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Happy Tears
by Dave
Friday, May 29, 2009
Gary wrote in yesterday to, among other things, request "an update on the girl's condition, the one that you wrote about last year who was fighting the good fight?" The girl is Ashley Runion. And she has some news for those of us who have not kept abreast of all her developments as she fights against Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).
When I responded to Gary's e-mail, I noted that I was reluctant to stand as a representative of Ashley because I do not know the family. Originally, I was contacted by a man who was one of her current or former coaches or who knew her story (I'm not sure) and requested I publish something about her condition. I agreed.
I don't do very well with serious childhood diseases. I have great difficulty controlling my emotions with these, especially cancer, more especially aggressive cancers with a poor long-term prognosis.
I would not dare express real empathy with what a family suffering through a disease such as AML could be experiencing. How could I? None of us has any real understanding of what that would feel like unless we were going through it ourselves.
So I simply published the facts of the story to the extent I knew them. Then, when this past Christmas was approaching, I checked back on Ashley's Caring Bridge Page and saw that she really wanted to come home for Christmas. I requested that everyone who comes to my site (regardkless of any religious persuasion) pray for her to get this one wish. At the time, I suspected it would be her last Christmas. I'm actually getting a little teared up now as I contemplate this.
You see, AML is very aggressive and has a low cure rate. According to Merck's site, "without treatment, most people with AML die within a few weeks to months of the diagnosis. With therapy, between 20% and 40% of people survive at least 5 years, without any relapse. Because relapses almost always occur within the first 5 years after initial treatment, most people who remain leukemia-free after 5 years are considered cured."
How would you feel if you were told your kid will die within a few weeks to months without treatment and if she receives treatment the best she can hope for is a 20%-40% chance? I don't like those odds. But the reason I'm writing today is to tell you that Ashley has beaten the odds thus far. And without any further ado, here is her most recent news:
"She went for her monthly doctor's appointment last week and all was well ... This weekend is her travel teams first tournament of the spring/summer season and she is planning on going to it in uniform. She will mainly be there to help coach as she is still working on trying to build back the strength in those legs ...
I will be crying happy tears this weekend when I see her step out on the field in her uniform. Almost, one year ago on June 7, 2008 is when I received that call to take her to Fairfax Hospital immediately because they thought she had leukemia. What a year! It truly is a miracle that she is here with us and that she is able to be back out on the field doing what she loves. Thanks for everyone's support and prayers this last year."
Let's continue to put Ashley in our prayers. Let's get her back on the field of play so we can all cry happy tears.
Permanent Link: Happy Tears
 
Backwards Batter-Baserunner
by Dave
Friday, May 29, 2009
A reader writes in to ask the following question while specifically stating the context as women's college softball.
"Runners on 2nd and 3rd, batter hits a slow roller toward 1st baseman; she fields the ball and runs towards batter-runner coming from home; and batter-runner starts back towards home. What happens to the 2 baserunners?"
Before we get to the baserunners, let's get past the batter. According to rule 12.4.11, the batter is out if "she steps back towards home plate to avoid or delay a tag by a fielder." I think that is a pretty obvious call for any umpire.
Secondly, the ball becomes dead at this moment. And the effect mandated by the NCAA rulebook is "each runner must return to the last base legally touched at the time of the pitch." (emphasis added by me)
The reason I chose to post this very simple rule is because it is a critical part of the game. If you are batting and you've got runners on 2nd and 3rd with one or no outs, you've just got to do anything in your power (anything legal) to get at least one run home. As I implied the other day, we should train girls to hit the ball into play in these situations. We should also train baserunners to look for any bat and ball contact, angle down, that is not hit directly to the pitcher, and go immediately from third on such contact.
From a defensive point of view, the related play I like which I have seen top 20 Gold teams perform involves the first baseman coming down the line to take a throw from another infielder in order to apply a tag before the batter-runner reaches first and, thereby, put her closer to home to throw out the runner from third. This play is used on any infield grounder on which the runner at third does not immediately break for the plate. That shouldn't happen except on balls hit right to third or the pitcher but we have all seen runners at third freeze on infield grounders hit directly at any infielder from time to time.
When infielders field a grounder and the runner at third is frozen, the first baseman is well advised to position herself somewhat down the line to take the throw, apply a tag and make a shorter throw home. This is very useful on balls hit back to the pitcher or 3B when the offensive team has a quick runner at third. Most of the time, the runner from third can be nailed.
Obviously, first basemen who field a grounder directly at them, should, after fielding the ball, sprint towards the batter-runner with both hands on the ball, apply a tag and, if the runner from third breaks, throw home. Also, pretty obviously, the runner from third is the important out most of the time and that has to take precedence unless you are already up by a large number of runs. In those relatively infrequent cases, getting the batter-runner out would take precedence unless your pitcher is going for some sort of shutout record!
