You would think a ten foot underhand or backhand toss would be a gimmie but of course, anytime a throw is made you never know what will happen.
The success of a double play largely depends on how fast and how accurate the feed to the guy at second base is made. There are certainly a lot of little things involved in the entire double play process. I’ve done several written and video posts on the detailed footwork and glove work that can help make the play more efficiently. Today’s post is a basic tip but it’s also a goodie.
If you are a shortstop and are under-handing the ball to the bag, your throwing hand should extend outward after the toss as if you are going to shake the hand of the guy you are feeding it to as shown here …
If you are a second baseman who is backhanding the ball to the shortstop on the feed, your throwing hand should extend towards the guy at the bag in an upside down hand shake (thumb down) as shown here …
I’ve known several coaches who do not teach the backhand toss – the entire Atlanta Braves system used to not allow the backhand – because it is rarely perfected by second basemen. It does takes a lot more practice to get it right. If you do, just remember … thumb up hand shake on an underhand toss and a thumb down hand shake on a backhand.
The only tough feed to perfect is the one you don’t practice.
Tomorrow’s post: Random tips for summer ball
