Chapter 12 - Fielding Drills

Duplicate Game Conditions.

In conducting a fielding drill, the practice should come as close as possible to actual game conditions. A pitcher, for instance, cannot learn to participate in defensive maneuvers which involve him with other members of his team unless he practices with them in executing these plays. The reason a pitcher neglects to back up third base on a throw from the outfield, or fails to cover first base when the first baseman fields a ground ball to his right, or fails to field a bunt and throw accurately to second base in a force play or double-play situation is that the pitcher has no opportunity to practice these plays with most teams.

When managers and coaches of Little League teams in a dozen communities were asked to include their pitchers in every fielding drill, pre-game and otherwise, they reported the rapid improvement of their pitchers as fielders and the general improvement of defensive play by their teams. If a manager wants his pitcher for the game of the day to warm up in the bull pen during the fielding drill, he can place another pitcher on the mound for the drill. But be sure to provide fielding practice for every pitcher on the staff at regular intervals.

In the fielding drill the catcher should wear his mask, chest protector, and leg guards since he must field and throw while wearing them during games. (After several months of practice the catcher may not need to continue to wear all of his equipment, particularly on very hot days when the workout precedes a game.)

Keep in mind that you are trying to build confidence in your players. Try to hit balls they can handle easily.

WARM-UP A MUST. Be sure to keep in mind that your players should warm up their arms properly by throwing the ball at a short distance for at least five minutes before starting the infield drill. Youngsters want to start throwing the ball hard and for a long distance the moment they get their hands on it. They can injure their arms if they are not required to warm up properly. In the outfield's fielding and throwing drills, managers should have their outfielders make practice throws to second base, to third base, and to home plate as warm-ups.

Outfield Drill

To begin the practice, have each outfielder field a fly ball and a ground ball and throw twice to second, third, and home bases. The throws to second base should be in the air and the throws from left field to third base should be on the fly. However, throws from right and center field to third base and throws from the outfield to home plate should be aimed at the cut-off man's head.

When the throws are from right and center field to third base, the shortstop should place himself about halfway between second and third and in line with the fielder and third baseman for each throw. Depending on his judgment of whether the throw could retire a runner attempting to reach third base, the third baseman will tell the shortstop to "Cut it off! Cut it off!"—shouting twice to be sure he is heard—or to "Let it go! Let it go!"

When told to "Let it go!" the cut-off man ducks or dodges the ball, which should be thrown so it will reach him on the fly and take one bounce to get to third base when he lets it go by. When told to "Cut it off!" the shortstop should catch the ball and make a practice throw to second base.

On throws to home plate from left field, the third baseman should line up between the fielder and home plate about one stride on the home-plate side of the pitcher's mound, with the second baseman covering second and the shortstop covering third.

On throws from center or right field, the first baseman is the cut-off man and should line up about one stride on the home-plate side of the pitcher's mound between the fielder and home plate. One throw from each fielder should be aimed at the cut-off man's head and the catcher will tell him whether to cut it off or to let it go. Like the shortstop on throws to third, he will dodge the ball when told to let it go, and will catch it and throw to second base when told to cut it off.

The other throw from the outfielders to home plate should be on the fly if the fielders have strong arms to throw that distance. Otherwise they will be aimed at the cut-off man, too. A pitcher on the mound should back up third base and home plate on throws from the outfielders.

KEEP OUTFIELDERS BUSY. While the infield drill is taking place, a coach should be hitting fly and ground balls from the foul territory behind third base to the outfielders. He should alternate hitting the ball to their left, to their right, in front of, and behind them. He can have an extra pitcher or catcher catch the balls thrown in by the fielders.

Infield Drill

PLAY FOR ONE OUT. 1. In the first round of infield drill, the play should be made to first base. The ball should be hit to the third baseman. The third baseman throws to the first baseman. The first baseman throws to the catcher, the catcher to the third baseman, and the third baseman back to the catcher.

In each case, the player who catches the ball should put the ball on the bag to simulate tagging out a runner who would be sliding to the base, before throwing the ball—unless the situation indicates a force play. In the case of a force play, the player who catches the ball should be sure to step on the base to complete the force before throwing the ball.

