Baserunning Is Still Underrated In Baseball

 On April 13, 2019 Angels’ Justin Bour got a hit on a liner down the right field line. He rounded first with a wide turn but went back and the throw from right fielder Ben Zobrist hit off of Bour’s foot. Bour got up and tried for second. Catcher Wilson Contreras hustled down the ball and threw a perfect strike to second. Bour thought he was out, got up and began going back to the Angels dugout and didn’t realize the umpire called him safe. Javier Baez chased him down and tagged him out 

  In game 4 of the 2013 World Series, the St.Louis Cardinals leading the Boston Red Sox two games to one were losing the game 4-2. After one out in the bottom of the 9th, Allen Craig hit a single and Kolten Wong was put in to pinch-run. The next batter popped out. Carlos Beltran who was the tying run was up next with two out and Wong still on first. Beltran worked the count to 1-1 when pitcher Koji Uehara picked Wong off for the 3rd out of the inning and final out of the game. The Cardinals never won another game and the Red Sox won the Series.

  It was in 2001 in game 3 of the American League Division Series. In the bottom of the 7th, A’s outfielder Terrance Long hit a ball down the right field line. Yankee Shane Spencer fielded the ball but overthrew the cutoff men. Derek Jeter using some of kind 6th sense, went out of position and scooped up the overthrow. Jeremy Giambi was running the bases and tried to score. He was thrown out by Jeter and did not score. The Yankees ended up winning 1-0 and ended up winning that series after being down 

2-0.

                                    

  Baserunning is the one skill that so underrated in baseball it is not even funny. I learned early in my coaching career that if you practice base running at every practice with some meaningful drills and go over some strategies, you can get extra runs in every game. Finally I was convinced to try and focus more on base running after listening to a famous NFL football coach. This coach took over a team that lacked talent and he concluded that to be anywhere near to being competitive he would have to practice an aspect of football that other coaches don’t necessarily neglect but don’t spend as much time as they should. The part of the game he was talking about was special teams. At every practice instead of dividing the time into thirds-offense, defense, special teams he spent half the practice working on special teams. This paid off as his team did a complete turn around from the year before and was quite competitive throughout the season. I heard this coach talk about it and came to the conclusion that I could do the same thing with base running. I buried myself in videos, books and spoke to as many coaches I could. I then implemented from the information I gathered what drills and strategies to focus on and at every practice we worked on base running fundamentals up to some advanced strategies. Please keep in mind that I didn’t just come up with the magic bullet. It took a time to establish what would work based on the past situations I was involved in.

  At every practice we spent more time on base running than any team in my county. This I know to be a fact. We worked on the strategies always rotating players on the base paths. One thing I made sure I got across is that everyone on our team slides at every base (except first base) even if we know an out is inevitable. We want the defense to know that we slide and slide hard but not dirty. This can cause errors and it has with fielders covering a base knowing that the baserunner is coming in hard. We worked on how to run the bases and I convinced my young players why baseball is called “a game of inches.” 

                                                           

                                   Baserunning & Bunting Drills

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  We did drills every practice on how to approach every base and make the turn always anticipating taking the extra base. When we would steal bases, my team would always slide to the back of the base furthest from home plate. Tagging up drills were repeated over and over. I convinced them when tagging up from 3rd base it is counter productive to take a lead waiting to see if the fielder catches the baseball. Years ago I witnessed one of our teams in a close playoff game lose by one run because for some reason on a long fly to left field, the tying runner at 3rd took a 10 foot lead. When the fielder caught the baseball he went back to tag up and was thrown out at home plate and our team lost by one run. We worked on stealing and drawing throws and even some borderline ethical plays that coaches may frown upon, but that worked. 

  Within the first three years of becoming the baserunning team in our county, we won two championships. One year when I went back and looked in my scorebook, I counted that we were thrown out at home plate 22 times and this was in a 30 game season.

  I began to combine the base running strategies with bunting strategies and had success. So much so that other teams began copying us and even got better defending our strategies. I won’t take credit but I really think this whole base running thing helped improve our league overall.

  When you get into base running and the strategies make sure you know your personnel. And remember this, your best baserunner is not necessary your fastest baserunner. When you have a baserunner you see is quite instinctive, do not over coach that player. Give him the green light and he will do the rest. And make sure you repeat over and over to your players that “we are not umpires.” The opening Justin Bour example is proof why. 

