In outer space.

Good outfielders are never stationary. They react to every swing and every offensive movement, and they are always thinking and always in the right position.

They also run on and off the field at top speed, and are always aware of the situation - score, inning, outs, count, and situation.

Our first article last month covered the basic stance, position adjustments, tracking down the baseball, communication, and deceiving the runner.

"DIVING" CATCHES

We want our outfielders to catch any fly ball they can reach. We don't want them to dive for fly balls, especially those close to an inside fence or when they're coming in and an infielder is going back for the ball.

A figure-four slide will greatly reduce the possibility of injury. The infielder going back should dive high to avoid the outfielder sliding low under him.

For "gappers" that the outfielder can catch only by diving, we want him to bring his hands into his chest after he catches the ball and roll away from his glove hand. This will prevent the ball from being jarred out of his glove upon impact with his forearms and elbows.

As soon as he hits the ground, he should bounce up and show the umpire the ball.

On balls hit squarely between the outfielders, only one of them should dive for the ball. A designated diver can be chosen by the coach. The non-diving outfielder must take a deeper angle and assume back-up responsibility.

Rule: Whenever possible, catch the ball on the run without diving.

GROUND BALLS

Ground balls may be caught in three different ways: (1) in front of the body like an infielder, (2) do or die off to the side of the body, and (3) off to the side of the body followed by a reverse-pivot to the glove side and throw.

The outfielder should play the ball like an infielder whenever he doesn't have to make a quick throw after catching the ball - meaning a routine base hit or a base hit that doesn't require a play on the lead runner.

The ball will usually be hit at the outfielder or a short distance to his right or left. He must hustle to the ball, gather, and widen his base to gain body control three or four steps before he gets to the ball. He must then play through the ball aggressively, fielding the ball off his stride foot, taking a short shuffle step with his back foot, then stepping directly at his target for his overhand throw.

A good basic technique is essential to keep the player in a controlled position and give him a chance to adjust to bad hops.

DO-OR-DIE

The do-or-die technique is used whenever the outfielder is charging the ball and the baserunner is trying to advance; i.e., going to third or home on a base hit.

The right-handed outfielder must play the ball to his glove hand (left) side to ensure the maximum amount of control and momentum. He should field the ball in front of his body with his stride (left) leg forward, take a quick shuffle step with his right foot, and step toward his target base with his stride foot for the throw.

If the player cannot master the do-or-die technique or is playing on an unusually rough outfield, he may be allowed to make the play like an infielder - except speeding everything up.

On ground balls hit deep to his gloved-hand side on which he has to extend, the right-handed outfielder should field the ball on the run and then reverse-pivot to his glove side for the throw.

The key is to plant his right foot perpendicular to the target and make sure that his lead (left) shoulder does not rotate prematurely off the intended line of flight. This technique will give him the leverage and momentum needed to make a quick, accurate, and forceful throw.

He can, of course, use a clockwise turn into throwing position. But it is a slower, less forceful and more difficult way to make the play.

Remember, the reverse-pivot technique doesn't work for every ball hit to the glove-hand side; it is intended only for balls that really extend the outfielder when his momentum is taking him away from the play.

THROWING

Our throwing fundamentals are basic. We want our outfielders to point their front shoulder toward their target, generate positive momentum, and throw overhand.

The weight is loaded on the back leg, with the foot nearly perpendicular to the line of throw. The throwing arm is brought up into the power position - an "L" with the fingers pointing up and the ball facing the outfield fence.

The ball is gripped across the wide seams to allow for a four-seam rotation, with the fingers pointing at 12 o'clock at the time of release. As with every basic throw, the athlete must step toward the target with his stride foot and bring the arm forward as soon as the foot is planted. The head should be kept level and follow the hand to the target, with the chest finishing over the stride knee.

Players with poor footwork and slow feet will generally have a slow release. The pivot foot (the right-hander's right foot) will usually be the culprit. Instead of taking a short momentum step with it, the outfielder will take an overly long step after catching the ball. He cannot start to throw until his stride foot is planted.

