Why bring infield in

I think the play to throw the ball home was fine. It is important for the defense to be talking before a play happens. Middle infielders should talk amongst themselves and know where they are going if they get the ball or if another infielder gets it. Same with catchers, corner infielders, and pitchers. Use this as a learning aid and next time let whoever you plan on throwing the ball to know your intentions if you get the ball, before the play happens.

This will help the other defenders be engaged and hopefully the entire team will communicate better with the others on the field. I was in this situation earlier. Up by one run 23 had one out. Last inning. Other team had the tying run on third and the winning run on second base. I wanted to play the infield in to cut off the tying run, but doing so meant that we could not hold the runner at second base and he would score EASILY on a single.

What is the best approach in that situation? Intentionally walk the batter to get forces all around. I would then play half way and either get a force out at home or DP. With young kids, playing for a force at home best case, worst case trade an out for a run and then hope you can get next batter out for 3rd out. Visiting Team is up This would allow normal fieldable balls hit to infielders to get an out and let the score go tied and now you live to play another out.

Any thoughts???? In this scenario outfield positioning is more important than that of the infield. An extra base hit certainly wins them the game, and a single could as well.

This is a situation where the percentages are such that it is better to be aggressive and hope to make a catch on what would normally be a single to the outfield; you should be comfortable with the idea that you might even likely lose regardless of your strategy and therefore have an especially aggressive mindset and belief that you WILL get the ball and you WILL come up with a bullet throw. Just to run through some scenarios:. With no outs, if an outfield stays back and a sacrifice fly is hit, the runner on second could make it to third and they might win anyway with one out and a runner on third.

With one out in this situation you still might end up with a runner on third, the game tied and 2 outs, but all it takes is a passed ball or a single to end the game. No outs, outfield in: You might make a catch on a short liner to the outfield that would normally be a single, and runners might not try to advance as it would be a much shorter throw to home, or you might have a good chance at an out at the plate.

On a grounder through the infield you might have a chance at home on a brilliant throw, but you would likely be better off getting a force at third from left or center or second from right and hope to make it to extras. A double play then gets you out of the jam. If he goes and scores you still have a tied game and runners on first and second, which gives you a good chance of making it to extras.

I agree with your initial thought. Give up the run, get the out and hopefully prevent anyone else from scoring. When turning a double play at second base and the second baseman fields the ball should he take the time to line up his feet to underhand toss to short or shovel pass to the shortstop for a quicker play. Andrew, Hopefully when turning a double play your feet are lined up and under you properly before you actually field the ground ball so when you do have the baseball you can get rid of it quickly.

You need to be quick but not at the expense of making a poor toss. Balls hit harder you can take more time with your feed but balls hit a little softer you need to get rid of it quicker. I personally like the shovel pass, I think it makes playing second base much easier. But make sure you work on both feeds. The more options you have the better. Good Luck.

I have an intelligent 10 year old who likes to read. I want to find a book that covers defensive situations by positions for him to study.

He would enjoy it. Can you please recommend some educational as well as light reading regarding baseball for him? Jim, like I mentioned to Mark, a number of pro guys have written articles about positioning here on PBI. But I think you guys brought up a great point.

Maybe sometime this year we can get all that arranged into a format that would be easier to print or order in book form. Thanks for the suggestion. Good luck with your season! And that's about what you would expect. Teams play the infield in not because it affords a better chance of getting the batter out, but because it raises the probability that the runner on third will have to remain on third or get thrown out at the plate. So the conventional wisdom is superficially correct in that batting average does go up with the infield in.

But when you dig a litter deeper you find that hitters don't stand a significantly better overall chance of getting a hit with the infield in. Posted by Dan Agonistes at PM.

But I wonder if the increase in BA with RISP makes the likeliehood of scoring runs increase and therefore the strategy of infield-in flawed. Post a Comment. Wednesday, December 07, Playing the Infield In. Newer Post Older Post Home. Subscribe to: Post Comments Atom. Ads VividSeats. We also have a great selection of concert tickets - check it out! Pre-Order Today. Now on Baseball Prospectus Loading Will -- Washington Post Opinion Writer washingtonpost.

Scriptorium Daily Loading And stealing bases is a joke, now. I can't even get my runners to go. But the team I'm playing against can run at will. I would say that I have seemed to see a lot of infield hits when bases are loaded and infield is played in. Not sure though if it is significantly off in terms of how often it happens in MLB though.

For me it doesn't have to go through to be a hit. I can bring my infield in, and when they hit a hard ground ball right at the shortstop, he fields it cleanly -- for an infield single.

No play at the plate. No play at third. Doesn't matter how fast or slow the runners are. Seriously frustrating. Page 1 of 2.