Building Base Running Instincts
Matt Talarico, StealBases.com
A few nights ago the question was asked about tips on building instincts on the base paths. This has been a question that has always surfaced for coaches. How do you teach a player who has reached our level (whatever level that is) to have better instincts when it comes to decision making and reaction? I think there are a few ways to help… you might never make a great decision maker out of a very raw player but you can see improvement.
The main focus is to keep the main goal in mind during all of our work… in this case – to get players to make good in game decisions and use efficiency while advancing around the bases. That’s it. It isn’t to master some drill; it is to get them to be instinctual on the base paths.
Here is the breakdown of my opinion on the issue:
Too often we do drills to simulate the base running style we would like and hope it transfers.
In football the coach teaches you how to tackle with good form to prevent injury; you do some controlled drills, you do some 7 on 7 drills, you do scrimmages, then you finally go to the game and tackle. You never teach a kid to tackle then just throw him in a game.
In baseball we try to do just that… show them how we want them to run bases then just hope it carries over from the drill to the game. We need more between drill/game investment.
Practice Environment
This is a familiar scene for a lot of us…
It is the end of practice and all position players go to home plate to line up and get some productive conditioning in. They take off with their air swing and run at about 60% through first base working on whatever the orders were from the coach. They then line up as a base runner at first and get a jump to go first to third, and so on. They all do them PERFECT out of fear of having to do them over.
I am not bashing these drills. I think they are good. I think they teach proper mechanics and it is important for your players to know how to fundamentally move around the bases. I do not believe these drills alone teach base running.
I can prove it…
Video your next game and compare the base running from the drill at practice to the base running performed in a game. It will be different. There is a disconnect. When a hitter gets a hit and is running he is in “fight or flight” mode where he is counting on instincts and NOT referring back to a drill done at the end of practice. He is just running.
Here is the fix:
As mentioned before, I do like those drills to teach but use them sparingly. I feel it is far more productive to use realistic scenarios for conditioning. We emphasize good base running with cones during our scrimmages in practice. We also will talk about angles to round the base, times to go first and third, score from second, read a sac fly form third, etc.
This is where the original drill can come into play… If you have already taught the basics you do not need to reteach each step. They should know how you teach to run around the bases.
These live drill scenarios can be great for all base running and we use a few keys to make them more productive and to encourage aggressiveness… this will lead to improving your players’ instincts.
The Setup:
9 defenders with an extra pitcher behind the main pitcher (this gets the next pitcher up and ready to go to keep the drill moving)
Extra position players will hit along with any other personnel willing to jump in (coaches too if they want). All offensive players have to wear a helmet and pants because we are going to encounter close plays where we need to slide (this is also a great environment to work on sliding).
The Rules:
Coach determines the situation – nobody on, guy on 1st, 1st and 2nd, 2nd and 3rd, etc.
Defense plays live – this also simulates more realistic plays than just hitting fungos.
Base runners must find the line between aggressive and stupid (stupid would be it is a completely awkward out).
The Game:
I didn’t invent this but I have become a big fan. @ryner23 and @DCbaseball16 originally got me going with this drill but it can be modified however you want your team to learn to run.
You can determine what points you want to give out for certain scenarios. If you want to work on going first to third make that worth 3 points that day, you can make a poor round at first -5 points and your players will suddenly care about having good angles around the bases.
You will be amazed at how hard guys will run for points. Especially if you turn the scoreboard on and make the losing team do something for losing.
The Review:
Video this and break it down after practice or the next day.
Just like in high school football, when you missed a block the first thing you thought of was coach is going to see that on film tomorrow. We want this same feeling about base running. We can check all leads and rounds and discuss why we might have been out on a bang, bang play.
This is how instincts are created in base running. In baseball we do a drill then say remember that in the live game… it just doesn’t make sense to me. Remember our MAIN GOAL: to get players to have better instincts in a game. This will help them accomplish the MAIN GOAL.
Conclusion
Real instincts are developed in the mind frame that matches the real game. A ball is hit and you have to react. As your players learn to take good angles, test arms in certain areas of the field, read throws from directly out of the defenses hand, etc. They will begin to learn to capitalize in a game. Without creating this habit in practice consistently it is hard to get players to understand why it is important in a game.
Bonus:
Your entire team will benefit. Pitchers learn to back up positions (and why that is important), outfielders will learn WHY they should hit cutoffs, infielders play at a realistic speed, the team learns to work on their communication, and so much more.
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