Does anyone have any good footwork drills for 1st basemen? I'm looking for things such as foot positioning on the bag, stretches, short hops, etc. Thanks in advance for any and all replies!
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In receiving, a 1B should start with his heels touching the bag. As the ball comes to you, shuffle your feet and step to the bal with the foot of your glove hand.
As for drills...bag hops are good. Start off with your heels touching the bag. Hop back and forth 10 times. Do the same for left and right. As you get better, incorporate a thrown ball from 15-20 feet as you are completing rep #10.
As for picks...be aggressive. Practice shirt hops from 10-15 feet. Committ to the pick and keep soft hands. Go from the ground to up. Keep the fingers on the ground and move the glove up. A ball should never get under you. One trick for 1B's...right after the ball hits your glove, rotate it a quarter turn to keep the ball in your glove.
As for drills...bag hops are good. Start off with your heels touching the bag. Hop back and forth 10 times. Do the same for left and right. As you get better, incorporate a thrown ball from 15-20 feet as you are completing rep #10.
As for picks...be aggressive. Practice shirt hops from 10-15 feet. Committ to the pick and keep soft hands. Go from the ground to up. Keep the fingers on the ground and move the glove up. A ball should never get under you. One trick for 1B's...right after the ball hits your glove, rotate it a quarter turn to keep the ball in your glove.
This topic is actually very complex. Redbird is correct both heels on the bag and then adjust to throw. Because it is so complex, I can't do it in a small time. However, drills, we start w/1st baseman doing dance steps. Kind of like Striker (The Duke) in Sands of Iwo Jima. I do the steps and they have to learn them. Then out to 8 feet with fungo and soft shots. The harder then move to about 12 feet and then on and on. We eventually get to the machine gun where we rapid fire and then adjust.
"There comes a time when you have to stop dreaming of the man you want to be and start being the man you have become." Bruce Springsteen
"There comes a time when you have to stop dreaming of the man you want to be and start being the man you have become." Bruce Springsteen
Do you always step to the ball with the foot of your glove hand? For example, with a right hander at first, and a wide throw towards the outfield side of the bag, would it be better to step with the foot of the throwing hand? My son (9 YO) has decided he wants to try 1B this year and I want to teach him proper mechanics.
Pete,
That is the way I teach it (and have seen numerous college coaches teach it the same way). With your glovehand foot toward the ball, you get for more reach and take better angles to the ball.
Besides, all balls thrown toward the OF side of the bag should tail back a little toward the bag.
That is the way I teach it (and have seen numerous college coaches teach it the same way). With your glovehand foot toward the ball, you get for more reach and take better angles to the ball.
Besides, all balls thrown toward the OF side of the bag should tail back a little toward the bag.
Boomer starts with both heels close to the bag but usually just his left foot actually touching the bag (he is LH) and then he stretches to the ball.
A good stretch is often the difference between an out and the runner being safe. You can see that the stretch in this clip is at least equal to one full stride of the runner.
One other thing that I trained him to do is to "present" the ball to the umpire as he does here (assuming there are no other runners on base). I don't know if it makes a difference or not but he seems to get most of the bang/bang plays called his way. Does anyone have an opinion on that?
A good stretch is often the difference between an out and the runner being safe. You can see that the stretch in this clip is at least equal to one full stride of the runner.
One other thing that I trained him to do is to "present" the ball to the umpire as he does here (assuming there are no other runners on base). I don't know if it makes a difference or not but he seems to get most of the bang/bang plays called his way. Does anyone have an opinion on that?
Ross,
Rather than present it, I like the 1B to pop off the bag like he KNOWS he got him. Many umpires will notice the confident body language and bang him. Just my preference.
Rather than present it, I like the 1B to pop off the bag like he KNOWS he got him. Many umpires will notice the confident body language and bang him. Just my preference.