Another reason this rule is important is because sometimes we find ourselves in a first and third situation in which a hit and run or run and hit play is called. On those, the runner at first either goes immediately or gets a larger than normal lead and goes on contact. if the ball is hit right to the first baseman, she attempts a tag, and the batter-runner retreats to avoid or delay the tag, not only is the runner from third prohibited from attempting to score due to the dead ball condition, but also the runner from first heading to second must return to first.
As with all rules, it is critical that our players understand them in order to avoid unintended consequences. Everyone on your team should be instructed to not back away from a tag when becoming a batter-runner headed to first on a fair batted ball. If a runner merely proceeds slowly, there is a decent chance she can delay the tag and thereby allow the runner from third to score. If she simply stops or goes very slowly, the rules do not address this. But take a step back and all bets are off.Labels: rules
Permanent Link: Backwards Batter-Baserunner
The Lefty "Handicap" At Catcher
by Dave
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Some time ago, I received an e-mail seeking ammunition for a father whose daughter had been told to forget about catching because she is a lefty. I wrote a lengthy e-mail to this father explaining to him that almost everyone in the softball and baseball worlds is anti-lefty when it comes to catchers. The typical person sees a lefty catcher and thinks, "I guess they couldn't find a righty catcher" or "that poor kid's parents just didn't have the sense to teach her first or the outfield." So strong is the prejudice against lefty catchers, expecially at the youth level, that it is almost insurmountable, almost but not completely.
Into the fray comes a blog piece by Dave Weaver of the New England Catching Camp, one of our favorite softball training web sites. Dave breaks down the classic misconceptions in his piece entitled "Lefty Catcher….It just ain’t right!" Please read this whether you are interested in catching or not. We need to understand our prejudices and break them down when they don't hold water.
The father I wrote to had expressed frustration because his daughter's travel coach, somewhat inexperienced travel coach, absolutely refused to even consider a lefty at catcher. I pointed him in the direction of Jenny Topping, a left handed catcher for Team USA. Jenny is quite obviously one of the best catchers ever to have played the game. And she is a lefty. Right there and then, I think I can safely say "nuff said." But I'll go one further.
Dave Weaver points out in his blog piece that "I have college coaches contacting me asking if I have any left handed fast pitch catchers of recruiting age. They do not see any down side to the lefty." Again, nuff said. The top of this sport is the college game plus Team USA. If both welcome lefty catchers with open arms, then certainly the rest of us are wrong.
In short, the lefty catcher's only handicap is the prejudices against lefty catchers which many in the sport hold. Let's shake those misconceptions free.Labels: catching
Permanent Link: The Lefty "Handicap" At Catcher
Get Dirty
by Dave
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Is there a coach out there who doesn't like it when his or her girls lay out and get dirty? I remember once complimenting a high school coach on the development of her team. I watched their first game of the season in which they played what I would describe as a superior team. The game went to the seventh inning, tied 0-0. The opponent got a couple baserunners and then there was one of those unfortunate hits, a bloop, a bleeder, behind first but out of reach of the second baseman, which just barely found fair territory. I think two runs scored on that. Later in the day, when I saw the coach at another game, I told her, "you've got a good team - they played with that team for 6 innings. They are much improved." She reacted by saying that the game had been a tough 0one to lose. I suggested that it was just dumb luck that the ball had found the ground on that play. She agreed but added "I would have liked a dive."
I once had a girl who liked getting dirty so much that her entire goal in any practice or game was to find the situation in which she could dive. It became kind of a joke or game between us. If we were practicing and there was no opportunity for her to get dirty, towards the end of practice, she would ask me sheepishly if I could give her "something to dive at." There's a lot of wisdom in this which I don't think I realized at the time.
The first time you dive after a ball, you are likely to be somewhat uncoordinated. It ain't gonna look pretty. The reason for this is you do not really have the experience to know how to dive properly nor the timing as to when exactly to dive. Like everything else, you have to practice it before you can perfect it.
There are some kids, boys and girls, who, from the first time they can walk, like to slam into walls and to find the ground, particularly dirty ground. With boys, I believe this is a relatively common phenomenon though I certainly have known many boys who disliked terra firma.
I incurred quite a bit of ridicule once for diving after a ball. Of course, that was situationally questionable but I had been programmed to dive after balls. The reason I received so much ridicule for diving was because I dove during batting practice ... and we were playing on blacktop ... and I was 36 at the time ... and I got kind of cut up. My reputation as a sober, stayed tax executive - I was a manager or about 8 others at the time - was not enhanced by my dive that day. But my conditioned response from youth was to dive after any ball I could get my glove on, even at practice.
With girls, I think this tendency to desire getting dirty is usually found in those we come to refer to as "tom boys" though certainly I know several girly-girls who enjoy falling to Earth. I suppose this observation is true of almost any behavior, some girls and some boys do it naturally and some do not. But, also like anything else, I believe anyone can be taught to accomplish the task.
If we are coaching girls softball and have any affinity for seeing our girls "get dirty," we simply must teach it. It is prefereable to begin this with easy falls that are unlikely to injure anyone, however slightly. So head out to the grass and make sure the ground is suitably soft. If you want real fun, wet the ground and make sure it is very soft, even muddy, just as you would for an initial sliding practice. You may want to forewarn parents to dress their kids appropriately, if you plan this for a particular practice.
