Basecoaching in the Home-Plate Area.WHEN BASEBALL COACHES GET AROUND to the business of base-coaching, they tend to forget about a base called "home plate." It is the one base not under the control of a basecoach, but it definitely merits attention. A lot of close plays occur at home plate, and anything the coach can do to get the "safe" call is worth working on. A little thing like moving a bat or a mask out of the incoming runner's path can spell the difference between "safe" and "out"--and winning and losing. Take a look at the action sequence at the right. It shows three players on a well-drilled high school team doing their jobs on a close play at home plate. Result: one run scored. Such technique does not occur by accident. It has to be taught. The way a scientist named Pavlov used to do it. By repetition, doing it over and over until it became a conditioned reflex Conditioned reflex A learned response performed by a trained animal to a signal that was previously associated with an event of consequence for that animal. Conditioned reflex (CR) was first used by the Russian physiologist I. P. . Which is exactly what you need at home plate, where a mistake can negate ne·gate tr.v. ne·gat·ed, ne·gat·ing, ne·gates 1. To make ineffective or invalid; nullify. 2. To rule out; deny. See Synonyms at deny. 3. a run or reward you with the winning tally. I remember telling St. Louis Cardinal scout Angel Figueroa Angel Luis "Buster" Figueroa Sepulveda (born October 13, 1981 in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican professional basketball player who currently plays for the Arecibo Captains of the BSN league in Puerto Rico. that we spend a full hour every spring going over the duties of the batter, the on-deck hitter, and even) the runner who has just scored. On plays at the plate, the latter is expected to get the bat out of the way and signal the incoming runner to "Stand up!" or "Slide!" (plus indicating the location of the slide). Figueroa was incredulous in·cred·u·lous adj. 1. Skeptical; disbelieving: incredulous of stories about flying saucers. 2. Expressive of disbelief: an incredulous stare. : "You spend an hour just coaching at home plate?" "Of course... and more." Everyone on the team has to be alert, completely focused, and to never take anything for granted. That applies to everyone from the #9 hitter to the Willie Mayses. A major league base coach told us an intriguing story about the way Willie played the game. While in the on-deck circle in a close game with a runner at third with one out, he saw Orlando Cepeda The third-base coach had to be doing the same thing, of course. But, as the Mets top scout, Harry Minor, likes to put it, "Almost everything that comes easily is done wrong. "What is the first reaction of a runner on base when a ball is hit hard in the air or on a line? He starts forward. And so he is either doubled off or has to retreat belatedly to the bag, often losing a scoring opportunity." On-Deck We spend a lot of time on the deceptively "simple" duties of the on-deck hitter. Every on-deck hitter is expected to begin focusing on his job before anything happens. Too many of them waste time searching for a pet bat, and/or his helmet, or checking the stands for a friendly--or pretty--face, or maybe even a hitting tip from a parent. If, say, the #2 hitter is up, the #3 man should already be in the circle, with his helmet on and bat in hand, and the #4 man should not be far behind. Each should be ready to begin reading the situation. We would suggest that the on-deck player should stand in the circle, not kneel. A standing position will give him a better preliminary readiness for the delivery. He can see better and react better when he is standing. After all, he doesn't assume a kneeling position up at the plate. All of our on-deck people have the following responsibilities: Inform a batter in a "slash" or "fake-bunt-and-hit" position whether the infielders are "in" and thus vulnerable to the "slash" hit, or "back" and thus can be bunted on. This information can be passed on with some kind of verbal code. If the batter is bunting bunting, common name for small, plump birds of the family Fringillidae (finch family). Among the American buntings are the indigo bunting, in which the summer plumage of the male reflects sunlight as a rich, metallic blue; the painted bunting, or nonpareil ( for a hit, the on-deck hitter can communicate which infielders are "in" and which are "deep." Some coaches have the on-deck hitter tell the batter where the catcher is setting up: "Expect a fastball if the target is inside, and look for a breaking or off-speed pitch Noun 1. off-speed pitch - a baseball thrown with little velocity when the batter is expecting a fastball change-of-pace, change-of-pace ball, change-up pitch, delivery - (baseball) the act of throwing a baseball by a pitcher to a batter if the catcher is holding his glove low and away." One of the main duties that must be taught and emphasized repeatedly is for the on-deck hitter to scream "Pitchout pitch·out n. 1. Baseball A pitch deliberately thrown high and away from the batter to make it easier for the catcher to throw out a base runner who is standing off a base or attempting to steal. 2. !" upon perceiving it coming, enabling the baserunner to return to his base. A second verbal duty is yelling "Take it!" to the batter whenever a runner has a base clearly stolen. There's nothing more irritating than seeing the runner have his steal negated by the batter foul-tipping the pitch. We will penalize pe·nal·ize tr.v. pe·nal·ized, pe·nal·iz·ing, pe·nal·iz·es 1. To subject to a penalty, especially for infringement of a law or official regulation. See Synonyms at punish. 2. the hitter for failing to take the pitch as well as the on-deck hitter for failing to make the call. We usually inflict some kind of group penalty, as such punishments work wonders. We also work on discouraging misinformation mis·in·form tr.v. mis·in·formed, mis·in·form·ing, mis·in·forms To provide with incorrect information. mis , like a basecoach or well-meaning dugout inhabitant INHABITANT. One who has his domicil in a place is an inhabitant of that place; one who has an actual fixed residence in a place. 2. A mere intention to remove to a place will not make a man an inhabitant of such place, although as a sign of such intention he yelling "Stand up!" to a player about to slide. Once a player starts to slide, he must go all the way with it. As an old saying goes: "He who changes his mind in the middle of a slide often trades a good leg for a broken one." At home plate, the on-deck hitter or even a runner who has just scored, can position himself in front of a runner coming in from third so that the runner can see him and hear the command to "Stand up!" and thus avoid an unnecessary slide. We also instruct the incoming runner to look down at the plate, then shoot his foot Onto the plate to ensure touching it... "But," you will say, "nobody ever misses home." Wrong! Runners often do. We have taken three home runs away from opponents who failed to touch home plate, either in the excitement of the moment or because the plate was covered with dirt. It also happened to the USA softball softball, variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground ball, kitten ball, and, because it was also played by women, ladies' team in the last Olympics. The final duty of either the on-deck hitter or the runner who has just scored is to remove the catcher's mask or a bat, or both, from the path of an incoming runner/slider. We once lost a huge run in a playoff game Noun 1. playoff game - one game in the series of games constituting a playoff game - a single play of a sport or other contest; "the game lasted two hours" playoff - any final competition to determine a championship because our runner from second had to avoid the bat dropped by the hitter. Incidentally, runners should be taught to slide through the plate rather than to the plate, as they must do at second and third. With proper training on the old-fashioned hook slide or hand slide, the runner can be taught to elude e·lude tr.v. e·lud·ed, e·lud·ing, e·ludes 1. To evade or escape from, as by daring, cleverness, or skill: The suspect continues to elude the police. 2. the catcher's tag and score. Coaching point: You don't want your runner to crash into a catcher blocking the plate In baseball, blocking the plate is a common technique performed by a catcher to prevent a runner from scoring. The act of blocking the plate accounts for most of the physical contact in baseball. . It is dangerous to both of them, and illegal in amateur ball. The runner will usually be called out at the plate and out of the game. The on-deck hitter's job is to direct the incoming slider A block of material that holds the read/write head of a magnetic disk. See flying head. to stay up or to slide (and where to slide). |
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