2. Continuing the first round, the ball is hit to the shortstop, who is playing at normal depth, and the shortstop throws to the first baseman who contacts the base while in possession of the ball and then throws to the catcher who throws to the shortstop who is covering second base where he tags the bag and throws back to the catcher who makes the tag again at home plate.

The second baseman backs up the shortstop on all throws from the catcher when the shortstop normally would make the play at second base. The player who is backing up the base should be sure to be deep enough, at least 20 feet back of the base. In practice, have the player who fields the ground ball take the throw from the catcher.

3. The ball is hit to the second baseman who throws to first base, the first baseman to the catcher, the catcher to the second baseman at second base, and the second baseman to the catcher. On all throws to the bases the catcher should throw from in back of home plate because he will be required to do so in games.

4. The ball is hit to the first baseman who throws to the shortstop covering second base, and the shortstop throws back to the first baseman who touches the bag with a foot and then throws to the catcher.

The pitcher should break toward first base on every ball hit past him to the second-base side of the infield during the drill. On this play he should cover first base and take the return throw from the shortstop in case the first baseman can't get back in time. If the first baseman can get back to take the return throw the pitcher should run on into foul territory behind first base to protect against a possible wild throw or catching error.

PLAYERS KEEP INFIELD IN SIGHT. If the first baseman throws right-handed, he turns in toward the infield and pivots on the ball of his right foot, stepping with his left foot directly toward second base as he throws to second.

He should not pivot in such a way as to turn his back on the infield because in so doing he would take his eyes off his target and also lose sight of any base-runners who might be running on the base paths. With rare exceptions, he should turn so that the infield is in front of him at all times. If the first baseman throws left-handed, he does not have the problem of getting into position to throw to the other bases, but he too should always keep in mind that he should not turn his back on the infield. The only exception to this rule comes when an infielder goes into the outfield to catch a fly ball over his shoulder on the run. When possible, even on short flies to the outfield, the fielders should get under the ball and turn to make the catch with the infield in front of them.

5. Continuing the infield drill, the ball is tapped in front of the plate toward third base, where the catcher fields it with both hands and throws to first base. This throw should be made to the second-base side of first base with the first baseman stretching into fair territory to make the catch—avoiding any possibility of the ball hitting the runner who has bunted the ball and is running to first base. The first baseman then throws to shortstop covering second base, shortstop to third base, and third baseman to the catcher at home plate. Again, on these throws the player who catches the ball goes through the motions of the tag before throwing the ball—except at first base where "footing" the bag completes a force play. (There is very little chance for a first baseman to make a tag in Little League ball since the base-runner doesn't take a lead off the bag.)

6. The ball is bunted to the left of the mound so that the pitcher can handle it and throw to the first baseman who stretches for the putout at first and throws to the third baseman who simulates the tag and then throws to the catcher who makes the tag at home plate.

The second round of infield practice is a repetition of the first round except for the fact that the infielders should play deeper (at the edge of the outfield grass) and the ball should be hit harder to them for the long throw. The ball for the catcher to field should be bunted toward the first baseman who throws to third base, third baseman throws to second base, second baseman to first, and first baseman back to the catcher. The ball for the pitcher to field should be bunted to the right of the mound and the pitcher should throw to third base, third to second, second to first to home. On all long throws, the players should throw the ball overhand, with a backward rotation of the ball, because this throw will make the ball carry farther and make it easier to handle.

DOUBLE-PLAY ROUND. The third round should be a double-play round with the infield at normal double-play depth. Whenever the double-play situation is presented, the second baseman and shortstop must play closer to second base. In their regular defensive positions, they won't be able to make the play. Experimentation will determine how far they can play from the base and still make the pivot and throw. Most second basemen and shortstops find that taking a long step in toward home plate and one step toward second base brings them into the desired position. This is known as shading the bag.

1. The ball should be hit to the third baseman who throws to second base, the second baseman pivots on the bag and throws to first base, the first baseman to the catcher, catcher to third base to second base to first base to home. All throws to the pivot man on the double play should be aimed at his right shoulder. If he catches the ball "shoulder-high," it is much easier for him to complete the pivot and make the throw in one motion, and it increases the speed of the play—a very important factor in attempting the double play.

2. The ball is hit to the shortstop who throws to the second baseman who pivots at second base and throws to first base, to home, to the shortstop covering second, to third base, and back to home.