Next get yourself a bucket of balls. Then set up each kid, one at a time, into a good ready position. Then throw balls which are just out of reach and require a dive just to make contact. It isn't really important that the balls be catchable. It is more important that each throw require a dive. At this point, we are looking for a dive from a standing, ready position - no steps required.
Throw balls to the right first since this is a more natural play. Then throw some to the left while teaching backhand plays. After each player has had 5 or more reps with each side, randomly choose the side for another 5 or 10.
Once you have performed plenty of standing dives, move on to dives after a single crossover step. The player gets in ready position, and you throw it so that it cannot be caught with a mere dive. throw it so the player must take a single step before diving. Then move on to situations in which the player must take multiple steps before diving.
Did I have to say that you should teach the girls how to dive? We don't want girls diving all over the place while slamming their bodies so hard into the ground that they suffer injuries to internal organs. We are looking for dives which are performed low to the ground with the weight shifted forward. They are much more akin to what you would see with a baserunner diving into a bag than one would see of a swimmer diving into a pool. But you knew that and I didn't have to tell you.
I think I'll elaborate on something that is important to consider when teaching diving. The typical dive, especially when players are performing it early in their diving career, does not involve a dive in which the ball is reached towards the end of the dive and hopefully caught. Rather what is usually involved is a play in which the ball is caught when the player is way off balance and cannot recover to a standing position. Very seldom is a ball caught by other than a highly skilled, well-experienced player at the end of a dive. I think you can see this in as much as 90% of all softball and baseball dives, even at high levels.
What typically happens when a player is seen to make a play and end up on the ground is, she does not fear falling to Earth and, therefore, she extends herself beyond her comfort zone to make the play. She can 't recopver to a standing position and she goes down after she catches the ball. It is important within this drill to teach girls how to land so as not to break or otherwise injure their wrists or arms. You land on your palms or forearms, not your fingers or elbows. And these parts of your bodies are sliding forwards, not abruptly striking the ground. the motion is sort of like what you would do when using a slip and slide from a standing position, face forward.
OK, so once you have taught diving after a ball on wet, soft ground covered with grass, it is time to move back over tougher ground, like in the infield. The play I think I would like to see used in such drills are those that would be accomplished by a corner infielder on a ball she cannot get while standing. For example, a third or first baseman would dive for a smash hit down the line. The third baseman would necessarilly dive to her right, the first baseman to her left. It is best to practice both of these.
After this, it is also advisable to teach girls to dive on the infield when they are going after grounders, right outside their reach. Your middle infielders often go after balls that would be just out of reach if they tried to stay on their feet. Practicing grounders just beyond reach which require a player to get dirty is an excellent skill to teach. Additionally, outfielders should be taught in drills certain situations in which going to the ground can turn a basehit into an out, a double or triple into a single.
Lest I forget, one of the most important skills when teaching getting dirty is the recovery to standing position skill. This is not necessarily natural for any player. Typically, in youth softball, we see a kid go to ground to make a play on a ball, get the ball, and stop right there. It is a less frequent play in which we see a kid go to ground, get up and throw the runner out. But this, as much as the general diving skill, should be practiced. Why go to ground if the outcome isn't any different? A successful dive ends when the player recovers and makes a throw.
If you like to see your players get dirty, you may get lucky and get a girl like the one I coached several years ago. But if you aren't so lucky, perhaps you should consider teaching the skill. Start with the basics - just getting used to diving. teach how to land. Move on to dives after a step or several. Then build to actual in-game skills. Make sure you teach recovery to a throwing position after the dive. Teach the pieces of the skill, show its application, and then turn your charges loose. I believe you will be satisfied with the results.Labels: coaching, defense, outfield, practice
Permanent Link: Get Dirty
2 Strikes, Time To Bunt!
by Dave
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
How many times have you seen this: a girl tries to bunt but fails twice. Now she's down 0-2, 1-2 or something like that and she swings away. Why? Why not try to get one down with 2 strikes?
There is an obvious answer to my question. It is the one which always comes immediately to mind. The reason many coaches and players do not bunt with two strikes is, if the ball is hit foul, that results in a strikeout. We want to avoid the K, so we stop trying to bunt. Makes sense, no? No, not necessarily.
Before we move on and address my strategic suggestion, let's define a few terms and discuss the rules a bit. The term "bunt" is not necessarily a very well understood one. The 2009 NCAA rulebook defines the term as "a legally batted ball not swung at but intentionally tapped with the bat." That is an inadequate definition since "slapping" pretty much fits within this definition unless a relatively full swing is taken. In another definition, the term "bunt attempt" contains a further elaboration which reads, "holding the bat in the strike zone is considered a bunt attempt. In order to take a pitch, the bat must be withdrawn — pulled backward and away from the ball."
