HS SS opinions wanted

My thoughts are that you cannot look for a fielding % number to use as a HS benchmark.  The window is too small and the variables too many.

SS will almost always lead the team in E's.  If he's not, there is a good chance he is not getting after it on the tough plays.   You should expect him to use good footwork and make good throws on routine plays.  You should expect him to communicate properly and know game situation.  You should expect him to have good side-to-side movement, a decent arm and soft hands.  If you are the coach and he does not have these things covered, you should look in the mirror.

I don't even calculate fielding percentage stats as there are too many variables.

1) Every field can play differently. One day we are playing with an infield like a parking lot, the next we might as well be on a beach. 

2) quality of teammates- does he have to cover the 3B's butt all the time? A lot of times the first basemen isn't any good defensively as well. 

3) Range- pretty simple. Balls that my starting SS can get to often are hits if the backup is out there.

4) Whoever has the book is likely a manager or sometimes a player and the majority of them aren't great determining hits and errors even though we teach them it's not a big issue. 

I make mental notes of certain plays and go over them the next day in practice. 

I agree with cabbagedad.  Too many variables (surface, weather, etc...) to come up with a number.   Tools, range, leadership and decision making are fairly easy things to evaluate for a high school SS.  

Over the years, I've seen some incredible & dramatic plays made by high school SS's at various venues.  Once, I heard a guy humming the ESPN Sports Center theme at PG WWBA during a double play.   Typically the next play is a ball hit right to them that they boot.  Give me the non-flashy guy that makes everything look routine....that is my guy!

I have often felt the SS is most likely to lead the team in both errors and chances.  I was just curious if there was a general thought out there.  Obviously there can be a decent swing (say .925 to .750) but IMHO if your starting SS is fielding .565 you probably have the wrong guy there.  For what it's worth I don't coach or have a child playing.  I just love watching HS sports.

Dave

People still look at fielding percentage? 

Apparently, only the dumb ones....

Dave

The quality of the fields and quality of the scorekeepers may be too inconsistent to make any kind of fielding statistics relevant. You can tell a good shortstop by his movement, hands and arm.

Sorry, I saw that your bio said you coached the past 8 yrs so I assumed.  While it seems all who replied agree that fielding % doesn't mean much for HS, .565 is a pretty crazy number.  Possible entry error?  Only a few games played?  Chances not getting logged?  This is just a small part of what we mean with variables.  If kept correctly, this would mean the SS is botching about half his chances.

My son has been a high school shortstop, a D1 college shortstop, and a professional minor league shortstop.  There is a progression at each level.  I am guessing a shortstop who can field in about the .920's is a pretty darn good high school shortstop.  Some of the errors in high school are attributable to poor field conditions versus the higher levels of the game.

And the better SS get to more balls the other ones can not get to. Which leads to more chances which leads to more opportunities for Errors and on the tougher types of plays. You can have a great fielding percentage and not be capable of playing in college. You could have a poor fielding percentage and be very good. College coaches are going to be concerned with what they see when you play. How athletic are you, how good is your foot work, your arm strength, ability to throw from different angles and slots, quickness, your ability to actually play the game. I have never had a college coach ask me what a players fielding percentage was. Heck I couldn't tell you what my SS fielding percentage was. I just knew the guy I had there was the best option I had.

Malibuskier,

There’s not going to be a “general” thought here on your original question because there are so few here who get to see anything like an accurate FPct for many HS players, and I’m sure you can understand that. Because of that, its really next to impossible to answer the question.

I can offer you this much, based on our HS team for for the last 7 seasons. http://www.infosports.com/scor...per/images/def2a.pdf

The 1^st page of course is a combination of all the players at each position. If you go to the next page you’ll see the breakdown of each position. Its pretty easy to see that of the regulars, anything from .870 to .930 is good enough to keep a spot as the starting SS on a very good big school team in NorCal.

As for your thought about .565 probably indicating the wrong player is there, I’d say in order to really know, a lot more information is needed. The reason is, putting a player into a given fielding position is probably much more likely to depend on his bat and his ability to act as the leader on the field than his glove.

Your question was a very good one, but its too bad there’s such a dearth of fielding stats to answer it well.

Thanks for all the reply's.  I'm not trying to make a case for or against anyone, I was just curious for my own opinion(s).  I have always been a big fan of the steady guy at SS and athletic ability would be the tie breaker.  It's just one of those questions that has no real answer.  Much like who was better - now vs. xx years ago.....

Dave

When we travel Internationally, I select 4 shortstops. For 30 years,  have learned only one will command the position for the schedule. The others are moved to 2b, CF.

The ball will find you at Shortstop, "you cannot hide".

We have a new breed of SS who like to "backhand" the ball in front of them. This is showcase and tryout technique to show the arm. It cause errors in the game. We, our pro scouts [coaches] make the correction quickly.

Pat Kelly former NY Yankees told a group of Australians "field the ball with the left ear.

Fielding % are for the agents to negotiate a contract for weak hitting SS.

"Can he make the play" Does he charge the ball? Is he fearless? Does he know the game? The "real" game. Does he know how to win?

Bob