In a 1st and 2nd bunt defense, there is supposed to be some protocol as to what each player is responsible for. At least, that's what baseball coaches expect. Yet, one game in 2006 presented me with something that befuddled me and my players. In hindsight, we can analyze it and determine what course of action is best. In the moment, it was confusing because the defense broke the "baseball" rules.
Runners on 1st and 2nd, 0 out. Tying run was on 2nd and the go ahead run was on 1st. It was an obvious bunt scenario.
Time was called and a conference occurred on the mound. I knew this was an obvious pickoff time and stated so much to both runners. But, what occurred next even confsued me. Why? It was so blatantly egregious in it's baseball understanding that it caught both me and my runners off guard.
The thirdbaseman in this situation is supposed to hold his ground unless the shortstop covers 3B. In this scenario, the 3B ran in the direction of the batter- like 10 ft. from his face in. The 1B did the same thing. The shortstop did not break for third. The base was totally vacated. The runner at 2B looked in the direction of 3B as the pitcher turned and threw to the 2B covering the bag. Unbelievable! We were picked off.
In hindset, the runner at 2B should have been looking at the 3B and if he took off he should have stolen the base behind the 3B. But, without being prepared to look at the 3B, the runner was awestruck. In addition, the batter could have simply called time when he saw the corner infielders crashing in his direction.
The play's success was predicated on its' surprise. The surprise being that it was BAD baseball in doing what was done. The effect was great because if you're not prepared to take advantage of bad baseball- is it really bad?
A lesson learned.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment