The Importance of Aggressiveness as an Infielder

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

            As an infielder, one of the most common mistakes is to sit back or wait for the ball to come to you. The reason that this is considered a mistake is because of multiple reasons; the longer you wait you are allowing the runner to get further down the line, you have not cut any distance off of your throw, you are allowing the ball more opportunities to make a bad hop, and your feet and glove tend to become stagnant while waiting on the ball. Infielders, particularly middle infielders, can avoid this with a mindset.

 If the fielder is looking to attack the ball before the ball is even hit they will be more likely to make that first step towards the ball. This does not mean that the players should be running forward before the ball is hit, but more so expecting to attack the ball. When a player is aggressively attacking the baseball he is more likely to have his head and glove in the right position. Having the head down with the glove (as shown by Tulo in the picture above) allows for the eyes to stay on the ball and see it all the way into the glove. It also keeps the glove in front of the eyes because it is making the aggressive move towards the ball rather than waiting and possibly funneling too soon.

Those first couple steps towards the ball can be the difference between a good hop or a bad hop, between safe and out. Being aggressive with the feet and hands helps to cut down the throwing distance and exchange time. When fielders are moving towards the ball the distance to first is cut down, and likewise when the field is aggressive with the glove movement it speeds up the exchange process because the hands are already moving quicker. There is no rush involved with the exchange, it is more so an aggressive move with the glove that in turn speeds up the hands during the exchange.

As a middle infielder, especially a shortstop, attacking the baseball should be a priority. This does not mean that every play is fielded on the run and thrown off balance, it means that each play the fielder is looking to cut down distance and have a quick smooth exchange with the hands by making an aggressive move with the glove. The more aggressive a fielder is, the less you will find them on their heels. Of the shortstops I’ve worked with over the last several years the timid ones are the one who’ve made the most errors. Aggressive infielders have more success and seem to encounter less bad hops.

Positioning For Infielders (Where to be and when to be there)

Where to Be and When (Positioning Infielders)

A common problem that I see when I’m coaching young players today is positioning. Watching young players today it seems like they are rarely in the correct spot and the correct time. It could be me just over analyzing and expecting too much from a young group of infielders, but to someone who has played the game at a high level and knows situations it seems like common sense. Obviously this is something that will be addressed with my team, so I figured I’d share with the readers what I’ll be saying to the guys about where they need to be and when they need to be there.

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Most commonly I find that the 3^rd baseman is the one that is constantly out of position, whether he’s up when he should be back or vice versa. Something that really bothers me is when they get into “no-man’s land” that spot where they are playing about 3 steps behind the lip so that anything that hits that lip they will not have time to react to the ball. The 3^rd baseman essentially has 3 depths that they will play; in, back, and double play depth.

·        The 1^st position I will discuss is IN: The 3^rd baseman should be play in in a few situations; fast runner who is likely to bunt, bunting situations (1^st & 2^nd 0-outs), and with a quick lefty at the plate that is a “slap” type hitter.

·        The BACK position: The 3^rd baseman should spend quite a bit of time in the back position; they will be here with 2 strikes, 2 outs, power hitters at bat, and many other non-bunting situations. Players can learn to fake hitters out by starting up and moving back and vice versa to try and get a player to misjudge the positioning of the 3^rd baseman; this works best with the bunting threat hitters.

·        The DOUBLE PLAY position: This position is obviously used for double play situations, and is when the 3^rd baseman is about 1-3 steps behind the baseline. The reason this is double play depth is that it puts the 3^rd baseman is better position to throw the ball to 2^nd without throwing the ball behind them, but doesn’t put them too far back to make turning the double play difficult. This position can be used when you have hitters at the plate that are quick runners, but are not in a bunting situation.

The key as a 3^rd baseman is to be able to float between the positions. 3^rd basemen should ideally spend the majority of their time in the back position to have as much range as possible, giving them the ability to cut balls off in front of the shortstop.

