What are most folk’s general thoughts on how much the short-stop is allowed to cheat toward 2nd with a runner on 1st and anticipating the throwdown to 2nd? Also, what type of communication should go-on between the SS and 3rd concerning covering the gap (between 2 and 3) when SS knows he has the bag? Lastly, what things do better SS and 2nd combos taken into consideration when determining who has the bag on a throwdown?

Your considerations are things like what kind of hitter is up, what pitch is being thrown, what kind of stuff does your pitcher have, etc.

Usually, with a runner on 1st, being in double play depth is close enough to be able to get to the bag on the throw. Wait as long as you can before breaking towards 2nd to receive the throw, but it is better to arrive early than late. If the hitter hits it through your hole, tip your hat to them.

I've never, nor have I been taught, to communicate with the third baseman. Not a lot changes for him. He can only cover a certain amount of ground, so letting him know you are covering will not do much other than tip who is going to the bag.

BK,

You should at least be 2 steps in and 2 steps towards the bag for the DP. Do not vacate early.

In DP situations, the 3B should play 1-2 steps behind the baseline and 1-2 off the line to protect the 6 hole. I personally think too many 3Bs play too close to the line anway.

Turning the double-play has always been my son's primary focus with a runner at 1st. He tends to delay his break to 2nd on a throw-down a little too close for MY comfort and seems to make the tag at 2nd more difficult that it should be. Of course, he's more in tune with his breaking speed and agility than I am. In my opinion though, I think he just puts more emphasis on rolling it up than the tag on a throw-down.

I've always emphasized the items you mentioned when determing who has the bag. Others include who we have on the mound (velocity, off-speed pitches), who's behind the plate (pop-time), left or righty hitting.

Thanks for the good pointers on timing the break to 2nd on the throw-down. Very good stuff.

redbird5...great point on the 3B playing too close to the line. That's usually why some communication between the SS and 3B is warranted at the youth ages. Most often times younger players aren't always situationally aware.

BK: I think as long as your son is not running, catching, and tagging all in one motion, he is probably safe.

As for the break; it has always been my opinion that when I cover the bag, any ball that is hit to the right of where I started is a hit; any ball hit right where I was is probably going to require a dive, and any ball to my left will either take a backhand or me just continuing on to turn 2 myself.

Redbird: I believe you should hold your ground as long as possible, but you have to vacate a little early. If you don't, you will either be playing too close to the bag or you will be in a rush to get to second. Also, the positioning of the infielder requires more than the "2 steps in and 2 steps towards the bag." There are a lot of variables to the positioning of the infielders. Quicker infielders can play farther away, pull hitters you shift a little, etc.

I agree also about the 3b playing to close to the line. Unless you are taking away doubles, you should be one step and a dive away from the line at a minimum.

Also, there should be a system in place for the shortstop to communicate what pitch is coming to the third baseman. This will allow minor last second adjustments as to where the 3b is playing.

IN_shocker,

Actually, it all depends on a team's/coach's philosophy. I always positioned myself closer to the bag so I could wait for the ball to cross the hitting zone before I vacated my position. With that being said, we always pitched LHH inside to prevent them from 6 holing me. We turned 37 DPs in my Sr. year so our scheme worked well.

We also would switch coverage based on the team, hitter and pitcher. We never had a cookie cutter appraoch to defending it.

Also, we never communicated to the 3B. I know some people teach this but I don't know of any high level college programs that do this anymore.

From my experience at a top 10 school, it is usually up to the player because he knows himself and his abilities. Obviously at times we get overridden by the coach, but 90% of the time we are on the same page. This year, the team turned over 40 DP's with that philosophy. We didn't have a cookie cutter approach either. When we had a guy on the mound throw 93-96, we played differently then when we had someone else throwing 86-89. We also played differently based on who was hitting.

As for communicating to the 3b, we did. Nobody knew we did, but we did. This is at one of the top programs in the country getting ready to play in a super regional. I don't understand why you wouldn't want to let him know what to be prepared for if you can. It's not like any team could recognize our communication.

We make sure our guy L's to the bag when covering to do a better job on a hit and run. By L, that is the literal route we take- take a few steps straight in to get closer to the bag but hold your spot. Then break to the bag after balls goes through the hitting zone.

ncball: That is what I do to some extent, although I angle more than do a straight L. I go a little diagonal and then to the bag. Whenever I tried to straight L, I felt I was arriving late to the bag.

I do know guys that do the L, they are just much quicker than I was!

IN,

Is the 3B going to be any less prepared on a FB that misses on the inner half (that was supposed to be outside)? We stopped communicating to the 3B for this reason.

I am not putting down your system, just letting you know that not everyone defends it like you did and it can still be successful.

ncball,

We "L'd" as well. That is what I teach my guys now.

Redbird: We didn't communicate location, just fastball/offspeed. I know I sure liked to know when there was an opportunity for the 4 hole to get a hanging breaking ball. I also never said my system was the only one that works, you just made the statement that they don't do that at high levels when I have seen it at top 10 program.

Thanks for the great info guys. Very useful.