Successfully Fielding the Ball in the Dirt at First Base

Picking Balls in the Dirt

Successfully fielding the short hop, whether it’s a low throw or a ground ball to you, can instantly make you the most popular guy on the team.

You can better yourself and your team by improving your ability to scoop errant throws out of the dirt. Your teammates will feel confident that their first baseman has their back, and isn’t going to miss-handle the short hop – a situation which usually results in an error for the guy who threw the ball.
This kind of confidence makes your infielders more bold to go after the difficult plays and to try to get the out, even if they run the risk of getting off a less-than-perfect throw. A first baseman who masters this defensive skill takes away hits from the other team, keep runs off the scoreboard, and build confidence for the whole team.
This takes skill and a lot of work, and the drills for fielding short hops are probably going to be your main practice. Here are a couple tips to give you the best chance to pick any ball in the dirt.

Panic is Bad. Preparation is Key.

With preparation, you can become comfortable enough with this situation to allow yourself be calm and watch the ball the whole way. You must remember to keep your foot on the bag and let all of your practice and natural ability take over.

Attack The Baseball.

Be aggressive. Just because it may be a difficult pick, don’t let the ball play you. Once you get into position to make the play, be aggressive with your glove and take it through the baseball, don’t give with the ball and let it play you. When in doubt, go get the ball.

Get To The Side Of The Baseball.

You can make a pick more difficult if it is right in front of you, first of all its difficult to decide if you are going to back hand it or scoop it. Also, your body can get in the way. This is a do or die play, so give yourself the best opportunity to make the play. Even if the throw is right at you, play it into a backhand or forehand and attack the ball. This also allows you to see the short hop from the side and may give you just a little better idea of where the ball is going to bounce.

Work From The Ground Up.

It is much easier to move your glove up then to move it down. A trick commonly used, is to start with your glove on the ground and once the ball hits the ground start working up. This tends to be the height the ball will be kicking up, unless it takes a weird hop.

Great Article from the Professional Baseball Insider Blog.  Thank you.

Elite Baseball Academy Instruction: How Has the BBCOR Bat Changed the Game of Baseball...

Elite Baseball Academy Instruction: How Has the BBCOR Bat Changed the Game of Baseball...: At the Elite Baseball Academy we often talk to coaches and players about baseball bats and the changes that the game is going through sinc...

How Has the BBCOR Bat Changed the Game of Baseball?

At the Elite Baseball Academy we often talk to coaches and players about baseball bats and the changes that the game is going through since the change to the BBCOR aluminum bats.  We hear them talk about how much "pop" has left the bats, how they don't reach the fences anymore and how the "jam shot" blooper hits do not get over the the infielders like they used to.  We hear a lot of people talk about how the new BBCOR bats are similar to swinging a wood bat.  It is defnitely much more similar to wood bat than the old "pre-BBCOR" bats.  We have always believed that the size of the sweet spot on the bat is different.  The sweet spot on a bat can be defined by the location which produces maximum batted ball speed and the definition I prefer that ties into our "Energy Transfer" Hitting Approach is the location where maximum energy is transferred to the ball.  With my professional background I always favor wood bats for all ages when working out in the off-season and pre-season then switching to the aluminum bat to reap the benefits of the aluminum bat in their games.  As a coach and scout I believe that the BBCOR regulations are a step in the right direction in creating better hitters because kids won't get rewarded as much on the weaker contacts.  In addition, using either bat (BBCOR or wood) they get a similar reward when properly putting the actual sweet spot on the ball, which cleans up their swing for the better.  Now the tough part that elevates the higher end hitters is how often can you repeat your good actions that put that barrel on the ball.  Transfer that energy efficiently!

Today I received some information on the effect of the BBCOR bats on the college game from one of my colleagues, Pete Caliendo.  Thank you Pete.  Here is what the difference in BBCOR regulation bats compared to the bats that used to be legal.  The stats came from ESPN Science.  Here are some of the results they found:
The sweet spot was five inches in the old bat, the BBCOR is three inches.

• The BBCOR bats have 5% reducction in exit speed (the ball leaving the bat).
• A 400-foot home run in the past is now a 375-foot home run or fly ball.
• College baseball has seen a 20% reduction in scoring using the BBCOR bats.
• College baseball number of home runs per game:  Old bats:  1.87/g   BBCOR:  1.04/g

Let us know what you have experienced since the change to the BBCOR bats.

Little Leaguers Enjoying Exciting Success

It has been an interesting summer with continuing learning about the youth baseball level.  After many years of coaching at a high level it has been an unique transition and a great experience coaching my son for the first time.  In the first week of the season, we saw two exciting results in our first two games.  In winning game one 14-3, we had four pitchers combine for a 4 inning NO-HITTER, with all of their runs coming in one inning where we walked too many kids.  Yesterday we had an exciting game where we led off the game with a home run, gave up three runs in one inning with a couple walks, hits and errors then in the bottom of the 6th down 1-3 and our fifth hitter leading off, the bats came alive with double, single, single and with 1 out and runners on 2nd and 3rd we had a  WALK OFF 2 RBI single to win the game!  It was a great week for our 10U kids, they learned the value of continuing to believe in themselves and their teammates through the end of the game.  Great lesson for the kids and a exciting finish to watch while coaching in the 3rd base box.  Great job guys, keep believing and keep improving every time out on the field. 

Welcome to the Elite Baseball Academy Instruction Blog

Welcome to the Elite Baseball Academy Instruction BLOG!

We are very excited about the opportunities that our blog will offer.  The Elite Baseball Academy Director and Lead Instructor, Darin Everson will available to answer questions from players and coaches. 

Everson will also offer Baseball Tips of the Month and stories about the differences in coaching professionally and coaching his son at the youth baseball level and the unique perspective of each level.  After coaching at the high school level, in two different collegiate summer leagues, professionally at four different levels and in youth baseball; Everson can offer many different perspectives on proper baseball instruction.  

In addition, Everson will share his experiences with some high level amateur baseball with the National Team Identification Series for U.S.A. Baseball.  Everson is the Wisconsin Director for the Great Lake Region and will be running the Wisconsin workouts in the summer of 2012.  Everson is also very excited in sharing his experiences about his unique trip to the Dominican Republic in August where he is coaching a 16U squad to play in an international tournament. 

We look forward to offering a great blogging experience that will help share ideas on how to help improve the skills of our baseball players.