        The middle infielders positioning is very important and can be the difference between saving a run or not. As a middle infielder knowing the situation is extremely important and it goes much deeper than how many outs there are. As a middle infielder there are several things that must be thought about before the pitch is ever thrown. For example; How many outs, where are the runners, are they fast, what kind of hitter is at the plate, is he fast, what’s the score, what inning is it, how much range does the corner infielder on my side have, how are we going to pitch this hitter, what has this hitter done already today? There is a lot to think about in the 20 seconds between pitches. Here is how a middle infielder should break it down:

·        Knowing the hitter is very important, as a 2^nd baseman if there is a big lefty at the plate who doesn’t run well and there is nobody on 1^st, I would play at least 3-4 steps into the outfield grass to give myself as much range as possible, trying to take away any cheap singles, especially with a runner on 2^nd. That being said if the hitter can run, I wouldn’t be playing as deep but still giving myself some room with a runner on 2^nd to keep the runner on 2^nd from scoring. 

·        The middle infielders should almost always deepen their positon with 2 outs, especially with a runner in scoring position. This will give them at least extra 2-3 steps of range on either side to try and save a run. From the shortstop side it is a little more difficult to play much deeper because of the throw that needs to be made, but they can still give themselves an extra step to extend the range.

·        Double play depth is a position that puts the middle infielders in position to get to the bag in time to turn the double play. This position should have the middle infielder about 6-8 steps away from the base. This position can be modified depending on the hitter, but the player should never be more than about 10 steps from the base as that will make them late to the bag and not allow the player to turn the double play.

Photo Credit: MLB on Youtube

The 1^st baseman is often lost when it comes to positioning. Many young 1^st basemen are afraid of not being at the bag on time so they play just a few steps away. I prefer to take the 1^st baseman as far off the line as possible with a right handed hitter at bat. Something that I’ve noticed in the many years I’ve watch this game is that the ground ball down the right field line from a right handed hitter is rare. It does happen, but it is extremely rare compared to the ground ball through the 4 hole. This being said as a coach I’d rather take away 10 singles and allow 2 doubles than vice versa. The 1^st baseman will really only play up on 3 occasions; known bunt situation, infield in (play at home), and when they are holding a runner on at 1^st because they are forced to be up. All other situations the 1^st baseman should be playing deep and off the line as much as possible, except with a left handed hitter.

        Positioning is has a major impact on the game, but it is really only given credit when it is something extreme like the “shift”. The small things like being at the right depth in the right situation can truly change the game because it will allow the infielder to get to the ball that they would not have normally reached. Keep in mind that positioning is completely based on the situation, these tips will help the young inexperienced infielder be closer to where they should be the majority of the time. These tips are things that infielders should learn and be able to do on their own. It will take some time to master it, and truly understand how hitter’s tendencies work. Once there is an understanding of situations and analysis of the hitters, infielders will find themselves getting to balls they never reached before.

Like what you’ve read or have some criticism let me know, leave a comment.

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How To Read A Ground Ball

How To Read A Ground Ball

Something that I’ve noticed with young infielders is their inability to anticipate what the ball is going to do. Many of the young infielders I’ve worked with over the years don’t read the ball and just assume that it will continue bouncing exactly like it has the first few hops. What they don’t realize is the spin on the ball and surface that it is bouncing on has a direct effect on how the ball will bounce. Because they don’t realize how these variables effect the path of the ball they tend to find themselves in bad position to catch the ball. Receiving an in-between hop is a terrible thing that no infielder likes to deal with. In this post I will talk about how to read the ground balls and get one’s self in good position for a routine hop.

