The Fundamentals Of Baseball Fielding

1. Glove should be on the ground and glove and opposite hand should form a basket to receive the ball. No ball has ever gone through the glove, only underneath it.
2. The player can not just bend from the waist and expect to field a ground ball. Rear end should not be up in the air. If knees are flexed properly, the butt will be down.
3. With runners at first and second, the standard bunt defense calls for the first and third basemen, along with the pitcher, to the charge the ball, while the second baseman covers first. In the “wheel” defense with runners at first and second, the same players charge the ball, but the shortstop - after he “drives” the runner on second back to the bag with an aggressive jab step-then races to cover third. The second baseman covers second. The ball is thrown to third unless the fielder is certain the runner will be safe.
4. With runners on first and third, there are three basic defensive strategies: First, the catcher can try to throw out the runner heading for second base. Second, the shortstop or second baseman can cut off a throw to second in front of the bag and relay it to the catcher to put out a runner trying to steal home. Finally, the catcher can throw to third to attempt to pick off the runner.
5. When the bases are loaded or runners are at first and third with less than two outs, infielders should be placed in a “split” position, with the first and third basemen playing in and the middle infielders at double-play depth.
6. On relays from the outfield to the middle infielder to get a runner going from third to home, the key is to keep the ball off the ground. Make quick, crisp, accurate throws. And infielders should be in a position to start the tandem as quickly as possible.

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