Middle infield mistake when breaking to second base

I had the pleasure of checking out a high school game last week.  It’s great to get outside and enjoy some warm weather for a change and it also gives me a long list of ideas for future posts!  Here’s

one.

When covering second base on a steal, both middle infielders should not be breaking towards the bag at the same time.  The obvious reason is so two huge holes don’t open up on both sides of the field for the hitter. 

On the surface one might say, “Why would both middle infielders be breaking towards the bag in the first place?”  The answer is, often the guy not asked to cover on the steal backs up the throw behind second base.  The problem isn’t that the guy backs up the throw.  The problem is when he breaks to start backing up.

For young players who are supposed to cover on the steal, it is ok to break to the bag as soon as they know that the runner is stealing.  The backup guy, however, must train himself to wait until the ball crosses the hitting zone before breaking.  If the ball is hit, he needs to be in his regular position to possibly field it.  If the ball is not hit, he then can break to back up.

When players get older and their quickness/footwork improves, they actually can accomplish both – wait to see the pitch and then cover the bag.  That was shown and explained in another post linked HERE.

Tomorrow’s post:  Hit it far or hit it hard?