If you are interested in helping your baseball studs really learn the fundamentals of the game, you should add them to your list of resources: http://www.ripkenbaseball.com/
Here's the latest article from their Web site:
By Bill Ripken
I’ve said it before, and I know if you are familiar with our articles and instructional products that you’ve either read it or heard it come out of my mouth on more than one occasion: The better we play catch, the better we play baseball.
It’s very simple. Defense is a huge part of the game, and when you really break defense down, every play that is made on the diamond involves a catch and a throw. Even the most complicated plays such as relays and double plays are comprised of a series of catches and throws.
A double play, for instance, includes a catch of the initial batted ball, a throw to the player covering second, a catch and throw by that same player and a catch by the first baseman.
Likewise, when a relay situation arises, the outfielder must either catch a ball that is hit and still rolling or pick up a ball that has stopped rolling and throw it to a relay person who has to catch the ball and then throw it to either another relay person or the base where the lead runner is heading. So, in its simplest form, defense really consists essentially of catching and throwing.
In baseball, like in most sports, defense often is overlooked or at least somewhat taken for granted. The reality, however, just like in other sports is that a strong defensive team can win a championship. To understand this, I’ll break it down a little further. If your team is really powerful offensively but can’t make routine plays, you could lose a lot of 13-11 games. If your team really battles to score a even a few runs a game, but your pitchers throw strikes and you are sound defensively, you have a chance to win every game. You can be competitive every time you take the field with that formula. And if by chance your team is an offensive powerhouse and you play good defense, look out! You definitely have the makings of a championship club.
Look at the Colorado Rockies of two years ago and their surprising run to the postseason. They emerged as the best defensive team in baseball and rode that all the way to a National League title. Our 1989 “Why Not?” team in Baltimore was very similar. Our pitchers were always ahead of the hitters and we were very strong defensively – up the middle and in the outfield particularly. Other than Cal we really didn’t have a bona fide power hitter or even an offensive star in the lineup, but we were able to score enough runs to come within one game of winning our division.
Another observation that I make all the time is that I can almost always watch two youth or high school teams play catch before a game and tell you which team s going to win that day. The team that plays catch the best, and by that I mean throwing and catching with a purpose – catching the ball with two hands out in front, throwing over the top using a four-seam grip, turning the front shoulders, stepping toward the target and working on good footwork – will win almost every time. The group that is lazy and clanging every second or third throw off of the fence … not so much. In my opinion the worst sound in baseball is the sound of a thrown ball hitting a fence.
I’ve never taken this belief to the extreme of turning it into a scientific study, but I don’t have to. I’d bet this is the case at least nine times out of 10 without a doubt, so in my mind there’s no need to validate the theory.
Despite the importance of throwing and catching to overall team defensive success – and ultimately wins and losses – the portion of practice devoted to warming up and playing catch often is ignored. Even high school players are still in their developmental stages, so it is important to understand that the more your team practices certain motor skills incorrectly, the more apt their bodies are to respond incorrectly under the stress of a game situation. Dad always said that perfect practice makes perfect. Well, sometimes I prefer to flip that around by saying, “If you practice like a moron, you’ll play like a moron.”
The problem is that younger players don’t necessarily understand the value of approaching everything they do in practice the same way they would in a game. Once they get beyond the fear of the ball and catching becomes more second nature, playing catch gets boring to them. So, with that in mind, here are a few ways to make things more interesting for players of any age and to help them improve at the same time.
Play 21
Twenty-one is a game that is played by baseball players of all ages. It promotes focus, concentration and proper mechanics while placing players in a situation in which there is at least some pressure to perform in a more competitive setting. Once your players are warmed up, have them stand anywhere from 60 to 100 feet apart. Ask them to play catch, but have them compete against their partners. Any throw that arrives at a player’s head level scores two points for the player throwing the ball, while throws that arrive at chest level are worth a single point. The first player to 21 wins. See who wins the head-to-head competitions and which player is the first on the team to get to 21.
Quick Hands/Quick Feet
Ask your players to stand between 60 and 90 feet apart, depending on their age and the distance between bases for their age group. You should have two lines of players playing catch, so make sure that all of the balls are held by players who are in the same line. At your command to start, the players in one line shuffle their feet and throw using as quick of a release as possible to the other line. Players in the other line catch the ball with two hands out in front of the body, funnel the ball to the center of the body, turn to shuffle their feet and make a quick throw back to the player in the other line. Throw for 30 seconds. Any pair that misses a ball or makes a bad throw sits immediately. The other players should count how many successful throws and catches they complete in the allotted time. The pair that records the most successful throws and catches in 30 seconds wins. Establish a team record and see if it can be broken every practice.
Around the Horn
Another game that promotes quick feet and a quick release as well as accuracy is a game that we play with the teams during the Cal Ripken World Series skills contest called Around the Horn. Place players at each base and home plate. The player at home starts with a foot on home plate and a ball in his or her glove. This is a timed contest. Start the clock when the first throw is released. The player at home shuffles and makes a quick throw to first. The player at first must catch the ball and tag the base before shuffling and making a quick throw to second. The ball continues in this manner until it comes all the way around to home plate. Once the player who started the series of throws receives the ball at home, he or she throws back to third and the ball goes back around the horn in the opposite direction. If players are pulled off the bag they must go back and touch the base before throwing to the next base. Place an extra ball near each base so that if there is an errant throw the player on the base can go and pick up the extra ball before running back to touch the base and making the throw to the next base. Players do not chase bad throws. The team with the fastest time wins. Again, have your team establish a record time and try to beat it every time you play this game.
Bunt-Run-Throw Game
This game is great because it allows your pitchers to work on fielding bunts and throwing to batters at the same time that your hitters get to practice bunting and baserunning and your defense works on throwing and catching under pressure. The pitcher delivers the ball and the batter lays down a sacrifice bunt. The pitcher fields the ball, with the initial throw going to first base. Once the ball is bunted, the batter runs all the way around the bases, making proper turns, no matter what happens in the field. The first baseman catches the first throw and throws to the catcher at home. The catcher throws to the second baseman, who is covering second and then throws the ball to third after receiving it. Once the third baseman receives the ball, he or she throws it to first, where the first baseman relays it to the shortstop covering second. At this point the runner should be rounding third, and if everything has gone well defensively there should be a close play at the plate if the shortstop can make a strong and accurate throw to the catcher. Players should come off of their bases to receive errant throws (they do not have to go back and tag the base), and they must chase down any ball that gets away and complete the drill no matter what.
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