility of a bruised thumb is greatly increased. We try to verbally direct our catchers to catch the pitch in Quad 3 with the nose of the glove (or the fingers of our hand) pointing down to 6 O’clock and our elbow on the outside of the left leg, forcing us to “turn” our left knee in slightly and to keep our weight forward on the balls of our feet instead of on our heels. This is a great time to use a consistent pitching machine for repetitive pitch location and receiving of the baseball in this Quad. Between Quad 3 and 4, (which we talk about last) is that pitch that we beg our pitchers to throw at all the time and more often than not is where our catchers tend to lose strikes for our pitchers; the pitch knee high or just a ball width low. This pitch need to be softly drawn up into the strike zone by catching the top part of the ball with our arm in the 3 O’clock – 9O’clock position and to keeping the umpire from seeing the ball at all by rolling the glove. Here is where the umpires will be influenced by our guy’s actions by rolling the glove to catch this ball. Rolling the glove must say that the pitch is low and out of the strike zone, correct? Otherwise why roll the glove? Here you have to, once again, catch the top part of the ball and softly draw the ball in to the very bottom of the strike zone.

Quad 4 position is very similar to Quad 2 except for the fact that more often than not this pitch may be severely low and away to a righty and by catching the outside of the ball and digging in on the ball at a 45 degree angle, we will shorten the distance the ball is traveling and once again catching the ball closer to the plate and stealing the strike for our pitcher once again. The general position of or arm is that of the pointing finger at 4 or 5 O’clock and our elbow at 10 or 11 O’clock but always trying to catch the outside of the ball to avoid taking the pitch out of the strike zone by catching the front part of the ball.

So what does all of this do for our pitcher? Well it’s what it does for the team more than anything. We always try to make our catchers the focal point of what it takes to win as a team. We never ignore the role everyone else plays, but the playing of this position effects the outcome of the game in some not-so-subtle ways, especially stealing strikes. For instance, the difference between stealing strikes and not stealing strikes gets our pitcher deeper into the game with less pitches and a stronger finish. Stealing a strike and turning a 1-1 count into a 1-2 count instead of a 2-1 count creates an entirely different position and pitch selection for the pitcher. We are able to control the batters comfort level much better and place the advantage in our teams favor. The fewer pitches our guy has to throw today the faster he can “come back” for his next start. If we have been losing strikes, and the results of that poor catching job creates very high pitch counts early in the game, we have now forced the situation to the bullpen. Forcing us to the bullpen early now has put the team at a disadvantage for the next game or two as well.

We have to remember that we want to control the most frequently executed things that happen every game. For example, we need to control the successful completion of catching and throwing out runners on routine hit ground balls to our infielders because there are far more routine ground balls than there are ESPN highlight plays! Routine fly ball must be caught because there are far more routine fly balls than there are ESPN highlight plays! And from our standpoint we believe that we can have a profound effect on our team’s success when we are ready to catch the ONLY thing that happens 100% of the time in the game…a thrown pitch by our guy on the mound. We have to steal that borderline strike by hook or crook, so we can that big dog in that dugout with the fewest number of pitches thrown as possible!

Next we’ll discuss blocking of pitches. Make sure you put your cup on!

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Pitching Mechanics

Not all pitchers throw the same way. Release points may be different and velocities may vary. The objective, though, remains the same. That is to THROW STRIKES. Certain basic mechanics are constant. Sycronization of body parts is of utmost importance to ensure that the pitcher throws to his utmost efficiency and thus reach his objective. Velocity and accuracy are definitely affected when this does not occur. Also, the possibility of injury does remain very likely. When all body parts work together, the pitcher has the potential to throw to the best of his ability. At all levels, proper pitching mechanics are very important. Learning them at an early age ensure that the correct habits are formed. Breaking incorrect habits becomes very difficult as time goes on.


Following is a list of mechanics that we feel should be stressed when working with pitchers. Also, some favorite drills are mentioned that have been used to work on the mechanic.



1. POSITION ON THE RUBBER


When setting up on the pitching rubber, the pitcher should stand tall and balanced, trying to look imposing and intimidating. Instilling some fear in the waiting batter would be a welcome advantage. Righties should set up on the right side of the rubber and Lefties should set up on the left. This is to ensure the proper arm angle and ball path when delivering to the plate. The rhp's left foot should be slightly ahead of his left. The opposite is true for the lhp. The glove remains in front of the pitcher with the hand gripping the ball and hidden from the view of the opposing team.

DRILL: Cut out several pieces of wood the same size of a pitching rubber. The pitching rubber is a rectangle, 24 inches across and 6 inches wide. Have your players practice setting up on the wood similar to the pitching rubber. In this way, a certain comfort level will be established.


2. STEP BACK


Pitching begins with the step back. The step back is used only to initiate the delivery and not to achieve power. A short step back is recommended to keep balance on the rubber. Stepping straight back and not to the side will keep the pitcher's target, the catcher, directly in front of him and not moving from side to side. Taking a lengthy step back will upset the balance needed by the pitcher on the pitching mound. The step back may start with a full windup or a half windup. The righty steps back with the left foot, and the lefty steps back with the right.

DRILL : Under your supervision, have your pitchers take some "step backs." Keep them relatively short and as straight back as possible. This drill can be done daily by your pitchers to reinforce the proper habit.


3. PIVOT FOOT

As the rhp steps back with his left foot, the right foot or pivot foot steps into the hole in the front of the rubber. This will ensure that the pitcher will be able to properly push off the rubber when the time comes. Stepping on top of the rubber is not recommended. There is no push off surface and a lack of stability caused by the rubber cleats or spikes worn. This becomes cumbersome at times for the young pitcher. It is much easier to step on top rather than in front of the rubber.
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DRILL: Stepping on top of the rubber is much easier for the pitcher. Practicing to step in the hole will be necessary. A habit can be formed by constant repetition. This can be achieved by daily practice. Slightly angling the body position of your pitcher may help to eliminate problems that occur trying to step in front of the rubber.


4. BALANCE POSITION


After the right foot steps into the hole in front of the rubber, the rhp gathers himself, bringing his left leg up about waist high with his toes pointing downward. If the toes are pointed upward, he will land with his heel first, which will jerk him forward and off balance. Also, at the balance position, the ball should remain in the glove.

DRILL: Balance is very important for a pitcher. The pitcher should spend time locked in the balance position. Put a clock on them, having them stay in the balance position for ten seconds, fifteen seconds and finally twenty seconds. Achieving balance will take time for the young pitcher. It needs to be worked on.

5. Arm Action

At the balance position, it is important that the ball be taken out of the glove first before the body moves forward. This will prevent the pitcher from rushing. The ball should be taken out of the glove with the thumb pointed down to the ground. The throwing arm' s path is an arc going down, up and around. Pointing the thumb down when the ball is removed from the glove keeps the hand on top of the ball when it's ready to be thrown rather than under the ball causing a loss of velocity and possible arm injury.

Drill: Have your pitchers take the ball out of the glove before moving forward. This can be done by holding them back when the ball is removed from the glove. They will quickly feel the sensation of removal before movement.

6. Step Forward

After reaching the balance position, the ball is first removed from the glove before the body moves forward. The circular arm path is begun and should reach the top of the arc when the left foot (right foot for a lefty pitcher) reaches the ground. This is called the power position. Not reaching the power position before moving forward will undoubtedly cause rushing and a lack of velocity and accuracy. By reaching the power position, the pitcher ensures that he will use his body to help him throw thus achieving his maximum velocity, rather than throwing all arm and possibly injuring himself. At the balance position, the glove arm is pointed directly toward the target. The balls is gripped with the throwing arm and pointed toward centerfield. The hand remains on top of the ball and not under it.

Drill: Have your pitcher practice their windups and stop at the power position. They can easily see if they need to make an adjustment if foot and arm sychronization is not correct.


7. Follow Through


From the power position, the throwing arm is brought past the pitcher's ear and the ball is released out in front of his body. The arm path continues to the left of the lead leg. This will increase the pitcher's velocity and help him avoid injury.

Drill: Under your supervision, have your pitcher complete their windup and make sure they follow through at the conclusion.

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Practice Organization

What does it mean to be organized at baseball practice? It is up to you as coach to know what you are going to do with your players for the next hour or two. What are your objectives today? What special skills do you need to work on? How are you going to accomplish your objectives? These are all questions that must be answered as you plan your strategy for today’s practice. The key word is “plan.” It’s vitally important that you don’t waste your player’s time and also your time.

Get a clipboard and write down what you are going to do. Your players will see that you have a plan and will work accordingly. The worst thing that you can do is to come to practice and ask, “What shall we do today?” It is not up to them , it is up to you. So many areas need to be covered. Things like hitting, fielding, catching, throwing, bunting, baserunning and pitchings need to be covered on a daily basis. Your key is to situate your practice so that everything can be covered in a reasonable amount of time.

Make sure you bring a watch with you to practice. A stopwatch would be ideal. Break your practice into segments so that everything you planned gets covered. For example, an hour can be broken up into 6 ten minute segments. One group of players can be taking ground balls in the infield, while another group gets fly balls in the outfield. A third group can be working on proper throwing technique, while a fourth group is bunting. A fifth group can be taking dry cuts while the sixth group is working on baserunning. Depending on the number of players on your team, you may need to cut down on the number of groups. With 12 players for example, you may only want four groups of 3. You are in charge. You decide how you want to break up your time at practice. Time goes by so quickly. The players will be moving constantly. There is no time to be bored. Obviously, you may need to recruit parents to supervise your groups. Tell them what you want them to do and they will surely respond to your request. Being organized will cover up any lack of knowledge in any one area.

Make your practice fun. Instruct, don’t yell. Have patience with your players. They are there to learn. They will look forward to the next practice. You will find that missing practice will no longer be a major problem. If it is a fun experience, they will find a way to be there. Stick to your time schedule. If its ten minutes per group, then at ten minutes the groups change. Its important to be on time. You may want to use the first part of your practice for group work and the second part may be team hitting practice. I say hitting practice because it takes longer than ten minutes to complete bp. Again, keep bp moving. Give your players, for example, 5 cuts and 2 bunts. This way you can cover batting in a reasonable time. Utilize your time and your players will not be bored.

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Outfield Play: Getting Great Jumps on the Ball

While this may not be a long diatribe on getting to the ball quickly in order to throw someone out advancing to the next base, it is clearly one of the most generally under taught skill given to the outfielders. One reason is that unless this is a separated skill, one that is recognized for not only for it’s end result importance, but also for the fact that as these critical plays develop, unless there are 5 different camera angles taping the play, (and we all know that doesn’t happen), the coaches fans and even the position players never see the root cause for the offense taking the extra base, no one recognizes why the extra base was successfully taken.


Lets backup here for just a moment and recap the session on “getting good jumps”. Part of the drills used was for both infielders and outfielders to be looking “down the chute” and into the hitting area where contact must be made in order for the ball to be hit in our direction. Unlike in the infield, the area of contact gets be a little wider since there is much more outfield turf to cover for any one of the outfielders than there is for the infielders. The best way to develop that recognition is with BP and Tee work. However, once again, being near-sighted and not wearing corrective lenses pretty much eliminates the player from ever getting a good jump on any hit ball.

If we can eliminate poor vision, then we can begin to work on the drills and the almost instantaneous reaction that we should develop to where contact has been made in the hitting area and most importantly, where was the FIRST place that the ball touched the ground.

Lets remember we selected our outfielders based on at least three criterion; they can judge fly balls, they have average to above average foot speed, and they have an average or above average arm strength. When the ball is hit in the air everyone in the park can judge the outfielders skill at catching the fly ball. With hang times anywhere from 3-8 seconds, we can tell if the player can camp under it, or put a circus tent over it! We all have some time to observe the set up and final catch. When they finally catch the ball, we all can see whether the throw will bring down rain, or you can hang the morning laundry on it. The one aspect that we tend to lose sight of is, if the ball is hit on the ground, we all look to see if it is going to get through the infield first, even on a well hit ball. We seldom look at the outfielder to see what his approach to ball is like, and it’s that element of his effort that determines whether we throw the runner out trying to advance. Simply put, did he CHARGE the ball, or did he DRIFT to the ball? The REAL question is; does he know when to charge the ball and when to come under control?

So here is the simple rule of thumb and it’s not unlike what we teach our infielders to do on ground balls. You have to practice it daily. You have to demand that it is done correctly and you have to provide the comparison in the results between right and not-quite-so-right. As an outfielder, if the first time the ball touches the ground is in front of the edge of the OUTFIELD grass, then the outfielder must run, fly, charge, sprint -whatever your description of charging the ball is immediately. This is not a controlled sprint; this is the 100-meter Olympic finals kind of sprint. If you’ve placed the outfielders, based on hitting charts, at certain depths and alleys, then the player needs to know that their sprint to the ball is SO vital not just to get to the ball quickly, but most of all to increase their arm strength by substantially shortening the distance they have to throw. Suddenly the average arm in the outfield becomes much better simply because our aggressive approach to the ball has reduced the distance the typical casual approach taken by a good 20 to 30 feet, and in a game of inches, that’s a huge difference! Remember, the FIRST time the ball touches the ground BEFORE the outfield grass, it’s BONZAI! all the way until we are 15-20 feet from the ball at which time we get under control to come up cleanly with the ground ball.

What about the ball that hits on the outfield grass for the first time? We know that that ball was hit pretty damn hard so we need to read the hit to determine how strongly we can come to the ball without risking the ball getting by us and going to the fence. However, in almost every case, our first few steps should always be aggressive on ground balls hit directly at us or in the hole, so we can get to the best throwing position and shortest throwing distance that we can get to, as quickly as we can.

So you can see why this is a very neglected part of the outfielders routine. It’s really hard to see develop and in almost every case where a runner advances on a ball that the outfielder comes to slowly, the advancing runner gets some undeserved credit for being fast when an alert and aggressive outfielder should have cut him down by steps.

Start your outfielder with good vision, good speed, a strong arm and an understanding of what to do the first time the ball touches the ground and watch those assists go up!