The throw should be delivered somewhere between the waist and knee of the receiver. Any throw above the waist will take too long to get to the tag zone. Any throw below the knees will wind up fighting the baserunner.

When in doubt, the outfielder should throw lower, as low throws travel 10% faster than high throws. For example, a low throw will travel 297 feet in the time it takes a high throw to travel 270 feet.

Note: A high throw is one that has an arc to it.

Short throws, especially by strong-armed outfielders, may be delivered on the fly. Since, however, most outfield throws must travel 200+ feet, the ball is going to lose linear carry, and the outfielder will have to throw the ball high enough to get it to its destination, but low enough to be cut off in case it goes off line or arrives late.

If the thrower's arm isn't strong enough to deliver the ball to the receiver on the fly, he should one-hop the ball.

The actual target and the type of throw (on the fly or on the hop) will depend on the outfielder's arm strength. If he decides to use the cutoff man as a target, he should realize that the cutoff man isn't always going to be in the same spot (though the base will). The tendency is to throw to the cutoff man rather than through him.

Any time the ball is off line or does not have enough on it to reach the base, the relay isn't going to catch anyone.

The most important factors in throwing are accuracy and intelligence (in throwing to the right base). The key is for the outfielder to know his range. He may assume that most runners can run the 90 feet (with a running start) somewhere between three and four seconds. He must then discern from what spot on the field he can throw to second, third, or home in less than 3.5 seconds.

Generally, a ball will travel between three or four times the speed of the runner. O.K., let's say the runner from second is trying to score on a base hit to left field and he can run 90 feet in three seconds and that the outfielder can throw 270 feet in three seconds.

That means that the outfielder would have to catch the ball at 270 feet or closer to the plate and release the ball before the runner can get to third base to have a chance to nail him at home - assuming it is a perfect throw and a tenth of a second is allowed for the tag.

An outfielder can prepare for the game by walking off the 270 feet on the foul line and looking for a reference point on the side fencing. That will let him know how far back or forward he will have to come to catch a fly ball and whether he will have a chance to catch an advancing runner.

All too often an outfielder will give a trail runner extra bases by trying to throw out a lead runner on whom he has no chance. Coaches can give their outfielders a realistic reference point for their throwing by testing their arms and throwing times over various distances on the field, and factoring in the athletes' ability to throw accurately on the move.

If the player cannot throw accurately while on the move, he'll probably be better off focusing on the trail runner (preventing him from advancing) rather than going for the lead runner.

The scoreboard will also dictate where to throw the ball (inning, score, outs, etc.). With a two-run lead, two outs, and a runner on second, the outfielder may choose to disregard the runner trying to score and throw directly to second to prevent the back runner from reaching second, where he could score on a simple hit.

How the ball is hit is also a critical factor. If the ball is hit well over to the fielder's right or left, the fielder's priority should be to keep the trail runner from taking extra bases.

Giving up a free base by throwing to the wrong base or throwing poorly to the right base can lead to big innings.

Example: Fly ball with one out and runners on second and third. When in doubt, the outfielder should gamble by throwing home. With no outs and runners on second and third, he should throw to third, unless the runner on third is the winning run.

Rationale: With one out, if the back runner goes to third on the sacrifice fly, the next hitter will be required to get a hit to drive the runner home.

With no outs, the chance of a multiple-run inning will be increased, because if the runner from third is safe at home and the runner from second goes to third, the next hitter could score the runner on an out.

SUN FIELD

When playing in the sun without glasses, the outfielder should step to the right or left to avoid dealing with the sun, while blocking it out with the bare hand.

When playing with glasses, the outfielder should flip them down as soon as he locates the ball, and keep them down until he's thrown the ball.

Though the new technology enables a fielder to keep the glasses down at all times, not everyone can see well enough to wear them all the time.

POSITIONING WITH THE INFIELD IN

Whenever the infield is brought in, the outfield must take up the slack by playing shallower. With a big lead, the outfield should also be played shallower to take away the singles - of which there are many more than extra-base hits.