Holding the runners on base.

From Little League to big league, pitchers have to be taught to hold the runner/s) close to restrain the running game.

It is probably important on the lower levels, where the catchers do not have the arm or the quick release to minimize the running game. They have to depend upon the pitchers to give them a reasonable shot at the would-be stealers.

Let us look at some of the basic ways of holding the runner close. The first thing to teach the pitcher is to be the aggressor. We do not want him to simply come to a set position, look at the baserunner, then react to what he is doing.

We want him to control the situation, force the baserunner to react rather than the other way around, and the only way to do this is by focusing completely on him.

Everyone has heard the joke about "What do you do with a 2000-pound gorilla?" The answer is "Anything he wants to do." At Georgia Southern, we want our pitchers to be that 2000-pound gorilla. We want them to take charge of the game by controlling the pitch selection and controlling the baserunner.

The pitcher must decide what he wants to do and never let the baserunner force him to do otherwise. If the pitcher plans to throw to the base and does so, or decides to pitch to the plate and does so, he is the winner.

If he plans to pitch to the plate, but changes his mind when he sees the runner's big lead and then throws to the base, it will affect his concentration and he will become the loser.

Any time the runner does something that undermines the pitcher's concentration, the pitcher should back off the runner and start over again. Call this a tie.

Caution: Any time the pitcher plans to go to the plate while he has a knuckleball grip on the ball, he should never change his mind and try to pick off the runner. He could wind up throwing a knuckle ball to the base.

The pitcher must be taught to back off the rubber and start the sequence all over. He should, in short, never split his concentration between the runner and the catcher's mitt - never let the runner force him to change his plans.

The pitcher should also understand exactly what he is trying to accomplish with his pick off throw. Sure, it'd be great to pick off the runner every time you throw over. But that is unrealistic. Pitchers can become discouraged when they keep failing to pick off the runners, and they may stop throwing to the bases.

The coach should make them understand that as long as they get the runner to shorten their lead, they have accomplished their job.

We want the pitcher to keep throwing over whenever a runner takes a big lead in a stealing situation, regardless of how many throws it takes, he has to force the runner to shorten up.

A well-coached pitcher will never use his quickest or most deceptive move every time. He will develop at least two moves - a "calling card" and a "best move."

The deliberate, or "calling card," throw merely lets the runner know that the pitcher is thinking about him. This move is not especially quick or the pitcher's best move.

The "best move" involves some dangers, since it is delivered with a very quick motion that isn't always as accurate as the deliberate throw. That is one of the major reasons why pitchers should not use it all the time or even most of the time.

The pitcher can make one or two deliberate or routine throws to lull the runner into thinking it is his normal move, then snap his best throw over to the bag. It will often surprise the runner and pick him off. But even if it doesn't, it should force him to shorten his lead.

Tactical side: The pitcher should never use his quickest move in a situation where the runner obviously isn't going to steal or doesn't have the speed to make him a threat to steal.

By varying routine throws with good throws, the pitcher can keep the runner off-balance and guessing about what he is going to do.

CONCENTRATING WITH MEN ON BASE:

1. The pitcher should concentrate strongly on the batter in non-stealing situations. It is foolish and counterproductive to concentrate hard on a runner with two out and his team leading by six runs in the last inning.

The main objective in this situation should be to get a hitter out and end the game. Teams with any brains at all are not going to try to steal in this situation anyway, and even if the runner does steal it isn't going to create a problem.

Ergo, the pitcher should make sure to concentrate on the proper object - the hitter.

2. The pitcher should concentrate on the runner in a stealing situation. He wants to see what the runner is doing rather than just look at him. By knowing in advance what the runner is going to do, the pitcher can focus on the runner and still be able to concentrate on the hitter while planning to deliver to the plate.

3. It is very important for the pitcher to be able to shift his concentration from the runner to the batter in a stealing situation. The pitcher should begin his delivery while still looking at the runner on first base. A late shift in concentration will often result in a poor pitch. By focusing on the runner and then shifting to the hitter, the pitcher will be able to concentrate on each area at the proper time.

Pitchers must take care to shift their concentration in a way that conceals it from the baserunner, as this would enable the runner to get an excellent jump on a steal attempt.

4. The pitcher should plan his approach ahead of time to avoid having the runner on base control the situation. This "win or tie but don't lose" principle allows the pitcher to dominate the situation and his actions. Like that 2000-pound gorilla, he can do what he wants to do and force the runner to react to him.

BASIC MOVES

There are any number of "tricks" and techniques that can be used to keep a runner close to the base. The smart pitchers will choose a few good ones and work hard on them, then vary their use in games. The following five methods of holding the runners close have proven themselves over a long period of time:

VARY THE LOOKS

The pitcher can vary the number and the length of his looks before throwing to the bag or going to the plate. He might look twice on one pitch, three times on another, and look only once the next time.

The danger lies in adopting a consistent pattern that the runner might be able to pick up.

Example: Always looking twice on the first pitch, once on the second pitch, and twice on the third pitch. An alert baserunner would soon pick up the pattern and use it to get a great jump on a steal attempt.

The pitcher may also vary the length of his look at the runner.

Example: He might give the runner a quick followed by a long look on the first pitch, a long look followed by a quick look on the second pitch, and then two quick looks on the third pitch.

By changing the number and length of looks, the pitcher should be able to avoid getting into a pattern the baserunner can detect.

ROUTINE MOVE, GOOD MOVE

The pitcher can make a routine move and then follow with the good move. As previously mentioned, it would be foolish to make his best pick off move every time.

For one thing, the best/quickest throw is more likely to go amiss than a routine throw, and if used all the time it could begin to lose its effectiveness.

It would also leave the pitcher with nothing to use for variety, as the runner would have already seen his best. By starting with a few routines moves, the pitcher can lull the runner and set him up for his best move, which, if it doesn't actually pick off the runner, should force him to think more defensively and shorten his lead.

THROW WHILE GOING UP OR DOWN

The pitcher must come to a stop in order to pitch to the plate or it will be called a balk, but he can throw to a base without stopping. He can, thus, throw to a bag while going up or coming down with his hands in the stretch.

Caution: The pitcher who gets into a routine of going up with the hands, coming down, looking at the runner, and then throwing to the base or going to the plate can become stereotyped, enabling the runner to time his actions.

Many runners will stand on or near the base while the pitcher is getting his sign and then will move quickly off the base into his lead.

A smart pitcher can counter this move by going up with his hands and then throwing right to the base while the runner is moving off it, catching the runner flat-footed.

LONG LOOK

The pitcher can take a l-o-n-g look at the runner, perhaps for five seconds, before pitching to the plate. This can be effective against runners who are keyed up to steal the base.

Base-stealers talk about "winding up the springs" to get ready to explode on the pitcher's first movement. If nothing happens for several seconds, they could lose that explosive edge and get a poor jump, or decide not to run at all.

NO LOOK

The pitcher may not look at the baserunner at all! Since some runners key their jump on the turn of the pitcher's head, they can be surprised by a pitcher who goes right to the plate without looking at them.

The pitcher obviously cannot use this strategem too often - the runner will start taking off while the pitcher is holding the ball in his hand and not looking at him.

However, the no-look technique can sometimes offer an effective way to keep the runner off-balance and guessing.

We believe that these basic ideas can give the young pitchers a good idea of what they will need to hold the runners close and control the base-stealing situation, no matter how fast or how skilled the runners might be.

One of the tricks lies in getting the runners to worry about the things that the pitcher is doing, rather than having the pitcher worry about them.

(Next month: the mechanics used by right- and left-handed pitchers in holding runners close to first, second, and third.)