quote:Originally posted by baseballpapa:
Equal and opposite. You are in a better balance position with the off hand down. The off hand doesn't help catch a ball and can get in the way. The ball the ML player dropped would probably have been dropped hand up or down. It is just more natural to keep it down and opposite the glove hand. It is why ML players do it, not to hot dog.
Get in the way of what?
It does help ensure the ball stays in the glove.
In the WS game, the OF'er was camped under it. He flipped the glove up while leaving the right hand dangling by his side. The ball hit square in the glove and came out. Had the second hand been there, it would not have happened.
"Natural" is often what you are used to doing. Using two hands is as natural as can be for those who do it.
And with runners on, the farther the bare hand is from the glove, the longer it takes to get the throw airborne.
No excuse for not doing the fundamentals. Other than hot dogging.