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Infield Fundamentals

Over the years, we have been seeing certain tendencies with infielders that we believe are created by the typical pre-season training that goes on indoors in the northeast. One such tendency is for good athletic infielders staying back on ground balls and taking ground balls on their heels with their hands under their butts, instead of out in front of themselves. In most cases the root cause of that action is fear on the part of the player. It comes from all of those hardwood grounders that the coaches hit as they try to unsuccessfully simulate an outdoor environment as well as the desire to try to simulate game conditions. What better way to “simulate” game time conditions than to hit absolute screaming, vicious rockets right at the player, indoors, on hardwood? Something that their player “might” see 2 or 3 times a week – maybe. Now, it would be one thing if the coach were using a quality safety ball, like the ones that Baden Baseball manufactures. Their SAF-00 ball has a real leather cover and weighs close to a regular baseball. On hardwood the ball will show a higher bounce factor than on turf. On turf or grass it has a real good resemblance of a “routine bounce” for the player and most of all, very little, or no pain if you mishandle the “screecher”. Every coach has he own beliefs and style to coaching fundamentals and if hitting liners at the feet of your infielders off of hardwood with regular baseballs, is the method you use, then lets help the player keep his head down and through the grounder by reducing the pain factor…especially with the young players! Nevertheless the real goal is, or should be, to get the young players to “come to and get through the ball, don’t sit back on your heels”.

So how could we develop a better approach to the ball, or at the very least, a method that may help the player know when to come to it and when to “sit and wait”?

Like all coaches, when hitting prolonged infield, whether to one player or the whole infield, you try to hit varied grounders. We always attack the seven (7) angles and that goes a long way in developing good approaches to the baseball as well as quick feet. Often times we won’t use a fungo; we’ll just roll them out from short distances at the perfect speed and angle to get the job done correctly with high repetition and in the shortest amount of time. We think that gets the job done from the repetition standpoint for sure.

However, like everything else with this game, the anticipation and ultimately the reaction to what we see, often times separates the good player from the best. We try to give our infielders, regardless of their position and place in the starting lineup, an advantage as to whether they should charge the ball or sit and wait, so we have come up with a BP and pre-game mental drill to play to get better at charging or “sitting”.

The baseline within the baseline: If we take line marker and marked our field as we normally do, we would have our 1st and 3rd baselines. Those lines are on every field that we play on and whether they are Little League or College, they never change, they may just be longer. But now what we’d like for you to do is draw a baseline between 1st and 2nd and 2nd and 3rd. Now think, from your own past experiences (and here is where being a student of the game-day conditions you play under comes into play), if you have had one week of solid rain and your field is wet and soft, and a ball was hit and the FIRST time it hit the ground was on the home plate side of that line, would you charge…or sit? Remember, it has rained for a better part of the week, or (as we know it up here in the Northeast, it’s June and we still have snow in the dead-ball territories), would you charge or sit? You’d come to the ball-you’d charge it. Now what if it is the 2nd or 3rd week in July and we haven’t had any rain in 3 weeks and that same scenario is played? Is that imaginary line as far out as it was in the first few wet weeks of June? Not even close. That imaginary line could easily be moved toward home plate by at least 45 feet, half a base path! Any ball that touches the ground on the outfield side of that imaginary line for the first time, means you probably should “sit” like Rin-Tin-Tin. Remember in this game the operative word here and in just about everything that we do in baseball, is the word “probably”; nothing is absolute.

When we see our infielders just barely getting runners out at 1st base early in the season and on a regular basis, the first thing we talk about is, where is that line between 1st and 2nd and 2nd and 3rd, in their eye/mind? Is it even set up to recognize? How do we get them to react to what they see and therefore know when to be aggressive and when to “sit” and relax, so they are not encouraging the other team to run as hard as they can because they may beat, not so much a weak throw, as much as late anticipation and recognition to the grounder by not paying attention to where the ball FIRST hit the ground!

BP and Pre-Game are Critical: Now the key to this visualization is not so much trying to “guess” where this imaginary line resides, but to know within +/- 3 feet where it would be. How and when would we do that? During batting practice and pre-game of course! What we’ll learn in BP and pre-game is that more often than not the line resides between 45 and 75 feet from home plate…weather conditions dependant. By the way, these conditions will change during the game…especially double headers. The moist, damp ground that started off a 10AM double header is now rock hard by 2 PM start for game two. That means everything relative to charging and sitting has changed; even on a well manicured field.

Again, the line has been drawn mentally for each infield position. So what is really the first indicator that we have to react to? It’s the down-angle of the ball immediately off the bat. This is where contact is made for each infield position across the plate. Ever want to scream when your shortstop sits back on a high bounder, waiting, waiting for it to come down because he’s caught in the in-between hop. When the ball finally lands, he’s catching it at his knees and throwing flat-footed, at best, with the runner past the bag. He’s been waiting for the ball to be hit without zeroing in on the hitting area and seeing where the ball hits the ground for the first time. If the first time the ball hit the ground and it was on the home plate side of that imaginary line, he’d be standing under the first bounce and would throw the runner out by a bunch. Happens all the time. What about our approach to the seven angles to a ground ball? Knowing where that line resides is the difference between taking a path to the outfield to get a ground ball versus a lateral direction to that same ball.