So a bunt attempt really consists of holding the bat in the strike zone as the ball enters the hitting area. This definition distinguishes between a true slap in which the bat should at least theoretically be run through the strike zone, not merely held like a swing and placed into the zone to tap the ball. In other words, the archetypical beginner youth or high school slapper who merely puts the bat into the zone, though not in the classic bunting mode, is actually bunting rather than slapping.
One's hand placement on the bat does not determine whether a bunt attept has been made. We know that there is a style of hitting which involves splitting the hands rather than having them in contact with one another. We also know that there are bunting styles which do not require the hands to be split. The determining factor over whether a "swing" is a bunt attempt or not is whether the bat is held in the strike zone or not. And this becomes rather important with two strikes when a foul ball is hit.
Another NCAA rule notes, "A strike is charged to the batter ... when the batter bunts foul after the second strike." In other words, if you have two strikes and bunt the ball foul, you're out on a strike out.
I have seen a number of instances in which a self-described "slapper" has been called out for a fouled third strike. This almost always precipitates a discussion between coach and umpire as well as catcalls from the batter's father and mother claiming the umpire doesn't know the rules. Generally, the umpire has ruled the "swing" a bunt attempt and, therefore, the foul is a third strike. The ump is right. The coach and parents are wrong.
OK, so a bunted foul with two strikes is an out. Sometimes, that thing some people call a slap is actually a bunt, not a true slap. A slap really involves more movement of the bat than a bunt. The NCAA rulebook says a slap is a "short, chopping motion rather than with a full swing." If you leave the bat in the strike zone as the ball travels through it, I think what you have is a bunt. If you swing the bat through the zone in a short, chopping motion, what you have is a slap. And, importantly, "A ball that is slapped foul is treated like any other foul ball and shall not result in an out unless caught in flight."
But enough of the rules, I think you get it. Let's get back to the strategy.
I do not believe I know of more than a handful of people - players, coaches, and parents - who think bunting with two strikes is a viable strategy. It is almost never called for by the typical coach. I do know some high school coaches and a few in travel who will do it as a strategy. I also know of some including me who would call for it as a sort of punishment for girls who deliberately bunt the ball foul, sometimes because their fathers who don't understand softball have suggested it as a strategy to get a "real" at-bat. But, for the most part, bunting with two strikes is avoided like the plague.
Without looking at any cold and hard facts, let's instead talk about this anecdotally. How many times have you seen this: bunter fouls off a couple and has two strikes after which the defensive coach instructs the corner infielders to move back because there are two strikes. That is common, probably to a 95% rate. And it is a safe approach since 95% of all coaches won't call for a bunt in this situation. But the good and aggressive ones will!
OK, so how about this, how many times have you seen a former bunter, now with two strikes, finish herself off with a third strike. Let's face it, softball is filled with strikeouts. Now that is a legitimate plague in our sport. If the pitcher is a contact pitcher, then you don't see so many Ks but, ordinarily, there are a ton of them in the typical, well-pitched game. And if the former bunter has put herself into an 0-2 hole, the strikeout is an all too common event. The high percentage event on an 0-2 pitch, or at least shortly thereafter, is a K. And yet, we do not even attempt a bunt because we are trying to avoid a strikeout! It makes sense to at least consider bunting a kid with two strikes since what we are trying to avoid when we don't is probably going to happen anyways.
Therre are advantages to bunting with two strikes, if you can get it down. The field situation for an 0-2 bunt is often a lot better than it was prior to this point. The corners are back. Just about everyone on the field will be surprised if the batter bunts. If she can get one down in fair ground, it is almost always successful. So in a tight game, why not give it a try?
As a corollary to the two strike bunt, I have another suggestion which is probably only applicable to youth games, though sometimes presents itself in higher levels. At the youth level, it is fairly common to encounter a "slapper" who is just learning. She steps over to the left side for the first couple of pitches but if she fails to execute a slap into fair ground, she moves back over to the right side for the next couple of pitches. This is fairly common in youth play but I have seen it as late as high school, where often a coach identifies a fast kid and tries to teach her to slap for the first time.
(I want to add one rule element here because I have seen it called. When the batter steps across the plate while the pitcher is holding the ball inside the circle, perhaps while in contact with the rubber, some umps will call her out. Before a batter crosses the plate, she should call time out to avoid this. You are allowed to cross the plate when time is out. You're not supposed to do this while the pitcher is on the rubber.)
I understand that a girl may want to try out the new skill she is working on but, after failing a few times, wants to go back over and take some real swings. I'm not going to criticize this approach. It's a learning tool. But what I want to suggest is a strategy which may catch the defense off guard.
When a kid who throws righty steps to the left handed batter's box, not very many people are fooled into believing she is a natural left-handed batter. The defense expects a slap or a drag bunt. Either the corners move in or the defense takes up one of the defensive positionings we refer to as slapper-D. After those first couple of pitches, after which the batter decides to go back over to the right-handed box, they move back into standard positioning. This is the perfect time for a right handed drag bunt!
