pregame infield

I watched a game friday and i remember several from the last few years and i have a few observation and questions regarding pregame infield.To put my remarks in context i played hs,college and pro ball in the 70's and coached at 2 different colleges in the 80's. When we used to do infield and others teams did this too we sent out our starters and maybe 1 extra infielder and 1 extra outfielder and 2 catchers for infield. each outfielder threw 1 to second and third and 2 to home. then the infield took their routine and came in all in less than 10 minutes.the pregame infield was always short and snappy and meant to make the players look good and give nothing away to the other team. the outfielders usually took it 20 feet closer than they normally played and always got ball to throw that they always were moving in on to make their arms look good. The infielders never had to throw from the hole and had easy ball to throw on.You never wanted to expose your arms to the other team.

I have observed teams sending every player on their team out sometimes I've seen 4 outfielders at every position. I've seen them have 2 throws to second for each player and then 2 to third for each player at this point (and I've seen many teams do this)the guys hitting infield shoots one to the wall in each gap and to the corner foe each guy with the cf going to each gap all the way to the fence. They are hitting balls all the way to the fence exposing their outfielders arms. They then hit one deep for each outfielder to throw home ,2 to normal depth and then they bring them way in to throw another one home.Each outfielder throws 2 to second ,4 to third and 4 home and when there's several outfielders it takes forever to do this. These infield routines take over 20 minutes each.

My question is why do they take so many players out there?Why do they give teams a free scouting report by hitting balls deep that expose their arms and is there a time limit on infield practice or just whenever you're through then that's okay.

 

Showtime

My old high school coach would never have us take infield/outfield in front of the other team and you cannot imagine how many times the other team would freak out. it really got in their heads sometimes. He never ever wanted to show what good arms we had and he also didn't want us to get down IF we had a sloppy go round.....like most teams do!!!

Yes there is usually a 7-10 minute limit before the scheduled start time.

 

I have always wondered why catchers tip there hand by throwing down to second pre-game and between innings.If anything I would have my catcher throw a 3 hopper down and try to pull some trickery.

 

I'm from the same era as Moesyslak and I share in his experience, and I don't like some of which has been described either.

But, some of the coaches with a strong program have developed a style with their pre-game warmups; just like you will find at the major D1 schools like Clemson, USC, UNC and others. It is a choreographed drill, when done with perfection, can be very impressive. In fact, if it is displayed in front of a less than confident team, it can be a bit intimidating. Just like the old days when basketball teams had a standard warmup, they have now been expanded to be a stylish, quick and entertaining warmup that helps teammates to get loose and to get motivated.

I have seen opposing teams watch a South Meck (2006 or before) warmup and be in awe. In some cases, the opposition was beat before the first pitch.

I have also witnessed teams like Coach Parham's South Caldwell absolutely not allow his players to watch another team's warmups. He will send them away and it will be the "coaches only" watching.

Personally, I don't care what they do or how they do it. I only care that they start the game on time.

 

Pre Game

To me its about our team getting a feel for the other teams field if on the road. I want our guys to show their arms because I want them to think twice about running. I want the catcher to strike fear in the other team because I want them to be afraid of running. Its a good opportunity to get any pregame jitters out and get a feel for the field. If at home its about getting ready to play by getting in some "pre game" work. Now I dont believe in a long round of infield. One throw to second third and home and then a couple of ground balls and turn two , a slow roller and then bring it home. But every coach and team has their own way of doing things. Sometimes that round of infield might be the only work that bench player gets that day. I think its important for them to get the opportunity to be a part of taking infield. We never carry more than 14-16 so its not a long round anyway.

I can tell you this how you take infield has no bearing on how you will play. At least thats been my experience. We took a flawless round one year in the third round of the playoffs and then couldnt make a play once the game started. And we have looked like clowns some times and made every play once the game started.

 

what if (and imo this is the case with most teams) have average to below average arms in the outfield do you really want to have them catching fly balls going back or picking up balls at the fence to throw?

 

No

we shorten up and hit balls that they can routinely get in. If its a conference game we already know who can and who can not hose us. And depending on the size of the field that will have alot to do with where they will be fielding the hit balls. I dont want to expose a weak arm to the other team in infield. But I do want to show a strong arm if we have one.

 

Infield

Through the years I have seen allot of teams play. But there is one team that when they took the field for pregame warmups, I stopped what I was doing and watched in amazement. That team was Providence High School coached by Danny Hignight. I mean they looked like a programmed machine when they hit the field. No one was talking, and no one was ever standing around, no one had to be told where to go or what to do. I have no clue what the punishment was for a dropped ball, or a slipped overthrow, because there never was one when I watched. Throws were always razor sharp and on the money, every glove popped when the ball was received. This can only be attributed to one thing...DISCIPLINE

 

As much as I respect and love Danny Hignight, the pre game drills were learned at South Meck under Hal Bagwell. It is fun to watch and what I was alluding to in my other post.

 

Great questions and answers. Since I HAVE to coach this season I wanted to add my two cents. I stopped taking pre-game infield several years ago. To me it is overrated. My JV teams at Person were very successful and we did not take pre-game infield. There is so many things that can go wrong and get the players minds off of the game. The coach can mess up as well as the players. I did not want my players worrying about having to have a perfect pre-game routine. I wanted them focused on the game. The day before our first game here at Bartlett Yancey I explained to my players my thoughts. We took a good round of infield, practice was over and we were ready for opening day. Opening day we beat Reidsville and only committed one error. My thinking is this, a baseball player will not forget how to field a ground ball, or catch a fly ball, or throw the ball from the night before a game. So I see no need in getting the players off on the wrong foot because of pre-game infield.