In the infield time is really important. But in the infield we do have the capability of controlling the amount of time we have to throw someone out. It just takes a little practice; ya know, like everyday, a hundred times a day…if you’re lazy.

So, the effort is well worth taking in order to get your infielders to gain time and balance and accuracy on their throws. So much of this game is played between the ears and in the mind that creating another thing to visualize early in their career eventually will become second nature and truly improve their defense and consistency in making routine outs, because they will be “creating” more routine outs with their approach to the ball.

More about anticipation in the hitting area for infielders in future articles.

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Reacting to the Ball Hit

OK. We all know one of the curious things about players that play great defense, regardless at what level they may be in, is the fact that they seem to be two to three steps closer to any ball hit in their direction that the 2nd or 3rd tier player. In some cases the one major factor is the great equalizer – speed. Yes, there is no substitute for speed. An apparent misjudged fly ball some how gets cradled in whether the outfielder is charging in or driving back to get to it.

Jumps on hit balls start in the hitting area, that magical place that requires a great deal of concentration at precisely the correct moment of contact. The extent of which the high level of concentration is possible is meaningless unless you are capable of doing two things; having excellent dynamic vision, (including corrective lenses that get you to 20/20 vision) and the ability to anticipate and know where the area in the strike zone that contact will be made, and should contact be made in that specific area, you know the ball will be on some sort of flight plan in your general direction.

The simplest way to work with infielders as well as outfielders when they are late getting jumps on balls is to work off of a Tee. The most obvious position to start with is at 3rd base. At 3rd the Tee can be placed deep and outside on a right-handed hitter. Have a player or a coach go up there and take cuts with the ball in that position. One of the first things the 3rd baseman realizes is that a ball hit from that position seldom ever gets hit to him unless the hitter severely tries to come around the ball and if that should be the case, then the end result will be a weak hit ground ball to the shortstop or pitcher, or very occasionally, in the number 3 angle to 3rd. What the player will notice is that he will not get a very good view of the contact area because it is deep and away from the front of the plate where a ball hit most likely will come to him.

Systematically continue to move the Tee forward and diagonally to the front of the plate until the 3rd baseman is seeing balls hit directly at him or down the 3rd base line. That contact area is where the player begins to learn to focus his eyes consistently and quickly. He should not be “staring” in that area for more than a second- second and a half. He should be doing the same pre-pitch eye focus as he is taught at the plate – short bursts of focus, with high acuity at the point of contact. The great thing about this drill is that while you may need to work with your 3rd baseman this time, you can place all of your fielders and outfielders in their positions and everyone gets some real valuable vision work at the same time.

Of course there are additional critical elements to be learned in this drill, not the least of which is, we are looking down the “chute” as we like to call it. It is that moment of contact that tells an instantaneous story to us; pop up, line drive or ground ball. The quicker we can recognize that, the better position we will be in to react to ball. This same drill, in addition to working your fielders, is tremendous for working your base runners as well, especially the man at 3rd where reading fly ball, line drive and ground ball can mean the winning run scoring on a very close play.

Once again, the very best place to practice this is during BP on the field, and best done with a coach roaming around from foul line to foul line. If a player is not making progress on getting significantly better jumps on the ball, then a quick trip to eye doctor and following up with dynamic eye drills need to looked at immediately because there is a very real reason the age old axiom,” ya can’t hit or catch, what ya can’t see”, is still as true today as it ever was.

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COACHING BASEBALL: VOLUNTEERS

Hats off to the volunteer baseball coaches, from tee ball through American Legion, who give their time and energy to teach the great game of baseball. There is no monetary gain for their efforts. Why do they do it? That is a good question that must be answered by each and every coach. What motivates them to utilize a great deal of their time on the ball field?

Problems do occur when the reasons are not what they should be. Unfortunately, getting coaches to volunteer their time can be very difficult. It may be necessary to take parents as coaches to keep the league operating. Following are some prerequisites that all coaches should adhere to.

1. Knowledge of the game

It is important that coaches spend enough time learning the game so they can adequately convey needed skills and fundamentals to the players they are involved with. Playing the game as a youngster is not always a good prerequisite. Times have changed. Reading instructional articles and attendance at clinics are two great ways to upgrade their knowledge.

2. Treat all players equally

For team unity and team chemistry, treating all players the same is very important. No player should get special treatment. Team rules should apply to everyone. More talented players and coach's son or daughter should not be exempt to the rules. Winning is not the most important thing at this level. The least talented player on the team is just as important as the other players. Everyone knows where they stand on the team. Too often, the coach who gives special treatment to certain players, such as his son or daughter , leaves himself open to criticism. Parents cry "favoritism" and team morale crumbles. They are more prone to accept coaching decisions if they see they apply to the coach's children also. If the star player breaks a team rule, he should be disciplined just as everyone else. It is an important lesson to be taught.

