During the last 15 minutes of this afternoon's practice, we ran through a drill in which the pitcher covers first base on a ball hit to the right side of the infield. The key things to remember about this drill are:- A pitcher should move quickly towards first base on any ball hit to the right side. He should not wait to see if his coverage is needed as it will be too late at that point. Pitchers should automatically move towards first on any hit to the right side--including singles to rightfield.
- The pitcher will take a path to the base in which he reaches the first base line about 10 or 15 feet in front of the bag. That way, he can run up the line on the inside (fair side) of the base while facing the fielder who is throwing the ball to him. The pitcher should not cross over the foul line as a collision might result along with a possible obstruction call on the pitcher.
- The fielder should toss the ball in front of the pitcher so that the throw leads the pitcher (just like a quarterback throwing to a receiver). The pitcher should catch the ball a few strides before hitting the base so that he can look for the ball, secure it, and then look for the base.
While attending the Tampa Bay Rays Spring Training camp earlier this year, I watched the professional players execute the same drill over and over again. I captured this photo which shows the pitcher moving up the line. Also, note the position of the baseball (click on the photo to enlarge it). The pitcher will catch the ball--then take two or three steps to the base--and never cross into foul territory.
Finally, for those of you who are interested, CLICK HERE to watch a brief video which demonstrates the proper path to the bag.