  One residual benefit I see and I have written about this before is that when you practice and focus on baserunning your players tend to pay attention more when they are on the bases. I have no real proof other than what I have witnessed over 30 years of coaching. Do not neglect other aspects of baseball but make sure you practice baserunning. Your team will be better for it and you will become a better coach.

Marty Schupak has coached youth sports for 30 years. He has written 12 books and produced 25 sports instructional videos. His is the founder of T-Ball America. 

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Youth Baseball Game Preparation & Organization

 Youth baseball is far from Major League or NFL games but there are certain game preparation and organizational matters that managers or parents can do to make sure the game runs smoothly for their own team. When I know I have a baseball game that night I want to make sure as much administrative things are taken care of before we meet at the field. I usually have my starting team, including the batting order and the pitcher, picked by around lunch time if we have a 5:15pm start time for our game. Modern technology has really helped communicating with the team as far as players missing practices or games. I made it a point at the “Parent’s Meeting” at the beginning of the season to let me know if their son is sick or will not attend the game for another reason. This works well, though there is always the last minute “no show” that cannot be helped. I also make sure I know what pitchers are eligible to pitch from my team and from the opposing team. This information is found on the league website. I actually like to assign an assistant coach to keep track of and submit all our pitching stats. We usually meet at our league batting cage, which is out past the left field fence. I set up four or five stations. I usually have my team arrive at the field anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour before the game. Ideally this is the time to do a short set of calisthenics, either by group or individually as the players show up. I have two batting tees, a soft toss station and another station that has one of those bat sticks with the rubber end that one player holds and another hits. I will throw batting practice in the cage, but the key is to make sure there is another assistant coach or parent with you. A lot of players are swinging bats, plus having an adult around will help curb the fooling around. I work this the same way I work practice. The first player arriving is number one and he bats first in the cage. I leave it up to whoever is pitching as to how much loosening up and warm up pitches he needs. I try to squeeze the pitcher and the catcher in to get hitting repetitions before beginning their warm up routine. Depending on who is the pitcher, I may or may not send an assistant coach with him to watch him warm up.

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  When we are through with hitting at the cage, we go down to the field into the appropriate dugout. We will do a short round of calisthenics as a team. Then I have each player pair up and do some long toss in the outfield. My assistant coach and I will then go over the starting lineup that I have already written out. As long as everyone who I put in the starting lineup is present, we then write it into the scorebook. If someone is not there and we were not notified, I will usually call, depending on who the player and parents are. I know the responsible ones and the irresponsible ones. As we get closer to game time, we will take infield practice, and then I will gather the team together in the outfield, usually in the shade. If the umpires arrived, I take notice and make sure either myself or another coach is available to go over the ground rules. I always ask the umpire what his interpretation of the rule on a play at home plate is and how he interprets the catcher with and without the baseball. I always do this because if we have a twenty game season with twenty different home plate umpires, I can get twenty different interpretations. I also always ask the umpire what is the procedure to appeal an umpire’s call. This is another rule that I get mixed signals on, depending who is the umpire. Our league has had issues about the type of bats kids use. Every week the list of forbidden bats change. I try to have one parent be my “bat expert” and keep track of which bats are accepted on the league website. He will also look at all the bats on the bat rack before the game. This is important because a lot of players play in different travel leagues with different bat rules and it is easy to break this rule accidentally because a player keeps all his bats in his bat bag.

  I am pretty strict about where the team members can be situated on the bench. I have a rule that the player at the end of the bench or near the bat rack can only be the player on deck. This helps to make sure the on deck hitter is ready to hit. It also helps me to know when I'm coaching third base which player is up next based on who is sitting closest to the bat rack.

  With substitutions, I do it a very specific way. I will tell the coach or parent who is doing the scorebook what the substitutions are in the fourth inning. It is up to this coach, and this coach only, to let the players know who is going in and who is coming out. After he lets the players know, then it is up to the coach to go over to the opposing team and tell them what these substitutions are. In the past, my team has gotten in trouble for not letting the opposing team know what the substitutions are. So, I am trying to delegate and make the assistant coaches responsible. This works, and works well. Players will learn not to ask you, the head coach, “When am I going in?”

  I also try to pay attention to some of my own nuances. For instance, I might go out alone to the infield and then outfield to roll a ball on the ground, just to see if the infield and outfield is slow or quick. We want to make the team aware if the outfield is slow because of rain or if the grass hasn’t been cut, so that they know whether they have to charge the ball quicker in the game.

  Coaches should try to prepare as best they can so everything will run smooth during the game. It is also important not to get too carried away. Just as I think it is better to under coach youth players than over coach them, you don’t have to over prepare. Have some fun, just like you would want for your kids!