3. Keep the game fun

Baseball is a game and is meant to be fun to play. Keeping that in mind will go a long way to the players having a great experience. Winning should not be the end-all. Winning is the result of doing things the right way. Yelling at or belittling players when mistakes are made does not help the situation. Patience and understanding are needed at this time. You don't want your players fearful of making a mistakes because of the consequences that follow.

4. Be organized

Organizing practices so that the players learn and have fun is an ideal path to follow. Cover several skills during practice so that your players learn how to properly play the game. Breaking your practice into different stations that cover hitting, throwing, fielding and running would go a long way in making your practice organized and fun. Utilize available parents to help supervise the stations. Having your players stand out in the outfield shagging balls for two hours is not my idea of a productive practice. It is actually quite boring. Make your practice fun and teach at the same time. You won't believe how the time flies. The kids will love it.

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Pitching With Your Mind

If we send our pitchers to the mound without any mental preparation, we as coaches are neglecting an important part of the game of baseball. The smart pitcher is the one who is thinking all the time. He does not have to possess a blazing fast ball or a wicked curve ball. But he should possess a thinking capacity which is constantly trying to outwit the batter. The pitcher who has a great fast ball and a super curve will win his share of the games. But not everyone can come up with a player like that. And even so, this gifted pitcher has his limitations if he lacks a thinking capacity for he will fall prey to the aggressive batter who knows what is being thrown at him. Mixing the pitches and knowing when to mix them is the route that should be followed. Do you teach your players that? The smart pitcher may have only a decent fast ball, adequate curve ball and an off speed pitch, but he knows how to use the three basic pitches to manipulate the batter, not be manipulated by him. Assuming that the boy has some talent, thinking will make the average pitcher a good pitcher and the good pitcher a super pitcher. When the count changes, so should the pitch being thrown. As the caliber of play increases, it is not practical to throw all fast balls or all curve balls. Before long, the batters will adjust to the pitches and hit them all over the park. It is important, therefore, to keep the batter off stride be mixing the pitches so he does not know what. is being thrown. Anyone can be a thrower on the mound, but not anyone can be a pitcher. Some thinking is required. Following is a run-down of the various counts on the batter and a mental approach to that count. The pitches mentioned are only suggestions. There is no set pitch to be thrown at a particular count. If there was a set pitch, a routine would quickly be figured out by the batter. The pitcher’s job is to outsmart the batter, not cater to him.
0-0
Before the batter steps up to the plate, the thinking process begins. If the pitcher is familiar with the batter from past experience, he greatly helps himself by knowing the batter’s tendencies on that first pitch. Many batters are first ball hitters. If this is known of a certain batter, then nothing too good should be thrown on the first pitch. If he is one who takes the first pitch, there is no need to be too careful. The ball can be thrown down the middle of the plate without fear. Facing an unknown batter, it would be wise to challenge the batter with the pitcher’s best pitch to gain an advantage in the count. But remember, the pitcher should not pattern himself on that first pitch for he will quickly be figured out by opposing batters if he does.

0-1
The pitcher has gained the advantage. He can afford to move the ball around. By attempting to get a strike on the corners or at the knees, he exploits the advantage that he has obtained. Watch out for second pitch hitters. If a fast ball was thrown on the first pitch, a curve ball might be chosen for the second pitch. Baiting the batter with an off speed pitch would also be an ideal pitch in this situation.

0-2
All the pressure rests with the batter. He can not take another strike and thus must protect the plate from anything close. The batter will swing at anything close and the pitcher should try to have him do just that. This is an excellent time for the so-called “waste pitch”--- a pitch purposely thrown outside the strike Zone to lure the batter, by his anxiety in this situation, to swing at a bad pitch. An off speed pitch might be the right pitch here.

1-2
The advantage is still with the pitcher. The anxiety of the batter being behind in the count and facing the third strike remains. The pitcher should come in with a strike but not one down the middle of the plate. It is not wise to waste another pitch here. The arm should not be taxzed any more than it has to. The pitcher should attempt to get the batter to swing at a pitch on the corners or at the knees.

2-2
A slight advantage remains with the pitcher. One pitch will get the batter out and two pitches will put him on. The pressure rests with the batter because the pitcher still has the third ball if needed. Don’t force the count to go full. The pitcher should challenge the batter with his best pitch.

3-2
The odds are completely even. The pitcher must come in with a strike or risk putting on a runner that may come back to haunt him while the batter faces the third strike. The pitcher must challenge the batter with his best pitch and risk being hit. The risk of being hit at this count is high because the pitcher can’t play around with his strikes. He must be sure of it, not hope it hits the corner or the knees. The smart batter knows this and will be looking for the strike to hit.

1-0
The pitcher has fallen behind in the count but the advantage is still even. He needs three strikes to eliminate the batter and the batter needs three balls to get on base. For fear of giving an advantage to the batter, the pitcher should come in with a strike. The batter has a definite mental edge. He feels that with no strikes and one ball he is ahead in the count. The batter will thus be a bit choosy, so warn your pitchers not to let up in this situation.

