Catcher's throw on a steal
Baseball drill · Age 9 and up, where stealing is allowed
Once runners are allowed to steal, a youth catcher who cannot throw to second turns every walk into a double. The throw is not about arm strength. It is about catching the ball already moving towards the throw, getting the feet under it and putting it on the bag at knee height, so the fielder covering only has to drop the glove. This drill builds the footwork first and the speed after.
Adding it to a session puts it on your run sheet with its time and cue. It does not use up one of your saved plays. No account? Add it to a practice plan and print the run sheet for free.
- Time
- 15 minutes
- Players
- 5 or more: a pitcher, a catcher in gear, two middle infielders and a runner
- Equipment
- Full catcher's gear: helmet, mask, chest protector, shin guards and a catcher's mitt
- 1 bucket of balls
- Bases at your league's distance
- A batting helmet for the runner
Setup
- Put a pitcher on the mound, a catcher in full gear behind the plate, a second baseman and shortstop at their positions, and a runner on first base in a helmet.
- Stand a hitter, or a coach with a bat, in the right-handed batting box so the catcher learns to throw past a body.
- The pitcher throws and the runner goes as your league's rules allow: once the pitch reaches the batter in Little League's younger divisions.
- The catcher throws to second. The second baseman covers the bag and the shortstop backs up behind it.
- Start without the runner and count good throws out of ten, then add the runner and a stopwatch.
Coaching points
- Catcher: shift your weight towards the ball as you catch it, so you are already moving to throw.
- Right foot under you, left shoulder at second, and take the ball from the mitt to behind your ear in one movement.
- Throw through the pitcher, aiming at the bag about knee high. The pitcher ducks out of the way.
- Second baseman: straddle the bag, take the throw, and put the glove straight down on the side the runner slides into.
On the run sheet: Catch it moving, feet under you, ear to ear with the ball, throw to the bag at knee height; 2B covers with a right-handed hitter, SS backs up; tag low on the bag side
Progressions
- Pitches in different spots, so the catcher learns to shift and throw from the edges of the zone.
- Swap the hitter to the left-handed box, so the shortstop covers and the second baseman backs up.
- Time from the pitch hitting the mitt to the ball hitting the glove at second, and try to beat it.
How it runs
The pitcher (P) delivers to the catcher (C), and the runner on first (R1) breaks for second as the ball reaches the plate. With a right-handed batter (B) in the box, the second baseman (2B) runs to cover second and the shortstop (SS) moves in behind the bag to back it up. The catcher comes up throwing, straight over the mound, and the ball arrives on the bag ahead of the runner for the tag. The first baseman (1B) and third baseman (3B) stay where they are.
On the drawn 90 ft diamond the throw from behind the plate to second is about 130 ft. On a 60 ft Little League field it is about 85 ft, which is why the youngest catchers often throw it on one hop, and why that is fine while they learn: a low throw on the bag beats a high one in the air.
The rule it is practising
Stealing and leading off, which is where youth leagues differ most. In Little League's younger divisions, up to and including Majors, a runner may not leave the base until the pitched ball reaches the batter, so there are no leads and the steal starts late. Older divisions and most high-school rules allow a lead. Many t-ball and coach-pitch leagues do not allow stealing at all, and some limit it to one base per pitch or forbid stealing home. Check your league's rules for your age group, and do not spend practice time on a throw your catchers will never make.
A steal is also a tag play. The runner going to second is not forced, so the fielder has to tag them with the ball. Agree who covers before every pitch: with a right-handed hitter the second baseman usually covers and the shortstop backs up, and with a left-hander they swap, because the hitter is more likely to pull the ball to the player who stays at their position.
The mistakes to watch for
Standing up straight before throwing, which adds half a second. Catching the ball, then taking it back to the ear in two moves. Aiming at the second baseman's chest instead of the bag, so the tag starts too high. And a middle infield that never agreed who was covering, so both or neither go to the bag.
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