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Rundowns, A Defensive Gift If Coached Correctly!

  I look at rundowns in youth baseball differently from most other youth coaches. Too many times I have seen in games that I’m involved in, or when opposing coaches or games I'm observing, instruct their team on a rundown that if they cannot get the out right away, then run the baserunner back to the base where he came from. This is the easy way out. I teach my team that rundowns are a gift from the baseball gods to get a relatively easy out. Welcome rundowns, and only be satisfied when you produce an out. The techniques I see taught in rundowns are not the way I like to teach my players, which may be why many coaches are just happy with the status quo, as long as the baserunner did not advance a base. It took me few years to become pro-active in rundowns and it is one of those situations that I got so frustrated with myself and other coaches I included it in my book, 44 Baseball Mistakes & Corrections.

  There are a few reasons why rundowns are not successful in youth baseball. First off when presented with a rundown a lot of teams are seeing it for the first time because they do not practice it.  This is a game situation that has to be practiced with players rotating fielding positions, and as baserunners. Teams also think that because it is a rundown they have to begin throwing the ball to each other right away. Still another reason many teams are not successful defending rundowns is that they throw the ball too many times. Because the players don’t practice rundowns, when they are involved in one it may be their first experience. Players are yelling for the ball, coaches are yelling out instructions, and even parents in the stands are playing “coach” and doing their part to confuse the situation.

  Let me break down my philosophy when it comes to rundowns. A key phrase I began to use a number of years ago is “sprint mode.” I tell my players this, and even demonstrate how when a baserunner is running full tilt, it is very hard for him to stop short and change directions. I teach my players that we want to get the baserunner in a sprint mode. Youth players seem to get into the habit of too many unnecessary throws, especially when the baserunner is dilly-dallying sideways. Too many throws allows the baserunner to stop and easily change directions. The most basic philosophy I tell my players is the ideal number of throws in a rundown is none. The perfect situation is if one of the fielders gets the baserunner into this sprint mode and is able to run him down and tag him for the out. This will happen sometimes, depending on the personnel. A good point here to remember is that your fielders, even though they are 10-12 years-old, know what they are going to do next. The baserunner has to guess.The second best number of throws besides none is only one.

                         

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  If your team practices rundowns, and understands getting the baserunner in a sprint mode, most of the outs will come from rundowns with one throw. And when you think about it, and picture the situation, you can understand why. It is extremely hard, and most times impossible, for the baserunner in a sprint mode to stop and change directions successfully. Remember to convey to your players that it is never a sure out unless they are able to hold onto the baseball. I’ve seen too many times when a team defends a rundown perfectly only to have the fielder tag the runner and the ball come loose because of the momentum the runner creates. Teach your players to squeeze the baseball. The pocket is a better place than the webbing when tagging.A drill I use is to use two base paths, between first and second and third and home. Have a player in the middle of two fielders with a ball, and on the “go”command, the fielders try to get the out. This is also excellent practice for the baserunners when they are in a rundown during a game. You can set up a competition, giving the baserunner two points for getting to the base and the fielders getting one point for getting the out. Using two base paths allows you to use six players at a time. Make sure you rotate players and positions. Kids love competition and when you set up a quality drill they will learn from and combine it with fair competition, you have hit a home run.

  Besides this drill, practice rundowns and make sure you teach the other players to back up the throws. It makes little sense when during a rundown your outfielders stay out there far from the infield. I usually have my outfielders come closer to the infield just in case a throw is errant. Whenever players are backing up, if they are too close to the action, the ball can, and will, go past them. When practicing rundowns with my team I like to tell a player to make an errant throw on purpose, just to see how the fielders handle the situation.

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Marty Schupak has coached youth sports for 30 years. He has written 12 books and produced 26 sports instructional videos. His is the founder of T-Ball America.  www.TBallAmerica.com

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Tips For Catchers In Youth Baseball

 I’m not sure why, but I have always had a huge affinity toward catchers in youth baseball. A good catcher is like having a tenth man in the field. And if you get one of those rare 11 or 12 year-old catchers who is extremely vocal and knows the game well, then you also have an extra coach on the field. For some reason I have found that certain players will just gravitate toward being the catcher. There are some things that I see come up over and over again that youth coaches should be aware of with the catching position. The first thing is the equipment. It must fit well enough so the catcher can be nimble when he has to move, but it also must protect the player’s body to prevent injury. I encourage catchers to have their own equipment if they can afford it just because you don’t want to have to adjust it every time you need to put it on another catcher. With the equipment, I’m including the glove also. I’ve gone over this before. Leagues have to realize that new catcher’s gloves are not broken in for about a year. Leagues should always be working one year ahead so the team uses an older, broken in glove during the game. The new glove that each team gets each year should be used in practices and for warming up the pitcher. This glove will then become the game glove the following year and the newly bought glove is the practice glove, and so on. Ideally, leagues should buy broken in catchers gloves every year.

