The batter hits a routine ground ball to first base, everyone knows it is the third out of the inning and they are excited because the pitcher just pitched out a basesloaded jam.  As the first baseman fields it going a little to his right he looks up and the pitcher is just watching the play, the runner on third crosses home plate and the batter beats the first baseman to the bag.  This is one the most frustrating plays in baseball.  Lets figure out how to stop this play and make sure the pitcher is covering correctly to avoid getting hurt.

First of all, if the ball is hit to the left side of the pitcher he should instinctively get take a few hard steps toward first base.  If you realize you are not needed you may stop, but make it a habit to take a few steps, remember hustle can’t hurt anyone.  How do we make this a habit?  Practice, Practice, Practice, work on this all the time, remember, it is your game and you are only going to make things more difficult on yourself if you are lazy.  The pitch is thrown, contact is made, the ball is to your left, you should now make an arc toward first base.  You want to run on an angle toward the first base line and then turn up toward first base, but remember to stay off the line.  You never want to cross or touch the foul line due to the chance for contact with the runner.  Also, you are not running straight to the foul line and then turning up and you are not making a bee line from the mound to first either, you are making an arc shaped path.  The best case senario is the first baseman will get you the ball with a nice soft underhand flip about two or three steps before first base so you can catch the ball, and then worry about finding the bag.  Also, once you touch the bag with your right foot make sure you turn in toward the diamond, because you do not want to hurt yourself or the runner by causing a collision.

This play seems really easy but it is one that is messed up far to often because either the pitcher forgets to cover or the timing is bad and he receives the ball at the same time he gets to the bag, making him look down to find the bag while he is trying to catch the ball and he drops it because he takes his eyes off the ball.