The game of baseball lends itself to hustle.  In a sport where the action is limited to brief episodes, you would think it would not be a difficult task for a player to hustle when he needs to.  The game is not like basketball or hockey where there is constant movement and a player may take a play off to catch his breath.  Instead, in baseball, the game is slow-paced with the occasional burst of excitement when hustle (or lack thereof) can influence the outcome of a game.

One of those most common moments is running from home to first after a ball is put in play.  So many players simply do not hustle out of the batter’s box.  I’m sure you’ve seen it plenty of times.  A routine infield ground ball, a fly ball to the outfield, even a line drive up the middle for a base hit.  The ball is put in play, and the hitter makes the decision to come out of the box slowly because he is either a for sure out or it’s a for sure single.  Or is it?

What if the infielder bobbles the ball?  What if the outfielder drops the routine fly?  Your odds of being safe at first base just increased.  What if your line drive up the middle rolls under the center fielder’s glove?  Would you be able to stretch your easy single into a double?  Running hard down the line can put pressure on the defense, and pressure can lead to mistakes.  Here is a batting practice drill that can be implemented to improve players’ hustle down the line.

Drill – Hard 90

The Hard 90 Drill can be mixed in with part of your normal batting practice to work on hustle out of the batter’s box.  (The number 90 comes from the length between home plate and first base.)

• Groups of 5-6 hitters
• Have a set infield
• One swing to put the ball in play
• Emphasize hustle out of the box
• Runners should run through first base on infield grounders, and take hard turns toward second base on balls hit into the outfield
• Focus should be on hitting line drives and keeping the ball out of the air

After your normal rounds of BP, include 3-4 more rounds where each hitter in the group gets one swing to put the ball in play.  Upon hitting the ball, the hitter should get out of the batter’s box as quickly as possible towards first base.  If he hits the ball on the ground to an infielder, he should run through first base just as he would in a game. (Infielders should play the ground ball as a game-like situation as well.)  The hitter/runner’s goal is to beat out the throw, even if it’s a “routine” ground ball.  He should hustle through the bag at first and then immediately breakdown and look to his right for an overthrow into foul territory.

If he hits it into the outfield, the hitter should again hustle down the line, but this time make his turn around first base toward second.  This is where a lot of players get sloppy.  They become content that they have gotten a base hit and do not even think about trying to take the extra base.  The player’s turn around first becomes lazy and half-hearted.  Instead, he should be aggressive and make a hard turn so as to appear to be going for second (especially if the ball is in left-center or left field).  This can have a panic effect on an outfielder if done properly, and it can result in a fielding error or wild throw to second base.  If either of these happens, the runner can advance to second and now he is in scoring position.  The runner should work on advancing to second base if this happens during the drill.

Hustle, Hustle, Hustle

“I played the game one way. I gave it everything I had. It doesn’t take any ability to hustle.” -Wade Boggs

Wade Boggs is right.  Hustle is an attitude and mindset, not a talent.  You do not have to be the fastest player on the team to beat out a throw or take an extra base.  All it takes is a little hustle and a good understanding of the game.  Work on getting out of the batter’s box quickly and getting down the line with purpose.  You’ll be surprised at how often you can help your team and create a big inning from the otherwise routine.

You can read more about Phil and find his articles at his website: www.fullwindup.com

Picking up a pitchers tendancies is usually talked about as a way to help hitters not for baserunning.  If we apply the same concept to stealing bases we will give ourselves a better chance to swipe the bag.

If you know a pitcher always throws a 2-2 off speed pitch that becomes a good count to run in.  Understanding when the pitcher is going to throw certain things will make you more alert.  Even if you are not going to steal, and you have a pretty good idea the pitcher is throwing a breaking ball you can be more prepared for a ball in the dirt, which is another great way to advance.

This may seem little but baseball is a game of inches and getting a great jump on a fastball could have you thrown out, but that same jump on an offspeed pitch and you could be sliding in safely.  The closer you are to home the easier it is to score.

Remember, Details win Championships.