 

                                    Championship Baseball Drills

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 With the equipment, coaches have to teach their catchers that for the most part they are almost 100% protected when they are facing the pitcher squarely with their shoulders. In youth baseball, what happens a lot is that many young catchers will flinch when the pitched ball hits the dirt short of home plate. This is a natural reaction that is hard for young players to overcome. Once the catcher flinches or turns his body, he is more apt to get injured because his equipment does not cover or protect the sides of the catcher’s body. In a drill I call, “Overcoming Fear”, the catcher will get in his position. The coach will stand in front of him and throw plastic balls at him on a bounce and or on a fly. The catcher must hold his position and not flinch or turn his body. We are conditioning the catcher to keep his body square and not to turn. Getting used to feeling a ball make contact with the equipment on his body is reassuring the catcher that the protection he has is generally very safe. Coaches can move from plastic balls to tennis balls to soft covered hard balls. The older player can do the same drill and even have the coach throw regular hard balls at him from a short distance. Remember, we are trying to overcome any fear of the ball and keep the catcher from turning, thereby exposing his body to injury.

  The set up behind the batter is something the catcher must learn, and learn quickly. Many catchers in youth baseball set up either too far or too close from home plate. Setting up too close, or reaching for the ball with their glove, can cause catcher’s interference, which will award the batter first base. The best way for the catcher to set up an appropriate distance is to work with the batter’s shoulder or elbow once he is in the batter’s box ready to hit. The catcher should actually reach out with his glove toward the shoulder or elbow of the batter and set up at that distance, or a foot or two further back. Coaches want to make sure the catcher is not too far back for a number of reasons. First, he will be at a longer distance from the pitcher. Second, this can impede the umpire from calling a strike that he might call a ball because he is too far to judge the ball as it crosses home plate. Remember, the umpire will set up behind the catcher.

                                  Drills & Techniques For Catchers

                                             

The best drills used by catchers at all levels!

  Another issue for catchers on the youth level is guarding against the steal. Many times with a runner on base an aggressive coach will have his players take an exaggerated lead after the pitch. There are certain things the catcher should or should not do. When the baserunner on first is taking an extra big lead after the pitch, and the catcher throws the ball behind the runner to first, this gives the baserunner a green light to go to second. Coaches on the youth level need to practice and school their catcher as well as their whole team, in almost all baserunning situations. The correct way to defend this when the baserunner at first takes an aggressive lead is for the catcher to run right at the baserunner. Make sure the catcher is actually running at an angle a little in front of the baserunner. While running at the baserunner, if the runner commits to the next base, the catcher should then plant his foot and throw it to the base he is running towards. It doesn't matter which base the runner is leading too much on; the catcher needs to run at him. When there is a baserunner, the catcher should never throw from his knees or throw a rainbow-type throw back to the pitcher. It must be a hard throw back that is easily catchable for the pitcher.

  One of the toughest things to teach the catcher is how to block and/or retrieve the throw when there is a play at home plate. The reason this is tough is because if I have a twenty game season, I can get twenty different interpretations on how a catcher can block the plate. I’ve heard he cannot be in the base path without the ball. I’ve also heard he has to always leave a partial part of home plate open so the baserunner has a chance to tag it. When I go over the ground rules for every game, I always ask the umpire about the play at the plate. If I feel the catcher is mature enough to understand about any adjustments he has to make, I let him know. Otherwise I don’t say anything to him so he doesn’t have something else to think about. I just roll the dice.There are tons of other things that come with catchers each and every year that need to be taught. Things like pop-ups and taking the mask off, or blocking and framing are all important. Youth coaches who take a big interest in their catchers, like I do, should spend extra time with them before feeding them too much information too fast.

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Making The Outfield Interesting For Youth Baseball

 "Right field, it's easy, you know. You can be awkward and you can be slow. That's why I'm here in right field. Just watching the dandelions grow."   

