Fielding Ground Balls
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Fielding Ground Balls

Fielding ground balls requires practice, but all balls should be fielded with two hands.  Get your child in the habit of charging (running forward to meet) every ground ball.  This allows time for bobbles and improves the speed and accuracy of the throw.

  • Provide a baseball glove which fits a little hand. Not too big!  Infielders usually use gloves that are smaller than outfielders gloves.
  • Roll the ball first. Then graduate to a few bounces. Next, toss softly at close range.
  • Take the glove off and roll grounders to your child.  This for forces your child to use two hands and use proper fielding position.
  • Remind him/her to squeeze the ball after it lands in the glove.
  • Kids are generally more afraid to catch a ball than to swing at it. Most kids will learn how to hit before they learn how to catch. Catching a ball is the toughest thing for kids to learn because they might feel that they can’t control the ball.
  • Remember, kids improve quickly as hand/eye coordination improves. Practice! Watch baseball a lot with your son - on television, or listen to a game on radio. Take your kids to baseball games. This doesn’t have to be a major league game. If your youngster plays in a 7-8 league, go watch a 13-14 game. Or visit your local high school or college to watch the bigger guys play. Maybe you live near a minor league stadium. They do a great job of making baseball fun for everyone on a much smaller scale than the major league stadiums. It’s homier, smaller and you’re definitely closer to the game!
Every infielder must strive to achieve the following. He must have:
  1. The correct attitude
  2. Excellent sensory perception
  3. Good rhythm with all ground balls
  4. Proper mechanics
  5. The ability to make the plays.
Once he has developed these five areas, he must never settle for anything short of perfection.

Every infielder must desire to be involved in all 21 outs. His ATTITUDE should be to demand that every ground ball be hit to him. He is so confident in his fielding abilities that he knows every ground ball hit to him will result in an out. Therefore, if 21 ground balls are hit to him, no errors will be committed, and his team will be in a great position to win. He takes every ground ball personally, as if he were in a prizefight for the championship of the world. His confident attitude forces him to believe that there is no ground ball which can get by him, that he will get to the ball and throw the runner out. This is a highly competitive attitude, which puts the infielder in the correct frame of mind. Never should an infielder take on the attitude of fear or apprehension; rather, he should have an attitude of confidence and courage.

The jump an infielder gets on a batted ball is directly proportional to his level of SENSORY PERCEPTION. A good infielder will read a batted ball with both sight and sound. This ability enables the infielder to gauge the speed and direction of the batted ball. Most infielders will move, even on balls that are swung on and missed. This is due to their visual perception of pitch location and bat angle. The sound of the ball coming off the bat allows the infielder to make judgment of how fast or slow the ball may be hit and then react accordingly. In order to take full advantage of both sight and sound, an infielder must have a solid pre-pitch mentality and be focused on the hitting zone. Infielders must practice this during batting practice to get the full effect of using both sight and sound.

Developing a good RHYTHM WITH GROUND BALLS could be taught as a mechanic of fielding but has been separated from that section because of its overwhelming importance. Arriving in the proper position to field a ground ball requires a sense of timing. The terms "arriving on time" or "getting instinct with the ball" are good pictures of what actually needs to occur. There are three different hops which an infielder might field; long hop, short hop, and in-between hop. The most desirable hops to field are long hops or short hops with in-between hops being the hop most likely to be misfielded. Although sensory perception plays a large role in the rhythm phase, once the speed of the ground ball has been gauged, agility and timing must take over. This allows the infielder to get to and field the more desirable hops. An infielder accomplishes this by slowing down (shuffling his feet) or speeding up (taking a more direct approach to the ball); this process is referred to as "dancing with the ball." Once the fielder has arrived, with good timing, he will field and secure the ball.

Proper FIELDING MECHANICS must take place throughout the entire fielding process. This article will not cover the intricacies of fielding mechanics, but will list the major points of the fielding process.

  1. Ready position
  2. Check step
  3. Getting outside of the ball
  4. Right-left field (for a right-handed fielder)
  5. Go down and get the ball, with the hands at 7 & 2 o'clock
  6. Right-left throw (for a right-handed fielder)
The methods infielders use to approach and address the ball may be different. However, the infielder must have good feet and good hands or his fielding will be based on luck. Fielding mechanics are taught in many different ways, but a good infielder always finds a way to get into a good athletic position to field the ball.

The bottom line for any infielder is to get to the ball and MAKE THE PLAY. He must relax, feel confident, and explode. There is no time in a game to think back on the how to's of fielding. The infielder should react only to the situation and conquer it. This moment is the time all the hard work in practice pays off. All the thinking, repetition, and focus should take over and allow the infielder to accomplish only one thing, MAKING THE PLAY!

Every infielder must be successful on every ground ball hit to him on these five essentials. Baseball is a repetitious sport, and a good work ethic and practice regimen are the only ways to become truly proficient in these five areas. Every infielder must take pride in his craft. Becoming proficient in these five areas will allow him to further his mental and physical abilities.

Fielding Ground Balls

Ground Ball Hit At You

fielding a ground ball

Unless the ball is absolutely ripped at you and you don't have time, get in the habit of moving toward the grounder (charging the ball) as you prepare to field it. Unless it's a slow roller, you want to approach the ball in a controlled manner that is aggressive but not out of control. This allows you to make adjustments so you're not catching it off a short hop or taking it off the first bounce on the infield dirt. As you get closer to the ball, begin breaking down to get into position to field the ball. To do this, shorten your steps and widen your feet. Bend not only at the knees but also with your back. Put your hands out in front of your body and open your glove toward the ball with your bare hand on top.

Catching The Ground Ball

There are a few common problems that players make when catching a ground ball.

  1. Not catching the ball out in front.
    By doing this, you cannot watch the ball all the way into your glove; most likely you are bending either with your knees or back but not both. If you use two hands, it's almost impossible "not" to be in front of the ball.

    When you catch the ball under you, you loose the ability to give with your hands. You want 'soft hands', a term used to describe a fielder who catches the ball out front of his body and seems to suck up the ball from that position into a position to throw. With soft hands, you can make last second adjustments to a bounce that was different than expected.

     

  2. Poorly Positioned Hands
    Your glove must be in a good position to field the ball: open and close to vertical. This gives you the most area to catch the ball.

 

Short Hop

In all situations, try to avoid catching the ball on a short hop. In the diagram below, the approximate area of the short hop is shown in red. Catching the ball on a short hop is a difficult play to make. It takes practice for players to get in good position to avoid fielding a short hop. The following link is a good drill for players to work on the necessary footwork for avoiding a short hop

short hop diagram

Backhand

The backhand play is one of the most difficult to make. Poor technique and lack of practice are two of the biggest reasons why players struggle with the backhand play.

As you approach the ball you will either field it with your left foot forward or right foot forward depending on when you get to it. Many players will practice fielding a backhand only one way, but the fact is you will have to make the play both ways so make sure you practice both ways of fielding a backhand. Either way you want to make sure you keep your glove in front of your face. You want to watch the ball all the way into the glove.

 

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