2-0
Now he’s done it. The pitcher has made himself the underdog. The batter won’t swing, unless it is his pitch, and the pitcher can’t afford to throw a ball. A sure strike has got to be thrown, and the smart batter knows that. It is an ideal hitting situation. Whether a fast ball, curve or an off speed pitch is thrown, it should be with the pitcher’s best effort. You have a relaxed batter challenging a pressured pitcher. Fielders beware!

3-0
The pitcher is really in deep trouble now. The batter can afford to wait for his pitch. In contrast, the pitcher has to come in with three strikes or he will walk the batter. More than likely, the batter will have the take sign, so your pitcher should bring it to him and over the plate.

3-1
The pitcher remains at a disadvantage. It is still an enviable position for the batter. The pitcher has to throw the ball over the plate and the batter does not have to swing. The batter will be looking for a fat pitch to clobber, so an off speed pitch over the plate might be the pitch to use. Remember, every time the count is brought to full, the strength of the pitcher’s arm is being taxed. Waste pitches are used when the pitcher is ahead in the count for the purpose of getting the batter to go after a bad pitch. Off speed pitches are ideal for free-swingers--- power hitters who are trying to jack the ball out of the park on every pitch. Your spray hitters are more likely to hit the off speed pitch because they can wait that extra instant to hit the ball. Know who your pitchers are throwing to. Check your hitters charts if they are kept. Thinking means winning..

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Throwing a Baseball

Proper throwing techniques are extremely important and very often neglected. Developing a sound and healthy arm depends on the right throwing mechanics. The basic grip is the four-seam grip--- the top fingers should be positioned perpendicular to the horse shoe formation of the seams. All field positions, infield, outfield and catcher, should be using the four-seam grip. Accuracy and true ball flight without movement depend on the four-seam grip. The pitcher does utilize the grip but also varies the grip to create more movement on the ball. The two-seam grip--- holding the ball along the two seams--- promotes lateral ball movement and makes it more difficult to throw a straight ball. He also uses other grips to create other movement on the ball such as the curve ball grip and the change-up grip.

Once the ball is gripped properly, the next step is to take it out of the glove in a circular motion with the hand remaining on top of the ball. When taking it out, the thumb turns down to the ground to ensure that the hand is on top of the ball. Otherwise, taking it out of the glove and pointing the thumb to the sky will cause the hand to be under the ball when throwing causing a lack of velocity and possible injury to the arm. It is also important keep the front side of the body closed, pointing the lead elbow to the target. This will help to ensure that the body will aid the arm in throwing instead of throwing with all arm causing injury to the arm. Utilizing the body to help the arm will definitely increase the velocity of the throw.

Young players, little leaguers and lower, are too often seen taken the ball directly back out of the glove with the thumb pointing to the sky. This causes them to be under the ball when the ball is thrown and not on top of it. This is a bad habit to start with and will definitely hinder proper throwing development. Breaking an improper throwing habit is difficult to change later on. What an advantage a young player has if he is taught properly in the beginning of his development. It is well worth the time to set up drills to stress the proper removal of the ball from the glove. Teaching now is far better than un-teaching later !

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Pitching with Your Mind

PITCHING WITH YOUR MIND

If we send our pitchers to the mound without any mental preparation, we as coaches are neglecting an important part of the game of baseball. The smart pitcher is the one who is thinking all the time. He does not have to possess a blazing fast ball or a wicked curve ball. But he should possess a thinking capacity which is constantly trying to outwit the batter. The pitcher who has a great fast ball and a super curve will win his share of the games. But not everyone can come up with a player like that. And even so, this gifted pitcher has his limitations if he lacks a thinking capacity for he will fall prey to the aggressive batter who knows what is being thrown at him.

Mixing the pitches and knowing when to mix them is the route that should be followed. Do you teach your players that? The smart pitcher may have only a decent fast ball, adequate curve ball and an off speed pitch, but he knows how to use the three basic pitches to manipulate the batter, not be manipulated by him. Assuming that the boy has some talent, thinking will make the average pitcher a good pitcher and the good pitcher a super pitcher.

When the count changes, so should the pitch being thrown. As the caliber of play increases, it is not practical to throw all fast balls or all curve balls. Before long, the batters will adjust to the pitches and hit them all over the park. It is important, therefore, to keep the batter off stride be mixing the pitches so he does not know what. is being thrown. Anyone can be a thrower on the mound, but not anyone can be a pitcher. Some thinking is required.


Following is a run-down of the various counts on the batter and a mental approach to that count. The pitches mentioned are only suggestions. There is no set pitch to be thrown at a particular count. If there was a set pitch, a routine would quickly be figured out by the batter. The pitcher’s job is to outsmart the batter, not cater to him.