                -Right Field By Peter, Paul & Mary

 

  How true is it that we coaches almost always put our weakest players in the outfield during the season? We may have a good player in center field but left and right field are kind of “get the innings in” positions for part of the team. And for the players, it can get kind of boring. The three biggest threats to baseball are: soccer, lacrosse and boredom in the outfield. Coaches may not be able to make right field as popular as shortstop, but there are certain things we can do to help keep players' heads who reside beyond the infield dirt into the game.

  Backing up is huge, and if explained correctly to all the team members, they will realize that the outfield can prevent one, two, or more extra bases if the outfield backs up correctly. One of the first things I teach my right fielder is if the batter squares into the bunting position, he should immediately get into a position to back-up the throw to the first baseman to field a possible errant throw. Say the batter is a righty and squares to bunt, the pitcher goes into his wind-up, the right fielder will immediately sprints toward the right field foul line. He then sprints forward to first base with his head up. He must see who will be fielding the bunt and then adjust the angle of his back up. The correct angle to back-up is extremely important and I always have one practice before the season starts just on the best angles to back-up the different situations and locations on the field. In this case, if the pitcher fields the bunt, the back-up angle by the right fielder will depend on whether the third baseman or catcher fields the bunt. In youth baseball, I cannot express how important it is that the back-ups don’t position themselves too close to the target fielder receiving the baseball. I’ve seen it time and again that players backing up are too close. The ball will go over the head of the target fielder as well as the back-up. Many times if the back-up is too close, he is screened out by the infielder and loses track of the baseball.

                            

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  Just as the right fielder backs up on a bunt with no one on base, I have my left fielder back-up the third baseman if a player is on second and tries to steal third base. Like the previous situation, the left fielder must run to the foul line and come in, but not too close. The importance of running to the foul line and not at an angle is to get the backup’s shoulders squared as soon as possible toward home plate so he can follow the flight of the baseball. This back-up has saved my team runs and games over the years. Coaches have to practice this and reinforce it in games yelling out and reminding the left fielder, “Tim, if the baserunner tries to steal third base, you have to back up up the throw. Remember not to come in too close.”

  The center fielder must be involved backing up when a player tries to steal second base. Like the two previous examples, it is even more important here that he does not come in too close. With the shortstop covering the base and the second baseman backing him up, now there are two possibilities of being screened out of the play. lay. The center fielder has to really give enough space so he is able to follow and react to the baseball.

  When there is a force out at second, my left and right fielder must back up according to who throws the baseball. If there is a player on first base and there is a grounder to the shortstop with the second baseman covering the base, the right fielder must move in quickly and position himself at the correct angle in case there is an over throw. If the ground ball is to the second baseman and the shortstop covers the bag, the left fielder now must back up the throw from the second baseman. As you can see, I am not only involving my outfielders in these back up situations, but I am keeping them more involved mentally.

                      

                                                            Championship Baseball Drills

                            Quality practices will yield quality players and teams!  

 

Another situation that occurs is when there is a baserunner on second base and the batter gets into the bunting position, but it is only a fake. A strategy used by coaches when the third baseman rushes in to cover the bunt and if the shortstop doesn’t rotate (or “wheel” over) is to have the baserunner on second steal third easily with nobody covering the bag. The defensive coach can keep his third baseman at the base and instruct his pitcher to field the bunts, or he can put on the “wheel”, having his shortstop cover third in order to prevent the stolen base. The other option is to have the left fielder sprint up when he sees the batter square and cover third base. This is another situation involving the outfielder more.

  On rundowns, all the outfielders must move in closer in case of an overthrow. And in some rundown situations, the baseball hits the baserunner’s helmet and goes into a crazy direction. Outfielders who are closer rather than further from the action can help in this situation.

  With these situations mentioned, it is extremely important to convince youth players that when they are backing up in the outfield, just stopping the baseball and not necessarily catching can be just as effective. Keep reminding your fielders of this, telling them they must always try to keep the baseball in front of them. Like everything else in coaching, it is much better to practice it than just reminding players in the field what to do if the situation comes up. Coaches must also evaluate their talent level and decide how much and how quickly to teach all the back up situations necessary for the outfielders. Remember, it is always better to under coach rather than over coach. The outfield in youth baseball can be boring, but coaches can instill the importance of playing any of the outfield positions and practice getting them more involved in as many plays as possible.

      

Hit Like A Champ!        Field Like A Champ       

 

          Check our new YouTube Channel: Schupak Sports

       Over 5,000 free sports instructional video clips!

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                      Change The Way You Coach Sports!

 

  If you like this article, you may also like:

Four Things Coaches Should Practice

Practicing When No Field Is Available  

Bunt Young, Bunt Often!