If you’re at a point
in your career where you may not be as physically talented as the stars on your
team, an important way to rise the ranks and gain some serious playing time is
to work on the little things that big power players may not be able to do.
When I say work on
the little things, I mean things like being able to bunt, being able to steal
bases, or being a steady infielder. You may not be able to put up flashy
average or power numbers, but you will be a very important part of your team,
and you’ll see playing time because of it.
Even if you are a
talented hitter, these things are very important to take you to the next level.
If you plan on playing varsity baseball, or even college baseball, you need to
be an all around player, which includes the little things. On the other hand,
if you’re a less successful player, while you’re working on the main parts of
your game of course, the little things can get you some extremely valuable game
experience.
I consider the little things bunting, solid fielding, and base running
ability. To practice your bunting ability, most of it is mechanics. You have to
make sure your feet face the pitcher, hold the bat at a 45 degree angle, move
your knees to adjust to the low balls, and to start your bat at the very top of
your strike zone so you don’t have to move your bat up to bunt the ball. To
practice executing bunts, you can just have someone soft toss you balls and
practice moving your knees and “catching” the ball with your bat and practice
laying down bunts. To practice your fielding you just need to take reps. If
you’re an outfielder, you need to catch fly balls to be able to judge how deep
they’re going to go. As an infielder you need to take tons of ground balls.
When I say tons, I mean literally. So many reps are important because there’s
really no way to judge what kind of hops the ball is going to take, you just
have to practice on staying low and reacting to the ball as it comes to you. To
practice your base running ability you not only have to be fast, but you have
to be baseball smart. You have to be able to take advantage of small mistakes.
If the catcher is slowly throwing the ball back to the pitcher, you have to
recognize that and advance a base. You have to be able to tag up on most fly
balls. You have to be able to time the pitcher’s move to home so you can easily
steal bases. This quality is ridiculously useful in the game of baseball and
can wreak havoc on the opposing team.
These are just some
things that coaches look for in players that can get you some serious playing
time. Thank you for reading, it is very much appreciated, and be sure to check
out my other posts for ways to improve your overall baseball game.
-Brandon
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