As a final strategic point, I want to bring up the situation in which it is far more prefereable to tap a grounder to one of the middle infielders than it is to take a full cut and strike out or otherwise accomplish an unproductive out. We've been over the offensive perspective when you have a runner on third with one or no outs. In that circumstance, we want our girls to be conditioned to run home if the ball comes off the bat angle down and not directly back to the pitcher. This is more true when we have runners on second and third but anytime there is a runner on third, we want the batter to hit the ball into play rather than try to drive in the run with a hit.
There is a technique I have seen many well-experienced batters use. I refer to it as a "two strike swing." the batter starts out looking as if she might be thinking of bunting, with the bat out in front of her in the strike zone. Then, as the pitcher begins her motion, the batter draws the bat back but not to a full cocked, loaded position. Basically, she pulls back to perhaps the halfway point, possibly as far back as three quarters. Then she attempts to hit the ball into play with less force than she might have during other pitches. What she is trying to do is reduce the liklihood of a K and increase the probability of hitting the ball into play, preferably on the ground. The reduced swing provides the batter better bat control. This is an effective technique which when well practiced very often produces the desired result.
My strategic suggestion for this technique is, why wait for two strikes? Anytime you have a runner on third, I think the situation dictates a "two strike swing."
I think we often get caught up in the illusion that baseball and softball are essentially the same game. We do many of the same things in one that we learned in the other despite the fact that there are pronounced differences between the games. Not bunting with two strikes is something which I learned in baseball - though even there, it can be effective. In softball, with its relatively lower scoring, bunting is a more important tool. And in softball, with its higher rate of strikeouts, I think attempting a bunt with two strikes makes more sense than it does in baseball.
In softball, the difference between the winner and loser, especially in championship games, often involves the winner catching the loser off guard. Aside from two strike bunting, moving from the left to the right and yet still attempting a drag bunt can be an effective strategy. Aside from these, practicing so-called "two strike hitting" can be an effedctive way to push a run across. And it works even when the batter does not have two strikes.Labels: batting, Bunt, game strategy, Offense, rules
Permanent Link: 2 Strikes, Time To Bunt!
Bunt D, Geometry, Time and Distance
by Dave
Monday, May 25, 2009
I know I've written about this in the past but I find I must write about it again because I saw this issue change the outcome of games this past weekend. Also, I saw some mistaken comments on a forum which demonstrate a little bit of confusion. So I must address it in a manner which explains the whys and why nots. The issue is bunt defense.
The classic baseball bunt defense with a runner on first involves the third baseman crashing in to cover anything to the right of the pitcher, the pitcher covering the first base side of the field, the catcher covering anything he can get to, particularly out to be about 15 feet, sometimes more, and the first baseman staying at his base to take the throw. Teams can have 2B cover the second base bag and the SS cover third in case the runner from first decides to try to take another 90 feet. Or the player (pitcher, 3B or C) that does not field the bunt can cover third.
This generally does not work in softball. Why? Mathematics. Don 't believe it? Examine the geometry, time and distances involved.
First of all, as we talked about, it takes a baseball runner at least 4 seconds to reach first. Good softball runners get there in under 3. That's a heck of a big difference. To explain this a bit more, in MLB, the average time to first is about 4. In softball 3 is the minimum standard for a relatively slow runner in D1. I have seen sub-3s at 12U travel, though they are somewhat rare except when a team is designed for speed. At 14U travel, 3s are far more common. At 16U, you see a fair number of them because less athletic girls have dropped out of the mix.
Secondly, the typical first baseman in baseball stands behind the bag on most plays, though he may come in, even with the bag, perhaps in the cutout, toes touching the lawn, when a bunt is expected. In baseball, 1Ds often play almost as far back as the outfield grass. In softball, it is relatively infrequent to find the 1B an ywhere behind the bag. With a big hitter who has the tendency to hit the ball to the right side, sometimes the 1B stands behind the bag but this is somewhat unusual except at very high levels. Most of the time, at most levels, she's about even or up 5 - 15 feet from even.
When a softball 1B expects the batter to bunt, it is not unusual for her to position herself about 40 feet from home while charging on the pitch. The same is true for the 3B, although some girls seem to get close enough to smell what the batter had for breakfast. If you saw the Olympic team play any games in which Bustos was at third, you know what I mean. The batter's were actually complaining about her breath. (Yes, I'm kidding but I've never seen anyone play closer than Bustos.)
With the 1B charging, she can easily be closer to the batter than the pitcher is after delivery. You figure that the pitcher is somewhere around 35 feet from home when the ball arrives to the batter. The two corners should be closer to 30, maybe as close as 20 feet away, when a bunter makes contact. For this reason, the P's responsibility is generally for a straight bunt, right back to her, which gets by the other fielders. She is almost a backup to 1B and 3B.
It is certainly possible that the corners are crashing too hard. Very good teams will see this and then have their batters fake bunt while pulling back and taking an almost full cut. This can be referred to as a slap bunt, depending on how you define "slap bunt." And while many tournaments prohibit this at 10U, most above that do not. Offensively, this is a decent strategy to get the defensive corners to stay off the bunt for at least a half second since even these players mostly value their lives. When I talk about right handed slaps, this is specifically what I'm talking about.
