Short Stop Covering on the steal

[Jjclark]

Im new to the board, so the question might have already been posted. When does the shortstop break to cover second on a steal. Does she have wait to play the pitch or break on the "runner" call?

 

[SnocatzDad]

With a runner on first, as soon as the ball is past the batter the SS should break hard towards second and only slow down when they can see that there is no steal being made. SS has about 2 seconds to be in postition to catch the ball and place the tag. IMO most SS start too far away from the bag and end up leaving too early or getting there too late. I always tell them to set up such that they can make sure they play the batter first and the steal second and have time to get there, but many have to be positioned as they are too proud to position themselves properly and would rather constantly cheat (i.e. leave early) and hope they don't get caught than stand closer to the bag.

 

[mradosevic]

you can work on it practice.. set up a pitcher, catcher, shortstop, batter, and runner. Teach your catcher to throw a strike right to the bag (no rainbows!) once they get the timing right, the SS will get there just in time to take the throw... with a catcher that can pop quickly and a dependable SS, you will get a lot of runners...

 

[RayR]

A good player can break before the ball reaches the batter if she knows what she is looking for....otherwise she has to play the batter first and then break....positioning is key...

 

[SnocatzDad]

A good player can break before the ball reaches the batter if she knows what she is looking for....otherwise she has to play the batter first and then break....positioning is key...

About the only time you can really leave early is if they show bunt late, if they show bunt early you have to respect that they can pull back and swing away. Every SS that leaves early and gets burned will tell you about how they knew what they were looking for and were sure the batter wasn't swinging.

 

[SnocatzDad]

once they get the timing right, the SS will get there just in time to take the throw... with a catcher that can pop quickly and a dependable SS, you will get a lot of runners...

If the SS gets there "just in time" your going to miss a lot of tags. When I watch a MLB game, the SS's are typically setting up camp waiting on the throw, that's how you get in a position to tag them regardless of how they come (straight slide, hook slide etc) and how you get into a position to still get an out even if the throw is a little off.

 

[mradosevic]

Let's not wordsmith this too much...What I meant was she will get at the right time (there not too early and not too late).... The point was working on it in practice to get the timing right.

 

[starsnuffer]

The only time I'm for the short stop leaving early is when you teach your shortstop to read the catcher signs and know when there is going to be a pitch-out. Otherwise the SS needs to wait for the ball to cross the plate before making a move. At younger ages, cheating towards second for positioning is needed, especially if the catcher has a decent arm, but while the SS may be positioned closer to 2nd, they need to play the ball first, runner second.

-W

 

[SnocatzDad]

Let's not wordsmith this too much...What I meant was she will get at the right time (there not too early and not too late).... The point was working on it in practice to get the timing right.

Didn't mean to pick on you, but I see many SS's that are coached to get to the bag simultaneous with the ball and I think that is playing into the hands of an aggressive base running team because a well trained base runner will recognize that and find the right spot to slide to to make a good throw into a missed tag.

 

[rowdy]

You can't compare softball and baseball. I would say the play can't convert to covering second until the hitter has finished the attempt at the pitch. If the throw arrives just before the runner, and your SS can apply a tag that is the ideal scenario. In college the pitcher can pitch out and the fielder, the ball, and the runner still all arrive pretty close to the same time.

Teach your SS how to swipe the tag, and show the umpire. The one thing I see a lot is the SS or any fielder for that matter holding the tag and this gives the umpire too much time to analyze what he or she just saw.