Sep 7, 2017 | Diamond Devotions
Ivan Rodriguez. Yadier Molina. Johnny Bench. In their primes, no catchers’ arms were more feared than these guys. Runners knew they had better figure out the pitcher’s timing and get a jump based on that. If they were a split second late in taking off from...
Sep 6, 2017 | Diamond Devotions
TOOTBLAN. It’s a thing in baseball. Not a good thing. It stands for Thrown Out on the Bases Like a Nincompoop. There’s even a Twitter account dedicated to tracking who racks up the most TOOTBLANs in a season. You’ve seen a guy get a TOOTBLAN…when he...
Feb 4, 2016 | Diamond Devotions
Baserunning should be so simple. It shouldn’t require the hours spent on it at practice. Hit the ball. Run hard to first. Hit the front part of the base, or make a turn and hit the inside. It should be so simple. But it’s not. Teaching it to players of all...
Aug 2, 2014 | Diamond Devotions
If you want to see something amusing, go to a few youth league games and hope there’s a rundown play. Inevitably, the ball will be tossed back and forth several times, with the runner doing his best to stay in the pickle as long as possible. What’s most...
Sep 12, 2013 | Diamond Devotions
The third base coach is there for a reason. Baserunners are taught to watch for his signals. When rounding second base, the runner looks to the coach for the “go” or “stop” sign. The same is true when rounding third. What the runner cannot...
