Tag plays

[SCflashes]

Best way for defensive player to be positioned for a tag play on steal attempt or play at the plate: straddle the base for the throw or be in front of base to receive throw & make a sweep tag? Thanks.

 

[abbygale]

My thoughts are that the thrown ball moves faster than a sweeping tag so I would prefer to see a ball caught at the tag area if possible instead of reaching out to catch the ball and then sweeping back. Straddle.

 

[chinamigarden]

It all depends on where the throw takes you. If you commit to straddling too soon and there is an offline throw, its hard to move to the ball. If you wait to see where the throw is going to be (and when its going to be there), then you can adjust your feet for either a sweep, a block, or a straddle

 

[D.G. OutLaws 16u]

Staying in front of the base (towards pitchers circle) at every base is a good starting point for each infielder. They react to the throw, adjust,catch the ball and pop a tag down.

 

[FPMark]

It all depends on where the throw takes you. If you commit to straddling too soon and there is an offline throw, its hard to move to the ball. If you wait to see where the throw is going to be (and when its going to be there), then you can adjust your feet for either a sweep, a block, or a straddle

This is how we do it also. However I have them start behind the plate and let the throw dictate how the catcher positions to recieve it by moving forward toward the ball and catch it at the best tag point. In other words, a good throw is caught at the tag point and a sweep is not nessessary. A throw off line is caught at the point as close as possible to the tag point so the glove has to move as little as possible.

If you stand in front of the plate, it takes too long to catch the ball then spin around to tag the runner behind you.

On a steal the fielder usually has little choice on positioning. Catch the ball as close as possible to best tag point, and get the glove to the runner. Once again, don't try to catch the ball in front of the base (towards the pitchers circle), let the ball come to the tag point.

 

[MsDinosaur]

On my daughter's team, I've noticed that when the girls wait in front of the bag, they never get the out. There just isn't enough time to turn and bring the ball around to tag the runner. When they wait deeper and let the ball get as close to the tag point as possible, they do occasionally get that out, although sometimes the ball is missed entirely or knocked out by the runner. Hey, it's 10U after all!

 

[rowdy]

You can stand to the front of the bag or behind the bag but you can't be in position that blocks the plate in softball. At home I would prefer the catcher to stand behind the plate on the corner closest to third base. This allows the runner a path to the plate but since most runners make wide turns at the third it makes sense to make them move back to the front half of the plate and the tag is then in front of the fielder. Most catchers field from the front but why?