Covering home on a passed ball.

Gambler Bob · Dec 19, 2016

Anyone got some good tips or drills on getting young pitchers to cover home on a passed ball or wild pitch? We are entering our first year of 10u and this will be the first season that teams can score on a passed ball or wild pitch.

Do your pitchers use two hands to apply the tag on that play, or do you instruct your pitchers to only use their glove to apply the tag? I can see potential of injury to the throwing hand with a two handed tag so I am just wondering how you instruct your pitcher in regards to that.

If you have any good videos i would like to see them also.

grcsftbll · Dec 20, 2016

My DD is a 10U pitcher. We just told her she has to follow the pitch with a runner on third. There wasn't really anything special to it. Her first couple of games pitching she'd forget sometimes, but it didn't take long. I will say on a passed ball/wild pitch that really gets past the catcher, if the runner and/or third base coach are heads up it seems like they usually score. Most of the catchers aren't quite fast enough to get to the ball and flip it to the pitcher at home at this age, I think.

JAD · Dec 20, 2016

My best advice would be to make sure your pitcher understands that she is NOT a catcher, and is NOT wearing gear, so it is a sweep tag vs. blocking the plate. At the older age groups when pitchers become more specialized, the last thing a coach wants is his pitcher getting hurt on a play at home. Last year in HS ball one of our rival high schools lost their starting pitcher for the season when she twisted her ankle trying to cover a play at the plate. Needless to say, their season went downhill in a hurry.

GunnerShotgun · Dec 20, 2016

Have the catcher slide into the fence on a past ball (instead of running over, bending down, standing up and throwing to pitcher) it's much faster;
The catcher should always throw to the pitchers glove and not to a particular place on the field;
Have your corners crash and back up the throw to the pitcher (dependent on if you have other runners on base, adjust accordingly).

jsoftballcoach · Dec 20, 2016

All good advice, pitcher should get used to covering home on a passed ball/wild pitch even if there isn't a runner on third.

Eric F · Dec 20, 2016

In practice, get the pitchers and catchers together and work on PB/WP coverage. Have the pitcher intentionally throw WPs for the C to chase down and throw back to P covering the plate. Work up to doing it at full game speed.

SB45 · Dec 20, 2016

I would add...the only way to get an out at home is the catcher has to throw the ball. I think the approach Gunner outlined is best...catcher has to get stabilized and throw the ball fairly hard. For the pitcher this means...get there quick, break down into a ready position (like a 3rd baseman)...the ball should come quick and it could be just about anywhere. Pitcher should try to stay inside the baselines and apply a tag from the infield side of the 3rd baseline.

canyonjoe · Dec 20, 2016

Don't forget to make sure someone (likely 1B) is backing up this play or you could see a lot of runners moving up 2 bases.

Eric F · Dec 20, 2016

SB45 said:
I would add...the only way to get an out at home is the catcher has to throw the ball. I think the approach Gunner outlined is best...catcher has to get stabilized and throw the ball fairly hard. For the pitcher this means...get there quick, break down into a ready position (like a 3rd baseman)...the ball should come quick and it could be just about anywhere. Pitcher should try to stay inside the baselines and apply a tag from the infield side of the 3rd baseline.

We teach our catchers a few different throwing tools for passed balls. Knee slide into an overhand throw (as described before), underhand toss across the body (to the left) from the ground, and underhand elbow-pop away from the body (to the right) from the ground. If the ball is close enough to home plate for an underhand toss, use it. We have proven it to be the quicker option for our catchers, and practice it often enough to be reliable. We also practice having the catcher take the ball to the plate themselves, including a "Superman" dive.

A big thing for catchers is to evaluate the conditions of the backstop before the game starts - How far away is it? Are there any holes/abnormalities that could be problematic? Ball rebound (bouncy or dead)? Etc.

cvsoftball · Dec 20, 2016

Just knowing a pitcher is quick to cover home will sometimes cause a runner not to go and save a run. Therefore, make sure your pitchers are always quick off the mound to cover.

Covering home on a passed ball.

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