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Defensive Fine Points
by Dave
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
There are a number of very boring, mundane tasks your fielders need to be well schooled in to build a better team. All the top teams take care of this business routinely. Poor teams generally appear to be disorganized or tired when it comes to the finer points of the defensive game. If you work your players hard and never accept lazy, heads down play, you can save your team runs and possibly pull out a few games you might not otherwise win. These important but simple concepts involve backing up bases well and always hitting cutoffs appropriately.
Backing up the basesI always see this in college, sometimes in high school, but rarely in youth games. What I'm talking about is aggressive backing up of plays. When girls are very young and playing recreational softball, most often you hear parents and coaches gently telling girls they should back up plays long after the actual play is over. That's all fine and good when girls are still learning to throw a ball a reasonable distance or accomplish the other fundamentals of the game. But once they are playing competitive ball, it's high time to establish in-game discipline and get them to see they have responsibilities on just about every play.
Often what distinguishes well coached teams are the little hustle plays made by the defense. Every team makes errors. No team makes a perfect throw on every play. Hard hit balls sometimes slip through infielders' legs. Sometimes the ball just gets away. But this seldom hurts good teams because they always seem to have a player in position to make a recovery.
CatcherThe first place I want to start discussing backups is with the catcher. With nobody on, or a runner on first, and an infield grounder, the catcher must always back up first base by running down the line. Obviously the right fielder must also back up the throw to first but there is no way for her to get there if the ball bounces to the homeplate side of first. This is clearly the catchers responsibility. To go a bit further, when balls are hit through the infield and there are plays at first (say chasing a girl back after a hit) or at second, the catcher should be in position to back up over-throws or balls which get past another fielder backing up the base. Obviously her first responsibility is to guard the plate but if there is no risk of a runner coming home, she needs to be otherwise employed at all times.
PitcherOften the pitcher in youth and even high school games sees her responsibility ending with the release of a pitch. That is a bad and lazy habit which should be broken as early as possible in a girl's career. On fly balls with a runner possibly tagging from second, the pitcher must be in position to backup the throw to third. Similarly with a fast runner on first and a base hit to right or center, she should be in position to backup third. Also when there is nothing going on at third but there are likely to be plays at other bases, she should position herself wherever she sees an open space in the field where an errant play can allow a runner to move up. Say there's nobody on and a batter lines a single to right, there exists the possibility the rightfielder will try to make a play on the batter heading to first or even try to throw behind her if she rounds the bag. The catcher should be coming down the baseline behind the runner and the pitcher should put herself into a good position in case the ball bounces off the first baseman or runner and back towards the infield. Finally, on plays at home, assuming you've got a backstop more than five or ten feet behind the plate, the pitcher must be in position to back up the play and prevent the ball from rolling away, allowing other runners to advance. If the backstop is in tight, the best place for her to position herself is going to be just up the third baseline since likely the hustling first baseman will be backing up the play at the plate on the first base side.
First BaseThe first baseman has far more responsibilities than merely catching a throw and stepping on first. Obviously she's a key player on bunts but on other plays, she is often free enough to make a difference. Say a girl lines a hit into one of the alleys, reaches first and rounds toward second. As soon as she sees the runner breaking for second, she must position herself in line with the outfielder making a throw behind second base. If the hit is into the right center alley, she'll likely be on the first base side of second in case the throw is off towards first. Presumably in this situation the second baseman is out getting the cutoff and the shortstop is covering the bag. If the outfielder pulls the ball towards the first base side of the bag, the first baseman can pick it up and nail the runner at third. If the ball is hit in the left center alley, the first baseman can easily position herself to back up the cutoff throw to the short stop. A lazy first baseman will hang around near the bag when there is no runner nearby.
Remainder of the infieldThe middle infielders always have something going on but that doesn't mean you shouldn't evaluate what they are doing on a given play. I watched a high school game recently where I noticed that with a runner on first, the return throw from catcher to pitcher after each pitch was reluctantly backed up by a short stop who shuffled in from her position and then shuffled back. She was not in position to back up the pitcher when she actually caught the ball. Not only that, the second baseman barely even took a breath let alone moved her feet. On every return throw from the catcher with runners on base, the middle infielders should sprint to back up the throw. Both fielders should be positioned directly behind the pitcher with one in front of the second base bag and the other behind. You work it out which one is where but you should never tolerate one player staying at her position while the other shuffles reluctantly to back up the pitcher. This is a sure sign of a lazy team and one that will one day allow a runner to move up on the mundane throw from catcher to pitcher, let alone on a delayed steal that catches them napping.
Aside from this simple backup, the middle infielders are generally kept busy with other duties but if you think of a batter lining a triple down the left field line, after the runner rounds second, your middle infielders are out of the play. If you have active, intelligent middle infielders, they can find something important to do. Presumably your shortstop has gone out to get the cutoff from your left fielders who is digging the ball out of the corner. But what's a second baseman to do? the answer is back up third. Your pitcher should be standing in foul territory between home and third. Your first baseman should be running towards home in case the necessity of a play there occurs. Your second baseman should be in position to take a cutoff throw from the shortstop to home if that becomes a need and that should put her in position to back up third should the ball come loose and get knocked towards the center of the infield.
A different situation occurs when a triple gets line down the first base line. Basically your second baseman is out getting the cutoff throw from the right fielder. the short stop is letting her know whether the runner is staying at second or digging for third. The first baseman is helping out by making sure that if the throw is offline towards first, she has that backup. But unless the second baseman is way out and can't make a throw to third from her cutoff position (which should never occur), the shortstop's duties seem to be done once she tells the second baseman where to throw. But rather than standing around by second base, she should close in towards the second baseman's position in case the throw is errant towards the second base side.
The third baseman has fewer backup responsibilities than other fielders. But that doesn't mean she should fall asleep. On doubles lined into the right-center alley, she should be a more or less final backup to second base since she should be able to retrieve the ball while also covering her back. She should saunter away from her base and just towards the left field side of the infield so she'll be in a good backup position. Aside from being a normally heads up player and keeping alert about where the runners are and where the throw is going, she has little additional backup responsibilities.
OutfieldersOn just about every play two of your three outfielders have very little to do besides backing up plays. Good, aggressive backing up by outfielders is a discipline which is most analogous to running out infield grounders. Most of the time it amounts to nothing but the few times it really matters are an opportunity for either glory or embarrassment. Coaches must motivate their outfielders to always backup aggressively. Continued lazy play should be sufficient reason to sit a girl down for at least an inning while pondering the specific reason she is sitting - because she dogged it in the outfield. Maybe you're winning 10 - 0 in the last inning and your pitcher is rolling along. Pull your lazy outfielder and tell her she is sitting for failure to hustle while backing up a play. Let her know that her playing time is completely up to her. If she hustles, she plays. If she dogs it, she sits.
I recently saw a game where with a fast runner on second who was very much a steal threat. On each pitch the left fielder took about three lazy steps towards third base. She was, like the middle infielders on the return throw from the catcher, reluctantly backing up third. It is difficult to continually back up third when 9 out of 10 times the runner doesn't steal and 9 out of 10 times that she does, there is still no play for the left fielder. But this is a discipline which while having infrequent benefits, has a big time payoff the one time all season the ball gets away. The runner breaks from third and you nail her trying to score one time out of thirty games. But the left fielder will always remember throwing the runner out at home. The alternative is having the memory indelibly etched in your skull of being lazy about backing up third and allowing the winning run in the championship game to score because you weren't there in time.
Outfielders shouldn't need to be told what to backup and when. After a year or two of rec ball, they should automatically know. But in your early scrimmages, you should probably point out an outfielder's failure to back up at least once. Ask them what they can do to back up a particular play. Then remind them once when they don't do it. A third offense is a reason to have a lengthy talk and even, as I said before, sit a player down for an inning, even more.
Making good cutoff playsI learned an invaluable lesson during my youth baseball days. I recall that there were a number of decent athletes spread among five of the six teams we had in my league. These five teams all had fathers as managers and coaches. These fathers knew who the athletes were but they knew little more. the sixth team always drafted the castaways, the least athletic kids. That team was coached by a young guy who was rumored to have been a good player in his day. he was a real student of the game and knew the fundamentals cold. He schooled his non-athletic band of brothers in all the classic fundamentals including cutoff plays. That team remained intact from the time I was nine until I reached fourteen. the first year they got killed by every other team. The second year they won a few games. After that they proceeded to contend for the title every year. They were fundamentally sound AND they knew exactly where the ball should go on every play.
We have all sorts of examples in professional sports of teams with all the high powered and expensive talent which never win titles. They are spectacular to watch and do all the really exciting stuff. But they break down on mundane things like effective cutting off. The teams which invariably win are the ones which always do the little things, like this, right.
So what can I tell you about cutoff plays which you don't already know? Probably nothing much other than that your players do not automatically know how to do them. Also, these kinds of plays need to be practiced and practiced frequently because, in the heat of the battle, there is little time to think. You, as coach ought to practice these at least as much as you do ground ball or hitting drills. Sure they're boring even at practice but they do pay off and you need to make them automatic.