After the bunt is down, usually you will see the P take coverage of third, assuming she doesn't field a hard bunt. There is certainly some room for debate over who does precisely what. I have seen college catchers take the 3B coverage but I don't really like this as much as having one of the bunt fielders, the one who doesn't retrieve the ball, 1B or 3B, take third. I feel that way because I know what it is like to run with shin guards. I'd prefer my hard working catcher not have to do that.
Lest I forget to mention, expecting your catcher to field a bunt beyond an arc about 5 feet from the plate is also wrong. Why, the 3B and 1B are already there. On anything beyond five feet, they have to be able to beat the catcher there. And they don't have all the extra backage of shin guards, helmet, etc. which makes an errant throw possible. That is not in any way to suggest that your catcher is less than a great athlete. Rather, I'm merely suggesting that if your 3B and 1B can't beat the catcher to a bunt 6 feet in front of home, they aren't being nearly aggressive enough. If you get caught off guard on a surprise bunt - not a plain vanilla sacrifice - certainly you want anyone who can get there, pitcher, catcher, whomever, to make the play and get the out. But I'm thinking that you won't be surprised very often.
What I feel is non-negotiable is the 1B's role. I don't see any way around it. She has to cover the bunt because if she doesn't, a smart bunter is going to bunt the ball down the first base line and there's no way the pitcher is routinely going to be able to make this play.
In rare circumstances, perhaps you do not have a 1B who is athletic enough to play bunt defense. I've seen this before. But if thet is your situation, you have to devise something different. You cannot merely tell the pitcher to cover bunts. The best alternative is to essentially switch your 2B and 1B. You pull your 2B in parallel to the pitcher like perhaps you do on slap D. Your 1B plays back behind the base line and over to her right so that if the batter pulls back and hits one in the empty hole, she can maybe field it. Otherwise, your 1B has to field bunts.
You can disagree with me if you like but I am going to respond by asking, "have you ever coached baseball," "do you think the games are pretty much the same," "what is the relative time to first in the two sports," or something else along these lines. I do not believe I have seen the coach yet who tries the classic baseball bunt defense and who can answer the appropriate questions the right way. Most of those who try this have also coached baseball. Most of those who try this will not guess correctly what the times are to first in the two sports. Most of those who try this do not have a lot of tournament experience. Most of those who try this would never just go watch a fastpitch softball game which did not involve their kid. They haven't observed enough to realize that not that many softball teams have the 1B hang back to cover the bag. They haven't had the time and experience to realize that if I'm the only one keeping my 1B back, maybe I'm wrong. if the teams still playing in the semi-finals of any tournament crash both their 1Bs and 3Bs, I suppose that does it for me.
I watched a couple teams play some games over this past weekend while using baseball bunt coverage. I saw several bunts placed down the 1B baseline. This happened because the opposition observed their coverage and immediately noticed that the 1B did not charge the bunt. I saw coaches talking among themselves while pointing to the opposition's 1B. Then they talked to their girls while again pointing in the direction of 1B. Sometimes their girls did not get the bunt down, sometimes they didn't get it towards first, but when they did, they were successful 100% of the time. About 75% of these attempts resulted not only in advancing the runner but also the bunter reaching firsty safely.
To be quite honest, when I walk out to coach 3B, the first thing I do is watch the 3B's arm. I want to know whether she is going to be able to throw out batters if we bunt. The next thing I look at is the arms of the infielders and outfielders. 3B coaches who don't come out early and watch the infielders warm-up are missing an opportunity to learn the defensive capabilities of their opponent. I watch as the 1B rolls grounders but I also want to see her make a real throw across the diamond, if that's possible. If the opposition is on the third base side, I hope for her to have to throw the ball to the 3B when the ump calls "balls in." The 1B's arm is as important to the defense as the 3B's.
After I have observed the infielders throw, I usually try to take a look at the outfielders. I want to see if they are athletic, can catch, use two hands when they catch, and have decent arms. I also want to see the catcher. I don't so much want to see the throw down since this is not game situation. I'm more interested in watching how she catches and blocks - I want to see what her habits are. But I will watch the throw down because I want to see what her accuracy is when she is relaxed. If she's inaccurate in warm-ups, she may be inaccurate during the game.
After all this, when the game is going to be played, I would like our first batter to pretend to bunt on the first pitch. Obviously, there's nobody on base and it is possible I won't get a look at their actual bunt defense but I want to see what everyone's, especially the 1B's, tendencies are. Later, when hopefully we have a runner on first, I can see what the real bunt defense looks like and see whether this is a baseball team or a softball one. If the 1B does not charge the bunt, well, there's my first opportunity to exploit the defense.
After the first pitch, what I want to see is where the 1B and 3B position themselves on the next pitch. If 1B is even with the bag or back a bit, I know I am playing against a team on which the coaches or the 1B's father have coached baseball. They haven't watched bona fide fastpitch softball. If the 3B is still even with the bag, well, ballgame over. Sorry girls, we aren't going to be swinging at pitches this game. We are going to bunt, bunt, bunt.
