How do you get your infielders to stay down on the ball without coming up too early? Or how do you keep them from trying to play the hop if they think it might hop?
Original Post
Replies sorted oldest to newest
I asked this same question to Eddie Rodriguez,1st base coach for the Royals, at a clinic 2 weeks ago. He said that in most situations that the player is not coming up to early and that his hands are not correct. For whatever reason players at the lower level are being taught 2 things that cause this.
1) Coach's are stressing to players to get there hands out and it is causing player's to field with their finger tips out as opposed to their finger tips into the ground.
2)Players are so worried about funneling the ball that it causes them to pull up early. Eddie said that if the player just leaves his hands out and steps towards the target then their hands will go to the correct spot.
1) Coach's are stressing to players to get there hands out and it is causing player's to field with their finger tips out as opposed to their finger tips into the ground.
2)Players are so worried about funneling the ball that it causes them to pull up early. Eddie said that if the player just leaves his hands out and steps towards the target then their hands will go to the correct spot.
Wow, that is pretty good advise. My son has always fielded the tough grounders and made the spectacular plays, but has let the occasional ball hit right to him get under his glove. I had the same feeling that he was picking up too early, but I will make the suggestions made here.
It seems to me the primary reason players come up allowing a ball to go under their glove is that they "think" the ball is going to come up because it usually does. I watched an Orioles game several years ago and a groundball was hit to SS (not Ripken). The ball bounced 2 times allowing the player to assume the perfect fielding position but on the 3rd bounce the ball came up and drilled him in the forehead but the strangest thing was...he never moved. He was so locked in to expecting the ball to take a normal bounce that he couldn't react to it's unpredictable movement. He had to be helped off the field.
The point is that nobody can predict what a ball will do, come up/stay down/go left/go right, on any given bounce. No ball is perfect and no playing surface is perfect no matter how carefully groomed. And the second a player walks on the playing surface with cleats he creates numerous imperfections that are perfectly sized to alter a ball's direction of movement. And when you add three more players plus runners the surface becomes pretty chopped up.
Expect the unexpected. Don't think...react.
The point is that nobody can predict what a ball will do, come up/stay down/go left/go right, on any given bounce. No ball is perfect and no playing surface is perfect no matter how carefully groomed. And the second a player walks on the playing surface with cleats he creates numerous imperfections that are perfectly sized to alter a ball's direction of movement. And when you add three more players plus runners the surface becomes pretty chopped up.
Expect the unexpected. Don't think...react.
I hate it when they think it is going to bounce, but it doesn't. I just need some way to keep them thinking to stay down, and if it does bounce to let it hit them in the chest and knock it down. Then make the play.
Teach to learn the triangle. Reaching out with the glove palm up and learning to field the baseball out in front. Work from the ground up. Flipping is a term used to describle playes who bring the glove up after the prestance and approach to the baseball and then attempt to get it back down to field the baseball. The baseball should be fielded out in front. Anticipating a bad hop will create poor fielding habits. Get the glove out in front and field the baseball out in front.
Proper fielding mechanics give you the best opportunity to make plays on a routine basis. Bad hops are part of the game. A ball that hops up and hits you in the chest is going to hit you in the body regardless of wether the player stays down on it or not. The problem is when players flip the glove up , anticipate a bad hop , dont reach out and let it get too deep on them. Basically the back of the fingers on the glove should be in the dirt at a slight angle. Having the fingers of the glove straight down is impossible to do and still reach out. So if your fingers are straight down the ball will get deep on you and put you in a very poor fielding posistion.
Proper Pre Stance , Proper Approach , Proper fielding mechanics depending on how the ball is hit , will go a long way to fixing these issues your talking about. Staying down on the baseball should be replaced by - Reach out.
Proper fielding mechanics give you the best opportunity to make plays on a routine basis. Bad hops are part of the game. A ball that hops up and hits you in the chest is going to hit you in the body regardless of wether the player stays down on it or not. The problem is when players flip the glove up , anticipate a bad hop , dont reach out and let it get too deep on them. Basically the back of the fingers on the glove should be in the dirt at a slight angle. Having the fingers of the glove straight down is impossible to do and still reach out. So if your fingers are straight down the ball will get deep on you and put you in a very poor fielding posistion.
Proper Pre Stance , Proper Approach , Proper fielding mechanics depending on how the ball is hit , will go a long way to fixing these issues your talking about. Staying down on the baseball should be replaced by - Reach out.
Coach.
I sent you a PM.
I sent you a PM.
Great stuff, Coach May...seen a few balls just roll though the legs... 
The easiest balls to field are right before the ball hits the ground (long hop)and right after the ball hits the ground (short hop).
Of course you can't always get those 2 hops. If the ball is smoked at you and you have good technique it may hit you; on balls hit medium or slowly you've got plenty of time to judge the play and there is no excuse for the ball getting below your glove.
Of course you can't always get those 2 hops. If the ball is smoked at you and you have good technique it may hit you; on balls hit medium or slowly you've got plenty of time to judge the play and there is no excuse for the ball getting below your glove.
2 technique things too:
1. get outside the ball by making a banana route or v-cut (on balls that are not just smoked right at you)
2. field the ball under your left eye. (some say left ear)
1. get outside the ball by making a banana route or v-cut (on balls that are not just smoked right at you)
2. field the ball under your left eye. (some say left ear)
Trojan Skipper you beat me to what I wanted to put with your two posts. Most younger fielders have no idea that there are four parts of the groundball - short hop, coming down, in between hop and the worm burner. Best way to judge if it's one of the first three is to get a good "V-Cut" and see the ball from the side.
Hardest ball to catch is one right at you - that includes the outfield. Hot shots not much you can do except let your muscle memory / body control take over and hope for the best. But a routine / typical groundball get a good "V-Cut" and come at it from the slight side and you can see where the ball is so you end up staying down on the ball.
Hardest ball to catch is one right at you - that includes the outfield. Hot shots not much you can do except let your muscle memory / body control take over and hope for the best. But a routine / typical groundball get a good "V-Cut" and come at it from the slight side and you can see where the ball is so you end up staying down on the ball.