Say a ball is hit into the right field gap, your second baseman probably knows it is her responsibility to go out and get the cutoff. But does she know she needs to line up with second and stand with her hands in the air to provide the best possible target? Your shortstop should position her by continually advising "left" .. "left" .. "left" .. "right there." And if this is going to be a triple with a play at third, she needs to advise the second baseman "three" .. "going three" at which point it becomes the third baseman's responsibility to line up the second baseman the same way the shortstop did. the same applied to a liner up the left center alley. the shortstop goes out to get the cutoff, the second baseman lines her up or tells her the runner is going to third. But notice that in both situations, the middle infielder who goes out for the cutoff does not stand in no man's land lines up with neither base but rather positioned between each.
The same circumstances apply in sacrifice fly situations. The middle infielder on the ball side goes out to get the throw, the other middle infielder advises her where the play is going to be and lines her up if it is going to second.
The far more interesting, and stressful, cutoff occurs when there are runners on first and third or second and third. This presumably involves a fly to a medium depth in the outfield. Your cutoff is most likely going to be your first baseman since third has other responsibilities. The first baseman should be positioned about 30-40 feet from home and the catcher positions her in the same manner as previously discussed, "left" .. "left" .. "right there." But in plays to home, the catcher also has to advise her whether to cut or not and where to throw the ball if she does cut it. The choice of which words to use is entirely up to the team coach. I like "LET" or "THROUGH" for allowing the ball to proceed to the catcher and "CUT _, CUT _, CUT _" for cutting it off. "CUT" should be followed by the base as in "CUT THREE" .. "CUT THREE" .. "CUT THREE" for cut it off and throw to third. Catchers should be schooled in allowing throws that are slightly off line but in time to come through without a cut. It takes time to cut the ball off, get a grip, turn around and make a throw. It is often easier for the catcher to move a step or two catch the slightly offline throw and run to home to tag the runner. Only if the ball is more offline than that should she call "CUT HOME" etc.
I've discussed what to do on the sac fly so the next thing is logically the other sorts of cutoff plays. But these other plays are identical to the sac fly. For example, with runner on second and a single to the outfield, the first baseman again positions herself to make the cutoff at home. Note that there is less time to position the cutoff in this circumstance. The first baseman must sprint to position and move rapidly when the catcher advises her "LEFT" or whatever is necessary. Obviously the run is all important but the catcher must judge the likelihood the run is going to score and the opportunity to nail the runner moving from first to second. if there is no chance to stop the run, it is definitely a good idea to clear the bases by preventing another runner from getting into scoring position.
So what about the outfielder making the throw to the cutoff? Well, what can we say about that? I think Tom Hanks said it best in "A League Of Their Own" when he was left trembling and speechless by an outfielders inability to hit the cutoff. Your outfielders crave glory and presume they can throw about twice as well as they actually can. There's a reason why softball is played by a team rather than a bunch of individuals. We're all out there to help each other. An outfielder who continually fails to hit the cutoff should be penalized by reduced playing time the same way one who doesn't back up bases should be. It is simply unacceptable to miss the cutoff repeatedly.
The outfielder's approach to making a throw to a cutoff person is not to make a high arching throw. She should throw to hit the cutoff right in the face. Low throws are better than high ones. A cutoff can much more easily retrieve a ball from the ground, spin and throw where desired than she can jump for a high throw, regain her balance, turn around and make the throw. The perfect cutoff, the one I like to replay in my head in quiet moments is a line drive throw right at the cutoff's head which she lets go through to the base, the ball bounces once and the fielder covering the base picks up the throw on one hop, tagging the runner for the out. that's what you are after.
So to sum up cutoff plays, the fielders must work in unison to align themselves up properly by using a few choice words. the outfielder should aim to hit the cutoff person in the head and not try to throw the full distance. Lower is always better. the fielders continue to talk to each other so the proper play can be made even when the player receiving the ball has her back turned to the infield. It is all about bang, bang, bang. Softball is not about one heroic girl making a great throw and saving the game winning run.
ConclusionSure, softball is about the stud pitcher who strikes out two or three each inning. It is also about the stud hitter who averages a homerun every four at bats, the star fielder with the cannon arm, etc., etc. But you cannot in one season teach a girl to throw 65 or your batters and fielders to be ready for the Team USA. What you can do is teach your girls good discipline in backing each other up and you can easily teach sound cutoff fundamentals. These things are far more frequently the hallmark of good coaching than are the other more exciting things. They are also what all great teams have in common.
 
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