Posted by: Teacherman () on Tue Dec 10 11:52:49 2002

I know this is hitting site but would like to throw out a situation to good coaches on a play my staff can't agree on.here it is:runners on 1st and 3rd,less than 2 outs ,ball popped up down 1st base line 60-80 feet and lets say it well be caught in foul territory.On this play1st,2nd,and right fielder go after the ball.How would you defense it.

You say the ball is going to be caught. Do the players know this? If they know it's going to be caught the only exposure is 2nd base and the shortstop should be there. There may be an opportunity to double off the 1st base runner if he takes off for second. No one there. Pitcher has to back up home plate in case there is a play there. Too important to keep runner on 1st from advancing further if there is an overthrow at the plate. Therefore you could have 3rd base cover 2nd and ss cover 1st however, not likely for them io identify the siutation immediately and you may not want this if the ball is not caught. I'd play it safe and protect 2nd with shortstop, 3rd with 3rd baseman, and let pitcher back up home plate. This allows runner on 1st too much freedom but I don't like the downside of other defense options.