Turning the Double Play (As a 2nd Baseman)

Turning A Double Play (As a 2^nd Baseman)

Turning a double play from the second base position is all based around footwork. While many people focus on the hands when turning a double play, without good footwork it is very difficult. Don’t get me wrong you have to have good hands to turn an efficient double play, but you can have the best hands in the world and if your feet are bad it will be a challenge to turn a double play. As a second baseman the first part to turning the double play is getting to the bag and being set up correctly. Next you want to let the throw dictate where you’re going to step to make the turn, once you’ve stepped for the turn it’s important that you use your legs to create momentum towards first base.

Being in the correct set up will make the following steps much easier. In order to achieve the correct set up the second baseman need to start in double play depth, which is at most 10 steps from the bag, but more often closer to 6-8 steps away giving him ample time to get to the bag and set up. The position that I’m talking about is having his left foot on the bag and his hips squared to whoever is about to throw him the ball (SS or 3^rd). The reason for being squared to the ball is to give him the ability to adjust to a bad throw, being athletic with his left foot on the bag sets the second baseman up to catch anything and he never has to look at the bag. Even the ball that he shortstop catches behind the second base bag the second baseman should have his left foot on the bag and be squared to where the ball is coming from. If the second baseman gets in that position he will be able to catch almost anything.

Letting the throw dictate your next move is very important. If you get “robotic” and try to step in the same place every time you will find yourself not being able to handle the ball cleanly or missing throws that you could have caught. This is similar to the first baseman that stretches towards the ball before it is thrown, finding himself out of position to catch the ball and limiting his range. The throw will tell the second baseman where to go, if he’s catching the ball from third most of the time he is going to step to the throw to shorten the distance and to avoid any contact with the runner. It is important that the step with the right foot gains ground and moves in the direction of the ball to help make the transfer smoother. It is much easier to transfer a ball that is in the center of the chest than the ball that is on either side of the body, so the step towards the ball should be an attempt to force the throw to the center of the chest.

When the second baseman is catching the ball from the shortstop there is more of a read involved. Depending on the runners and where the ball is thrown the second baseman can decide whether he wants to step through or step back, either way is ok, but the important part is getting out of the path of the runner. Up until pro ball the runner has to slide into the base, with that rule in place the second basemen needs to avoid being in line with the base as the runner comes in. He has the right to the area on either side of the bag to step for the turn, so he should use it.

After the set up and the first move for the turn the second baseman has to make the turn. This is the part where the exchange happens and all the action takes place. The previous two steps will make this part much easier if they were done correctly. During the turn the second baseman should first catch the ball with two hands (more of a deflection than an actual catch), and begin the short arm action to make the throw to first. During this exchange on the upper half, the lower half should have planted the right foot and be pushing with that right foot to gain some momentum to first base. Doing so will help your throw be on target and have some velocity behind it.

Those are the basics of turning a double play as a second baseman. There are always going to be throws and different situations that require abnormal moves to complete the play, but if following those basic principles will help make those abnormal plays possible, and the routine plays seems even easier. One thing I would like to address is the play of Robinson Cano, Cano is an outstanding baseball players and one of the smoothest fielding second basemen to ever play the game. But I want all the young players out there to understand he is able to play the way he does because of his arm. His arm works better than almost any other second baseman, he is able to throw from many angles and still be accurate with velocity. Many second basemen can use different arm angles, but he takes them to an extreme because he can. When it comes to turning a double play he tends to run right through the bag and throw across his body, because his arm allows him to do so. That is not the way young players should be turning a double play, they need to use their legs to make a strong accurate throw to first. 

Check out Robinson Athletics past and upcoming events at www.RobinsonAthleticsFL.com

More pictures coming soon on double plays, subscribe to the blog to stay up to date with more fielding tips.