Need help getting rid of the ball (quick hands)

a lot of ground balls and practicing it.. let it develope over time.. All of my coaches are mad at me for the way I get the ball out of my glove. Ill get the ball and pop it into my hand my coach thinks its a bad way to do it but ive mastered it and ive never dropped the ball in the game due to my transfer. It has me not having to find the ball and it gives me that fresh setup in with the laces, since i play 3rd base i dont always have to throw it 4 seam and everytime i have a fresh setup i throw the ball faster

It takes thousands of repetitions.

practice getting your grip by throwing up the ball, catching it, and pulling it out with the proper grip

practice your DP turns by catching the ball in the palm of your glove and not shutting the glove. when you pull it out of your glove, make sure your path is directly to throwing position.

You have to learn to make the transfer from glove to ball as your throwing motion is going forward. Not necessarily the arm although if you want to be quickest possible you'll learn to do this. But, the body has to be throwing before the transfer.

Underground,

From your post, I'm assuming you're a middle infielder? Part of the process of the turn at second(like Vina) is proper footwork along with what you are asking about, a quick transfer.

Since you are looking for drills to help you with those "quick hands", I'll offer you one that I use with my players that has been very effective.

It must be done how Redbird describes, catching the ball in the palm and with an open glove(don't close it on the ball, just stop it). It's also easier to do with a smaller glove(say an 11 1/4" or 11 1/2" size) versus a large deep-pocket glove like an outfielders.

I call my drill "fingers up" and if I am teaching beginners, it is a three-step process.

First some rules. Must be in a balanced, athletic stance with feet approx. shoulder width apart. The fingers must point upwards(elbows pointing down) and both hands "out front" away from the body. The natural way for most people to catch a ball is with the elbows pointed out sideways(approx. a 45 degree angle), but with the fingers up/elbows down, I think with some practice, you will find that the transfer from the glove hand to throwing hand will be quicker and easier.

I start beginners out with no glove, just bare hands. After getting them in the described position, I will softly toss a ball to their glove hand and tell them not to catch it, but to just stop it and let it fall to the ground(don't close your fingers around it to catch it). This will demonstrate how the ball should be stopped(not caught) and where it should be done, in the palm.

Next, with their throwing hand beside their glove hand and still following the "rules", I will toss it to them again, but this time they must transfer it to their throwing hand and "show me the ball" as quickly as possible(don't let the glove hand waver from the fingers up position and don't close the fingers or begin cradling the ball near the body: keep the hands out front).

Once they have mastered that(which doesn't usually take too long), I move them on to using a flat glove-shaped training device(like the foam Soft-Hands trainer or have even used a thin piece of plywood shaped like a glove that can be strapped to the glove hand). There's no way they can close their fingers on the ball now and it forces then to learn to "stop the ball and transfer" without cheating in any way(still always fingers up and hands away).

After many repetitions, the player will eventually get the hang of this and can perform this skill faster and faster. Also, as they progress, make the throws from a little further away and with a little more on it.

Once they start using the glove for this drill, it will be necessary to constantly emphasize what has been learned(proper stance, fingers up, hands away, use the palm and not the web, don't close the glove), because they will want to revert back to their old ways.

As Redbird also stated, it will take many repetitions to effectively master this basic skill, but once it has, then it's on to the footwork phase(equally as important).

I know this was pretty long, but I hope it made sense. Good Luck!!!

To get the ball out quickly-

Take a page from catching-

Start your footwork before you're ready to throw.

BaseballCoach and Redbird are dead on. I might add that at a recent coach's clinic, the presenter talked about having a "flat glove" to aid in transfer. It is just saying catch the ball in the palm and not in the web in a different way. Drill - OK, so everyone is going to think I'm dumb on this one. Take two balls one a racketball and the other a similar blue colored ball but not a raquetball. Use your coffee table at home with Mom's permission of course. Have the racquetball bounced off of the table. Have the other ball tossed, everytime you catch these balls, catch the ball with the glove hand and toss back to the feeder in the chest. It must be done at a fast pace. It helps you have to adjust because one ball is bounced and one ball is tossed and it makes you have to work on keeping your throwing hand next to your glove hand. I hope I typed this so you understand.

Middle indfielders should be working on it everyday when they play catch. I have my guys finish with quick toss everytime they are wrapping up when they play catch. It allows them to work on recieving the ball and releasing it quickly. They are close and there is no pressure of making a good throw. They are close and are able to work on the simply mechanics. Then during infield practice they can get the distance part down.

Thanks for the advice but I forgot to mention I'm an outfielder. I was curious thought as to how Vina developed his quickness. But OF's still need to be fairly quick when catching a grounder or fly and gunning someone tagging up or trying to score. It's especially hard for me cause OF gloves have a deeper pocket. Not to mention that not getting a good grip will result in a wild throw, and sometimes it take me a split second too long to get a good grip and that could give the runner an extra step or 2.

BaseballCoach really nailed this one. If you really want to get softer and quicker hands the drills he mentioned will definately help. The most important drill we have our middle infielders work on from the first day of tryouts is to work on looking the ball into the palm part of the glove on the transfer. This will cut down on the time that it takes in the transfer. We have the second basemen and shortstops warm up together everyday before practice and work on this. It takes ALOT of practice to master this. It won't happen over night.

Footwork is also very important in getting rid of the ball, and for safety reasons too. We teach our players to move through the bag or across it, and not to stand on the bag and hop. In fact, in one game just this week two players from a team we were playing got wiped out trying to turn two against us. A good team will be schooled into going hard INTO the bag. So your fottwork is important to get out of the baseline when making your transfer and throw.

Just remember, this is something that takes time, practice, and a lot of patience, but in the end it will all pay off.

I hope this helps you down the raod!

hey BobStaMan u play for Warren County High school in TN??? cuz if you do then we played you before the season started your team is pretty good my Coach went to Warren County i didnt get to play that game :/ did u start that game?