Why It's OK To Field With One Hand

      As a young baseball player most of us were taught to use two hands to catch the ball, to get in front of everything you can, keep it in front, etc. While these are all great things to teach a young player, it should not be the last thing they should be taught. As the player evolves and their skills improve infielders, especially shortstops, should learn to trust their glove hand more. A typical thing that I've seen with the shortstops and other infielders that I've coached over the last several years is that they seem to be rushing to get in front of balls that they don't need to. They have this worry that if they don't get in front and field it with two hands they will not be able to catch the ball and get rid of it in time. The reality of the matter is that the majority of the time these infielders have more than enough time to make the play. Don't get me wrong fielding with two hands is not a bad thing and the routine ball should be fielded with two hands, this post is talking about balls to the left, right, and slow.

     A friend of mine that spent some time in minor league baseball told me the first thing they tell you as an infielder in rookie camp is "just catch the ball, the throwing part is easy". That really stuck with me as a player and has been a point of emphasis for me as a coach. When I was at Windermere Prep I worked with Seattle Mariners' 2014 shortstop Brad Miller during his off-season, the drill that he worked on the most was playing on the grass, catching ground balls with just his glove hand. He would take them on both his left and right side just working on catching the ball. Most players have become so dependent on their throwing hand in order catch that they are unsure of themselves going to either side. It is important for infielders to trust their glove hand because it will allow their feet and body to be in better position to throw, while keeping a good pace.

    The young shortstops that I've coached over the last couple year have both had the same problem, they rush to get in front of the ball and end up throwing the ball away because they don't get their feet in the right position. When going after the ball to the left players should approach looking to keep the pace of their feet the same as to keep the upper body on the same plane. As I've mentioned before a good angle is important for being able to make a good throw, but as the player approaches the ball he should adjust his route based on the pace of the ball and his relation to it. If he beats the ball to the spot then he should move his route towards first attacking the baseball and fielding it off his left foot. If the infielder times it perfectly he will catch it moving to his left and should then shuffle his feet towards first and throw it knowing that it will tail back based on his momentum. The ball the the fielder catches behind him will require him to spin keeping long strides and again throwing the ball knowing it will tail back towards the plate.

   Balls that take the player to their right more than a few steps should always be fielded with one hand. The options that the player has are usually the backhand or getting around the ball fielding it moving towards first. When players try to get in front of the ball to their right they end up fielding the ball flat footed and tend to rush the throw attempting to put more on it and end up sailing it. If the player instead trust his glove hand and back hands the ball he will then be able to set his feet into better position to throw the ball.