The mechanics of the piggy back man

In sure double possible triple(SDPT) situations, a tandem relay is employed. This means that when the outfielder goes out to retrieve the ball, two infielders go out to serve as the cutoff. The reasons behind this are as follows.

1- The piggy back man only goes out in tandem once he realizes that the ball is in fact a SDPT. You don't want the piggy back man leaving too early. Having an outfielder make a great play at cutting the ball off only to throw to an unoccupied base can be demoralizing.

2- Once the piggy back decides to go, the piggy back situation allows for the outfielder to overthrow the first cutoff man and still have the ball caught by an infielder. Two infielders minimizes an outfielders margin for error of missing the cutoff man. The piggy back man should be about 15-20 ft. behind the lead cutoff man. He is positioned to catch overthrows or under throws. He is basically a safety valve for the lead cutoff.

3- The piggy back is the "traffic cop" for the lead cut man. As the lead cut man watches the outfielder secure the ball, the piggy back man has his head on a swivel and is telling the lead cut man where to throw the ball.

The dynamics of this play must be practiced and practiced. The size of the field determines much of what takes place. In fact, the little league field probably makes this play obsolete.