0-0
Before the batter steps up to the plate, the thinking process begins. If the pitcher is familiar with the batter from past experience, he greatly helps himself by knowing the batter’s tendencies on that first pitch. Many batters are first ball hitters. If this is known of a certain batter, then nothing too good should be thrown on the first pitch. If he is one who takes the first pitch, there is no need to be too careful. The ball can be thrown down the middle of the plate without fear. Facing an unknown batter, it would be wise to challenge the batter with the pitcher’s best pitch to gain an advantage in the count. But remember, the pitcher should not pattern himself on that first pitch for he will quickly be figured out by opposing batters if he does.




0-1
The pitcher has gained the advantage. He can afford to move the ball around. By attempting to get a strike on the corners or at the knees, he exploits the advantage that he has obtained. Watch out for second pitch hitters. If a fast ball was thrown on the first pitch, a curve ball might be chosen for the second pitch. Baiting the batter with an off speed pitch would also be an ideal pitch in this situation.


0-2
All the pressure rests with the batter. He can not take another strike and thus must protect the plate from anything close. The batter will swing at anything close and the pitcher should try to have him do just that. This is an excellent time for the so-called “waste pitch”--- a pitch purposely thrown outside the strike Zone to lure the batter, by his anxiety in this situation, to swing at a bad pitch. An off speed pitch might be the right pitch here.


1-2
The advantage is still with the pitcher. The anxiety of the batter being behind in the count and facing the third strike remains. The pitcher should come in with a strike but not one down the middle of the plate. It is not wise to waste another pitch here. The arm should not be taxzed any more than it has to. The pitcher should attempt to get the batter to swing at a pitch on the corners or at the knees.


2-2
A slight advantage remains with the pitcher. One pitch will get the batter out and two pitches will put him on. The pressure rests with the batter because the pitcher still has the third ball if needed. Don’t force the count to go full. The pitcher should challenge the batter with his best pitch.


3-2
The odds are completely even. The pitcher must come in with a strike or risk putting on a runner that may come back to haunt him while the batter faces the third strike. The pitcher must challenge the batter with his best pitch and risk being hit. The risk of being hit at this count is high because the pitcher can’t play around with his strikes. He must be sure of it, not hope it hits the corner or the knees. The smart batter knows this and will be looking for the strike to hit.


1-0
The pitcher has fallen behind in the count but the advantage is still even. He needs three strikes to eliminate the batter and the batter needs three balls to get on base. For fear of giving an advantage to the batter, the pitcher should come in with a strike. The batter has a definite mental edge. He feels that with no strikes and one ball he is ahead in the count. The batter will thus be a bit choosy, so warn your pitchers not to let up in this situation.


2-0
Now he’s done it. The pitcher has made himself the underdog. The batter won’t swing, unless it is his pitch, and the pitcher can’t afford to throw a ball. A sure strike has got to be thrown, and the smart batter knows that. It is an ideal hitting situation. Whether a fast ball, curve or an off speed pitch is thrown, it should be with the pitcher’s best effort. You have a relaxed batter challenging a pressured pitcher. Fielders beware!


3-0
The pitcher is really in deep trouble now. The batter can afford to wait for his pitch. In contrast, the pitcher has to come in with three strikes or he will walk the batter. More than likely, the batter will have the take sign, so your pitcher should bring it to him and over the plate.


3-1
The pitcher remains at a disadvantage. It is still an enviable position for the batter. The pitcher has to throw the ball over the plate and the batter does not have to swing. The batter will be looking for a fat pitch to clobber, so an off speed pitch over the plate might be the pitch to use.



Remember, every time the count is brought to full, the strength of the pitcher’s arm is being taxed. Waste pitches are used when the pitcher is ahead in the count for the purpose of getting the batter to go after a bad pitch. Off speed pitches are ideal for free-swingers--- power hitters who are trying to jack the ball out of the park on every pitch. Your spray hitters are more likely to hit the off speed pitch because they can wait that extra instant to hit the ball. Know who your pitchers are throwing to. Check your hitters charts if they are kept. Thinking means winning..

Catcher

The Catcher…
1- is the leader of the team.
2- must be able to communicate and perceptive to know differences in the staff.
3- is a coach on the field knowing pitcher's strengths, hitters weaknesses and
defensive situations.
4- is a positive person who needs to separate himself from individual negative
experiences to stay positive for the game.
5- has defense as his number one priority; he cannot take his bat out to his position.
6- is the hardest worker on the team.
7- must be a take charge guy.
8- must encourage and support his pitcher and thereby gaining his trust.
9- cannot be a silent warrior but must constantly yell throughout the game.
10- is an outstanding example to the rest of his teammates of hustle and hard work.
11- must make everyone better.
12- is the reason that teams win.
13- must vary his stances throughout the game.
a. signal giving stance
b. primary receiving stance- used with no men on base and
two strikes on the batter.
c. secondary block/throwing stance- used with man or men on base
and two strikes on batter.
14- must communicate pitch selection to the pitcher clearly and covertly.
15- must be a good receiver.
16- must force the umpire to get a good look at a pitch, have to
decide on ball/strike, call all pitches in the zone strikes and call all borderline strikes as
possible.

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