3. The ball is hit to the second baseman who throws the ball shoulder high to the shortstop who touches second base and throws to first base, to home, to the second baseman covering second, to third base to home.

4. The ball is hit to the first baseman who throws to the shortstop at second base, shortstop throws back to the first baseman who "foots" first baseand throws home; the catcher throws back to first base, and back to home.

5. The ball is tapped in front of home plate, the catcher fields the ball with both hands and throws it shoulder-high to the shortstop at second, shortstop throws to first, to home, to third, to shortstop at second, to first to home.

6. The ball is bunted toward the mound for the pitcher to field and throw to the second baseman who pivots at second base and throws to first base.

The first baseman throws to the catcher, the catcher to the third baseman, and the third baseman back to the catcher.

DOUBLE PLAY THE HARD WAY. The fourth round is another double-play round, but more difficult play situations should be set up. Instead of the ball being hit directly at the fielders or to the side which will make the play easy, it should be hit to their far sides. In the case of the third baseman the ball should be hit to his right. He should then touch third base and throw to first base for the double play since with runners on first and second bases both outs would be force outs. In the case of the shortstop, the ball should be hit to his right, and in the case of the second baseman the ball should be hit to his left. In each instance the fielder should turn so that he has the infield in his line of vision at all times and make the throw to second base to start the double play.

The one other change involves the pitcher. The ball should be tapped to his right so that he can field it and throw to third base for a force play, the third baseman stretching for the throw and then throwing to first base in an effort to complete a double play. The first baseman throws to the catcher, the catcher to the second baseman back to the catcher.

OPTIONAL ROUND. The fifth round is optional, depending upon the time allotted for infield practice. Managers may want to use it in Little League only when no game is scheduled for the day. However, all of the infielders should play deep. The batter should hit slow rollers so that the fielders will be forced to charge the ball and throw on the run. There are two other changes in this pattern. When the ball is hit to the first baseman, he should throw to the third baseman who touches third base and throws back to the first baseman at first base. The first baseman then throws to the catcher and the catcher back to the first baseman who goes through the motion of tagging a runner who has been caught off base and is sliding back. This tag should be made by placing the ball on the second-base side of the bag and letting the runner tag himself out as he slides back into the base. Then the first baseman throws back to the catcher to complete the round.

When the ball is tapped in front of home plate for the catcher to make the play, he throws to third base; the third baseman touches the bag and throws to first base, first base to home, home to third, to second, to first, to home. The ball is bunted to the pitcher's right, where he fields it and throws to first base, the first baseman to the catcher, the catcher to the third baseman, and the third baseman back to the catcher. If the fifth round is not used, the first baseman should throw to third base after fielding the ball on the second round of one.

BRINGING THEM IN. The last infield round is made with the infield drawn in for the force play at home plate. The ball is tapped to each fielder so that the fielder must charge the ball and throw the ball "knee high" to the third-base side of the catcher so that he will be in a position to tag the runner sliding into the plate. The routine is the usual one with the ball being hit to the third baseman who throws the ball to home plate, then to the shortstop who throws to the plate, then to the second baseman who throws to the plate, to the first baseman who throws to the plate, and finally bunted to the pitcher who throws to home plate.

This series of drills should cover a large majority of the plays an infielder is called on to make except for bunt situations.

If the team manager has plenty of time, he can include a round of infield practice which has the infield pulled in and the batter bunting the ball toward each infielder in turn and the fielder making the throw to first base. When the first baseman fields the ball in this situation, the second baseman generally covers first base and the shortstop covers second. Of course, there are bunt situations in which the pitcher covers first base, and some in which the first baseman makes the play at first unassisted. The drill to defend against the bunt should be conducted at a regular practice session along with other infield plays such as drills on pop flies and cut-off plays and relays from the outfield.

A final word of advice: encourage the infield to "talk it up" during the practice. Ample use of "chin music," the "old hubba hubba," or in plainer language "words of encouragement shouted at your teammates" during the workout will let your opponent know that you have a lively, determined, confident team. Talking it up has a tendency to relax your own boys when they might otherwise tighten up under the pressure of an important game.

SPECIAL SESSIONS. Special sessions can be scheduled involving the pitcher and catcher, with the pitcher making wild pitches, the catcher rushing back to the backstop to retrieve them, the pitcher running in to take the throw and make the tag at home plate.

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