The first thing that every infielder should do before the game starts is take a good look at the infield surface. In youth baseball today a player could be playing on a professional field one day and a sandlot field with rocks on it the next. It is very important to know what the surface is like and how it will play. Things to look for:

·        Is the clay hard or soft? Hard clay will result in bigger hops and makes bad hops more common because when the laces hit the ground they will make the ball hop differently. The best way to play the hard clay is to attack the baseball and try to get the ball before it can hit the clay more than once. With soft clay (whether sandy or wet) the ball will tend to stay down because it will give when the ball hits it. The tough read that comes with soft clay is the ball that bounces high; this ball will often stay down on soft clay rather than give a true hop. The key to playing on soft clay is to stay down on everything, the ball will rarely jump on the player and should allow the player to have a little more range because the ball will slow down as it hits the clay.

·        After checking the clay players should look at the grass. The grass will dictate the speed of the ball. Players here in Florida often get the opportunity to play on the MLB spring training complexes, the grounds crews at these complexes keep the grass very short which allows the ball to maintain a quicker pace through the infield. When playing on a field with short grass and average-hard clay infielders should take advantage by playing deeper allowing for more range. Middle infielders (especially the 2^nd baseman) should play 2-3 steps into the outfield grass, this allows them to have extended range and they will rarely get beat on a slower hit ball because the ball will maintain it’s pace through the grass. When the grass is thicker infielders should play 1-2 steps shallower than normal because the ball will drastically be slowed down by the thickness of the grass.

The next thing that players need to do to insure that they will be in position to receive a good hop is to read the ball off the bat. Sometimes the player struggles to actually see the spin of the ball, but if they follow the trajectory of the ball they will be able to anticipate the type of spin the ball will have. Here are the types of spins and what they look like:

·        Top Spin: Ground balls that have top spin tend to be the ones that bounce more vertically then horizontally. These grounders are the high choppers, roll over grounders, and balls that are beat into the ground. The best way to deal with the top spin is to catch it on the biggest hop, which is usually the 1^st. That is achieved by attacking the ball without hesitation and catching it before or right after the ball hits the ground. If this is not possible or the player hesitates the next option is to play the next hop. The next hop will often times “kick” or shoot towards the fielder. This is because of the top spin on the ball, the player should anticipate this be leaving some room between where the ball will bounce and where they plan to catch it. The player should also stay low as this hop will not be very high. Ideally the player will have their feet in position to throw when they catch the ball so that they can get rid of the ball quicker as by the time the ball is caught the runner will be down the line closer to the bag. The speed of the runner will help dictate what the fielder should do, quicker runner means the fielder should attack the ball, with a slower runner it is ok for the fielder to sit back if necessary.

Photo Credit: bangordailynews.com

·        Back Spin: The back spin grounders are balls that will stay low. These balls are usually hit hard and skip across the ground rather than the high bouncing of the top spin grounders. The fielder should anticipate the ball skipping on them and should allow plenty of room between when the ball hits the ground and where they catch it, this does not mean they can’t charge the ball or that they should be on their heels it’s just a tip to help them from getting eaten up. There is also a different type of back spin ball that is a softly hit floater that has extreme back spin or side spin. When dealing with this ball the player should attack then break down where the ball is going to hit and anticipate a different move. These balls will stay on the ground and either roll softly or shoot to the side. The fielder should give themselves some room between where the ball lands and where they plan to catch it so that they have ample time to react to the ball.

Understanding how the ball is going to play will allow the player to anticipate the hops. When the player knows how the ball will hop they will be in much better position to catch the ball. It’s like a hitter knowing he’s going to get a fastball on the inner half and then getting the fastball on the inner half. This is one of the reasons that major league infielders make so few errors, yes they play on the best fields in the world, but they know how to react to the ground balls.

The best way to practice this is by taking lots and lots of ground balls. Ideally a coach who knows how to use a fungo can hit the fielder all different types of ground balls to give the player as many different looks as possible. I would suggest that infielders should take about 20-30 minutes of ground balls each day. A good way to help the player anticipate the hops is to have them count the number of hops, this forces them to focus on the hops allowing them to anticipate the next hop.

Feel free to leave comments or questions about the blog, I’m always open to talk baseball.

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