When I was young and first learning the game, just like all of you I was taught how to run bases.  At practice our coach would put us through paces of how to round the base, slide, take a secondary lead, etc…

What I was taught:

One thing that I remember was the part about touching 1st base.  It was explained to me I had to touch the inside of the bag with my right foot.  Like any little league player I was eager to please my coach and be the best at rounding 1st base.  What I realized was that I sometimes had to stutter step or take unusually large steps in order to hit 1st base the way he wanted me to.  I did not argue, I just did what we were being told.  Through the years all the way through college, I was taught to do this and just like little league I was still stutter stepping or putting my body in weird positions to accomplish this goal.  So, where am I going with this?

Do this:

Although I agree about touching the inside of the base, which helps you get a better line to second as well as a push off the base, what I am going to tell you is not to worry about which foot you hit the base with.

HUH?

That is right, it does not matter at all.  I want you to run to 1st base and no matter what foot you are going to hit it with just put that foot on the inside corner, push, and get to 2nd base.

What does this do?

It enables you to keep your normal stride, which is faster than a stutter step or a bigger step just to get your right foot on the base.  A stutter step will slow you down and a big step will also slow you down and put you at a higher risk for injury. 

Last year during our MAC Championship run at Central Michigan University our catcher trailing a runner to 1st base resulted in our outfielders or cut off men throwing out multiple runners.  This play is fantastic and does 2 things both of which are great for the defense. 

When to run the play:

With nobody on base or a runner on 3rd only and the offense gets a base hit.  Also, this is not a gimmick play to be used once in a while, it was a part of the defense and how things were done all the time.  Mind you this is a play that has been run for years and it still works against opponents in the league in which CMU plays every year.

How to run the play:

When the ball is hit and it is a clear base hit, the catcher takes off down the line behind the runner and covers 1st base. The pitcher backs up 1st base by crossing behind the hitter and getting in a position to back up the throw depending on where it is coming from.  The first baseman must give up the bag to become a backup for the throw coming in from the outfield.

Why does this play work:

The runner sees the first baseman leave the bag and he feels secure to get a bigger round thus getting too far off the bag and by the time the first base coach sees the catcher coming in it is too late.  The first base coach is almost always watching the ball which means he does not see the catcher coming and as the base runner rounds, either the outfielder or cut off man throw behind him to the catcher for a rally killing out.

Another benefit:

As teams begin to realize you run this play they will stop getting an aggressive round at 1st base.  Although this play is designed to get outs, taking away a teams aggressiveness is just as much a benefit as an out.  By keeping the runner closer to 1st base he is less likely to get an extra base on a bobbled ball.

Things that must happen to make this play work:

*Outfielders must get to the ball quickly but under control and make a throw that is low enough to be cut in case the runner just continues to 2nd on the throw.

*Catchers must get to 1st base every time (no exceptions)

*Pitcher must back up 1st base every time (no exceptions)

*1st Baseman must give up base early and get in position to back up throws

Try this play and let me know what you think.  It is easy to run, all it requires is hustle and repetition to become habit.  Any questions or comments about this or any other post can be sent to:

sam.flamont@davenport.edu

Picking up the coach before you touch second base may seem very obvious but it is something I have seen messed up more times than I care to remember and before you know it the runner is rounding the base too far and getting picked from behind or he runs through a stop sign and gets thrown out at third base.  Either way there is a very easy system I like to use that will put a stop to these silly mistakes.

I like to use a system called “Look, Touch, Look”.  This explains the exact order of operations I want the runner to follow.  

Look-Pick up the coach 20 feet before you hit the base then get your eyes back to the bag so you can hit it correctly.

Touch-Hit the base on the inside corner, it does not matter what foot you use.

Look-Pick up the coach immediately after you touch second base to make sure nothing has changed.

The last “look” is very important because the right fielder may have bobbled the ball and the coach wants you to come to third now, or he may have cut a ball off that the coach originally thought was going to get passed him and the coach wants you to stop.

Each coach will have their own signals but I like to two hands up if I want the runner to round the base a few steps.  Also, I like to put my left hand up and the right hand pointing in the direction of the base if I want the runner to stop right on the base.