The above picture was a thought I shared on twitter some time ago. I have the same thought every time I watch The Sandlot. Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE the movie. It’s one of my favorite movies and I could watch it everyday. What’s not to love? It’s a movie about some kids having … More The Rundown on Rundowns
Fielding a groundball is a controlled, aggressive and graceful dance between the fielder and the ball. This dance needs to have a smooth flow and a sense of personal style to it. This flow and style is applied through rhythm. Dive into infield play enough and you’ll hear the term rhythm being thrown around, but … More Tempo + Pattern= Groundball Rhythm
Self evaluation isn’t always an easy thing to do. Sometimes it requires us to have some difficult conversations with ourselves. We need to not only acknowledge our strengths but we also have to own our weaknesses. There needs to be a fine balance of the good with the bad so we don’t dwell on the … More Reflect, Evaluate, Develop: Infield Defense Log & Journal
I believe a great defensive first baseman can me an infield with average talent good and an infield with good talent great. If you’ve read any of my previous posts about first base play that shouldn’t come as a surprise. The effect they have on infield defense comes in how they prevent the error column … More Pick It!: 1st Base Balls in the Dirt
The 2 step and 4 step patterns are the two most common footwork sequences used during the Gather Phase of the Fielding Process. The Gather Phase is the transition between securing the ball in the glove and the arm action of the throw. These two footwork patterns are how we generate/maintain momentum and direction to … More 2 Step vs. 4 Step Foot Patterns
Over the last few seasons MLB games have averaged right around 3 hours and 5 minutes. One time I read an article, and I forget where or who wrote it, but they kept track of the amount of time the ball was in play during various MLB games. They found that the ball was actually … More Time Between Pitches; Where the Mental Game Lives
No matter the sport. No matter the skill. Everyone has their favorite or go-to drills. The problem with a lot of drills is that most teach the desired skill but lack a progression to refine learning. While introducing the skill the drills and practice reps should be slow and deliberate so that the fielder can … More Ways to Add Competitive Reps to Your Infield Drill Work
If you’ve followed this blog you might know that I like to break the fielding process down into smaller phases for instructional and evaluating purposes. Each phase works in conjunction with the others, but one could be argued as the most influential in turning groundballs into outs. That phase is the approach phase. The approach … More Exploring Groundball Approach
Our overarching goal as a defense is to get 3 outs as fast as we can so that the opposing team doesn’t score runs. To score runs the offense tries to take as many extra bases as they can so to prevent runs from scoring we need to limit the number of bases the offense … More Breaking Down the Tandem Relay
Tag plays at the bag aren’t exactly a sexy aspect of infield play, at least they aren’t unless you’re Javy Baez. Baez’s rise in popularity has shed light on the tag play as a play that can be exciting and impressive but above all else an important skill that well rounded infielders should master. There … More Tag Play Timing
Defend the Diamond 