I remember watching a 13 year old team play against a young inexperienced 12U team in fall ball. The girls on the older team were big. Everyone of them looked like a hitter. I saw them in warmups and they all could swing the stick. Then, the game began and every single batter bunted their first time up. Their opposition had played their corners back and not a single girl was thrown out at first until several runs were across. They bunted because they didn't need to do more. Later, when the run rule loomed, the coach let these girls swing away and that they did. They could all hit the ball. They just didn't need to in order to easily win that game. So, why bother!
On our first sacrifice opportunity, the second thing I want to see is who covers third. If on a bunt, the SS takes third, then I know we are going to be able to advance runners to second all day without stealing. The bunts don't even have to be good. Every sacrifice will be successful, if we get the bunt down.
If the defense is proper, I hope my girls have observed this and know to advance a base hard, slide and hold the bag. It would be nice to advance them to third, if the ball gets away but there are risks unless the bunt defense contains another xcommon mistake.
My bunt defense, after observing everything from 10U to D1 college is to go for the out at first with the 2B covering that bag. Yes, if there is an opportunity to nail the runner at second, I wouldn't mind. But you can only do this if: 1) the girl fielding the ball has a great arm; 2) your CF is backing up perfectly which is difficult because I have another positioning for her; 3) the ball gets to the fielder in a real hurry, and 4) this is a called play.
Getting the out at second (or at third but we're getting ahead of ourselves) takes a significant amount of experience. The defensive players all have to move immediately. The girl playing the ball has to have a great inner clock. I don't want a throw to second on the bunt if getting that out is less than 90%. And such a play has to be situationally dictated - I want to call it.
I believe getting an out at first on a bunt has to be routine. Sure, there will be times when the girl fielding the bunt won't get a grip on the ball and make a bad throw. But hopefully, our RF will be backing up and it won't cost us too badly. What I don't want is for our team to fail to get an out because they didn't field the bunt timely or because they tried and failed to get the lead runner who gets to second in 2.7.
I can live with runner on second and one out. I believe our pitchers are, uh, paid, to deal with that. Not getting an out here can open up a big inning. A big inning in softball is 2 or more runs. Not getting an out here opens up first and second with still no outs and another bunt attempt coming. If they succeeed in moving both runners up while there is just one out, they're pretty much guaranteed of getting a run across unless we get a K or infield pop-up for the second out.
So, the idea has to be to get the runner at first unless the situation dictates going for the lead runner. Our 2B is covering first. Our SS is covering 2. And the charging infielder who didn't make the play is covering 3. The 2B takes the throw at first, gets the out, and immediately throws behind the runner at second.
Throwing the ball to second is not some sort of an option. It involves no judgement. Our 2B does not throw to the SS because she thinks she can get the out. She just does it. That's the successful end of the play. That's an automatic. Even if, for some reason, you don't get the out at first, the throw still goes immediately to second.
I believe I need to explain why this is an automatic so I will.
It shouldn't have surprised me but it did. When I went to watch the D3 WCWS, there came a bunt situation in a tight game. Runner on first, no outs. The batter successfully executed a sacrifice bunt. The runner from first got a good jump and made second easily. The infielders charged, fielded the bunt and correctly went to first, nailing the batter-baserunner. The 2B covering first, immediately went to second with the ball. The runner from first had rounded and they nailed her. That was clearly a back breaker.
Offensively, I would prefer if our runner slid hard into the bag in the pop-up slide manner, got herself up and then looked at first. If the ball got away for some reason, I expect she can still easily make third. But if they successfully defended the bunt, I want her to hold the bag.
Defensively, I know that a girl who is moving to second from first on a sacrifice bunt has something completely different on her mind. She comes into the bag at second watching the girl covering. As soon as that girl sees the covering fielder relax and move out of position to take a throw, she begins to think of the possibility of going to third. She wants to get a head start. She can taste third. She is going to round the bag because inside her memory is that game from her 10U or 12U days when she did this, got to third and caused an overthrow there, allowing her to score the game winning run.
It shouldn't have surprised me that this kind of thing can happen in a D3 WCWS game but it still did. So, I know this works there. It really doesn't surprise me when I see this kind of thing work at 12U, 14U, whatever. What surprises me is more teams leave the play to the discretion of their fielders or practice something entirely different.
I have seen teams even at 14U make the bunt defense play I described but completely give up any hope of getting an out at second. They have their SS cover third and then they "encourage" their CF to come and cover second. The CF never gets to that bag soon enough for any kind of play. And when teams see this, they tell their players to round second on sacrifices because they know nobody is going to be there. So when the ball is in the dirt or there is any sort of collision at first, they automatically get third on a simple sacrifice. That's kind of tragic.
What some teams do is condition their players to get the out at first and then throw immediately to third to head off the runner presuambly rounding second. When they do this successfully, they believe they have handled the play very well. But think the whole field through for a minute. If the baserunner from first rounds the bag, which she will do if your CF is covering second, and if the girl who takes the throw at third feels particularly aggressive, she is going to throw to the CF at second to get the runner. Your RF is in foul ground behind first to back up the primary throw, and there is nobody close enough to even touch the ball on an errant throw to second before that baserunner touches the plate. It is a badly designed play.
