FactPlace

Short Essays...

Playing Softball

This article is intended to be a series of short essays for the recreational softball player. I'll talk a little about playing various positions; base-running strategy, hitting and whatever else occurs to me.

7/28/2008 - Hitting

Slow pitch softball is a hitters game. A balanced defense can take away the obvious gaps, but ultimately the team that hits better and scores runs will win the game. It's almost impossible, no matter how good your defense is, to shut anybody out in slow pitch softball so at some level you really do have to go out there and outscore them.

Stance

There are three basic stances at the place: open, closed and neutral.

Open: An open stance is with your front foot further from the plate than your back foot is, "opening" your hips to the pitcher. This stance tends to indicate a tendency to pull the ball (which means to hit the ball to the near side of the field - i.e. a right-handed hitter hits to left field; a left handed hitter to right) but as we'll see soon this is really a false assumption because it's really your body position at the time you strike the ball that is more determinant of where you're going to hit the ball than your body position while you await the pitch. An open stance can give you a little bit better vision of the field and the pitch.

Closed: A closed stance is the opposite of an open stance; your front foot is closer to the plate and you're almost turning your back on the pitcher. This seems to indicate a tendency to push the ball (or go to the opposite field) but again, it's your stance when you strike the ball that matters more. A closed stance can be helpful in generating a bit more power as it gives you a little more natural torque, but it makes it a little harder to see the pitch and the field. That's not quite as important in slow-pitch softball as it is in baseball as you have a LOT longer to evaluate the pitch.

Neutral: A neutral stance has the feet equidistant from the plate - hips more or less directly pointed to the pitcher. This is a good stance to start with, as it lets you have more flexibility in where you're going to take the ball when you hit it.

Stride

The stride is your step with the front foot when you attack the ball in your swing. The stride is a KEY element in your swing as it will largely determine your body position at the time you strike the ball and this will largely determine which direction the ball is going to go in.

7/13/2008 - Playing First Base

First base is a pretty key defensive position in softball. Quite a few plays will run thru the first baseman and those are often the kinds of routine plays that your team needs to make in order to be successful. In most of the recreational softball leagues a team that can successfully execute the fundamentals reliably has a big advantage - being able to close out routine infield plays is one of those fundamentals.

Positioning

On every batter the first baseman needs to be aware of his positioning but he has less flexibility than a lot of other positions. A 2nd baseman can line up just about anywhere from directly behind the 2nd base bag to within several feet of the first base line. But the first baseman is always going to be constrained by his mobility and distance from the bag. The more nimble you are the further from the bag you can stray. But on every hitter you need to assess not only where the batter is likely to hit the ball but also how much foot speed that batter has so that you know that you can comfortably beat him to the bag. Remember...you don't JUST have to beat him to the bag, you have to get there in time to give your teammate a target to throw to.

That said, 1st base can be a position with a lot of movement. You will often need to back up throws or move down the line. A lot of players will get lazy and just stand there and watch the game if there isn't a play at first, but a GOOD 1st baseman will stay involved.

The Double-Play

When I'm playing 1st in a double-play situation I'll play closer to the batter for two reasons:

1. It gives me a chance to start the double-play more quickly by getting the ball in my glove more quickly.

2. It gets me IN FRONT of the base runner. If the ball is hit to you and the base runner runs in front of you as you're trying to field it can cause some problems trying to field the ball cleanly.

In those situations I can also stray a little further from the 1st base bag because the ball is going to have to go to 2nd before it comes to me...so on a grounder to the shortstop, for instance, I have an extra couple of seconds to get to the 1st base bag - to finish the play.

The Line Drive or Fly Ball

When the ball is hit in the air (away from me) I will immediately go to the first base bag. The reason is that if the base runner has come off the bag there is a chance we may be able to double him off after the catch. Many is the time playing second base or third base that I've caught a line drive or pop-fly and found that the base runner at first has come well off the bag, but our first baseman hasn't broken back to the bag so an opportunity for a double-play is lost. Your first steps on a line drive or fly ball should always be towards the bag.

Backing Up The Throws

Scenario: Ball is hit into left field and the batter rounds first and heads for second. Your position? You should drift towards second and onto the right-field grass lining up the second baseman with the left fielder. Why? In case of a throw from left you want to be in a position to back up the 2nd baseman in case the throw gets by. If the base runner changes his mind and comes back to first you need to be prepared to hustle back to first to be there in case you have a chance to pick him off BUT...first priority has to be backing up that throw. If the throw from left is wild and goes all the way out of play down the first base line the batter is going to be awarded at least second, if not third. Better to hold the runner at 1st than to take the chance on an unlikely pick-off play.

If the batter rounds 2nd and heads for 3rd your job isn't done...now you need to head down the first base line towards the plate. Why? To back up the catcher in case of a throw to the plate.

Yes, there can be a lot of running at 1st base.

Receiving the Throw

One thing I always want to do when I'm at first is give my players a target to throw to. I'm surprised at how many first basement get to the bag and stand there with their hands at their sides waiting for the throw. Get to the bag QUICKLY, establish your back foot on the edge of the bag, keep your front food close to the bag initially, hold up your glove hand and give the fielder a target to throw to.

When the ball is in the air and you have an idea of where it's going to arrive, THEN step with your front foot and stretch towards where that point is. If the throw is good an easy stretch directly towards the fielder will work. You don't want to stretch too soon however, because if the throw is offline, you may have to step left or right in order to be in position to catch it. If the throw is high you'll need to be able to raise up (hopefully without jumping) to snag it. If the throw is WAY offline you may have to come off the bag in order to catch in; then you'll either have to try a sweep tag or try to still get back to the bag in time. If you stretch too soon, however, all of those plays are much more difficult. So once you establish yourself at the bag and give your target to the fielder, keep your front foot close and comfortable until you know where the throw will go.

Finally, reach your glove hand forward to catch the ball - don't let it come to your chest or shoulder - the batter is out when the ball is secured in your glove, so stretching and reaching shortens that time. That's crucial on close plays at first.