In my variant where we go to first and then the 2B, covering first, throws to the SS covering second, my CF is backing up that throw. So, if our over-aggression results in a bad throw that gets past the SS, well, the CF is going to have that ball with about 2 seconds to spare to make the throw to third and nail the runner there. I've seen this happen on almost every bunt defense like this where the 2B made a bad throw to the SS. The only time the runner was not thrown out was when she looked up soon enough to realize the CF had the ball and she dove back just in time to be safe at second. Then she stood up, put her hand to her heart and took a deep breath! In short, a proper bunt defense with a throw behind the runner is a high percentage play.
OK, so I think I have said enough but I just want to summarize the whole defense one more time and then talk a bit about sacrifices with runners on first and second, then briefly go over second and third.
C catches and gets balls out to 5 feet from the plate, assuming Bustos didn't beat her there and call her off. P pitches and backs up her corners in case the bunter hits one harder than they expect. 1B charges the bunt. 2B covers first. SS covers second. 3B charges and probably fields the bunt. P, 1B or 3B covers third. RF backs the throw to first. CF backs the throw from first to second. LF backs a potential tyhrow from second to third.
If you want to go for the lead runner at second because obviously the girl at first is very slow, because you know your corners and they are outstanding, because you have a ten run lead, because you just want your girls to have fun, well your defense looks basically the same but your CF is in a different position to back the throw down to second.
When runners are on first and second, obviously the situation is slightly different. Notably, your 2B, covering first, is not going to throw to the SS covering second. Your SS won't be there if she does. She should be covering third. But, no, you still don't want your CF covering second. You simply forget about the trailing baserunner. Your focus must be on getting the out at first and then paying close attention to the runner at third. The 2B must come immediately off the bag at first and charge for the pitcher's circle, ball in hand. The pitcher must be clear of the p[athway between your 2B and third. Your LF must be in a good backup position and, I believe, one of you other players should be in foul ground behind third, tending towards the infield. That can be your 3B unless she fielded the bunt and then it should probably be your 1B.
If your 2B can see a certain amount of distance, she should throw to the SS. The distance is equal to more than one step plus a dive. If the runner has to take two or even one and a half steps before diving, your 2B has to make the throw. It is an automatic. You need to show her this in practice with a real baserunner.
Understand that if your 2B comes off the bag, she should most likely have shortened the distance to third from eighty some-odd feet down to around 60. The throw has become a relatively easy one. And if the runner at third is daring her to throw, she ought to throw.
The SS has a primary desire to catch the throw and make the tag but this is not like a steal because the runner is not necessarily sliding. She may break for home. So the SS has to recognize this, catch the ball at all costs, and if the runner is breaking, she must wheel and throw home. At this point, if you end up with a pickle or develop what is a close play at third, I think your players should be conditioned to eat the ball. You've already made a clean throw to first, then third, and presumably home. Why tempt the fates unless you are that confident in your players. You've already scared the heck out of the baserunner and the play is really over unless you make an overthrow into left where there is now nobody backing up.
One more time, the goal on a sacrifice with runners on first and third is to get the out at first unless the situation dictates something else, unless a coach calls a different defense, unless the bunt is fielded extremely quickly. Remember, the runner at second is going to get an even better lead from her bag towards third. She should get a five step running lead and the time it will take her to get to third is shorter than the time a runner takes getting to second from first. The throw is shorter but I don't think you can get the out at third unless the runner from second is very slow. I would save that kind of play for high levels, very high levels, or a very well practiced team.
To explain this further, I watched a great high school game go into ITB, 0-0. Both teams were very good defensively. Both pitchers were solid. Neither team had more than a handful of runners on base at all, let alone beyond first. In ITB, the visiting team came up and, of course, bunted. A quick play was made on the ball and the fielder tried to nail the runner at third. That would have been a great out, had they made it. They didn't. They were left with runners on first and third and I forget what exactly happened thereafter but the visiting team opened up a big inning and won easily. The home team was defeated on that play when their girls tried to get the lead runner. They went with the low percentage play, lost and got clobbered despite playing neck and neck with their opponent for 9 plus innings.
I like high percentage plays even when sometimes it seems like the wrong play, even when one's baseballl experience migh lead to another type of play. I say get the runner at first and then do something else. I say have your 1B conditioned to cover bunts. I say save getting the lead runner for situations in which it can't backfire on you. Whatever you choose for your bunt defense, make sure it is appropriate for the geometry, time and distances involved in softball, not baseball.
So that's it. I apologize for the length of this piece. It probably could have been a lot shorter. But I have too much energy on the subject. I've seen too many baseball defenses played in softball. It doesn't work, at least not against decent teams. Softball has its own bunt defense. It does not use baseball's.Labels: Bunt, coaching, defense
Permanent Link: Bunt D, Geometry, Time and Distance
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