Ground ball to first

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Baseball drill · Age 6 and up

More outs in youth baseball are lost between the glove and the first baseman than anywhere else on the field. The ground ball is fielded, then the throw sails, or the first baseman is not on the bag yet, or nobody is behind the bag to stop the overthrow and a single becomes a triple. This drill puts the whole play together: field it in front, set the feet, throw to the bag, and have the bag covered and backed up before the ball arrives.

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Time
15 minutes
Players
5 or more: a hitter, a shortstop line, a first baseman, a catcher and a batter-runner
Equipment
  • 1 bucket of balls, or a dozen at least
  • A fungo bat, or roll the ball for the youngest
  • Bases at your league's distance
  • Batting helmets for anyone running

Setup

  1. Put a line of fielders at shortstop, a first baseman a few steps off the bag and a catcher behind the plate. A coach hits or rolls ground balls from beside home plate.
  2. A batter-runner stands in the batting box and runs to first on contact, in a helmet, running through the bag and not stopping on it.
  3. The shortstop fields and throws to first. The first baseman gets to the bag as soon as the ball is hit and sets up facing the throw.
  4. The catcher runs down the first-base line, in foul ground, to back up the throw.
  5. After each rep the fielder goes to the back of the line, the first baseman rotates out after five, and the runner becomes the next fielder.

Coaching points

  • Ready position before every pitch: feet wider than the shoulders, weight on the balls of the feet, glove out in front.
  • Field the ball in front of the body with the glove down early, and the throwing hand on top of it to trap it.
  • Step and point the front shoulder at first base before throwing. Throw to the first baseman's chest, not at the bag.
  • First baseman: heel on the inside edge of the bag, face the thrower, and only stretch once you see where the throw is going.
  • Catcher: with nobody on base, every ground ball to the infield means running down the line to back up first.

On the run sheet: Glove down early, field it in front of you, feet to first, throw to the chest; 1B to the bag and stretch late; catcher down the line to back it up

Progressions

  1. Move the line to second base and third base, so the throw gets longer and the angle changes.
  2. Hit the ball to the fielder's glove side and backhand side, not only straight at them.
  3. Time it: start a stopwatch on contact and stop it when the ball reaches the glove at first. Beat the runner's time.

How it runs

The batter (B) hits a ground ball to the shortstop (SS), who fields it where they stand. On contact the first baseman (1B) goes to the bag, the second baseman (2B) covers second, and the catcher (C) runs down the first-base line in foul ground behind the batter-runner. The shortstop sets their feet and throws to first, and the ball is in the first baseman's glove while the batter-runner is still a stride or two short of the bag. The pitcher (P) and third baseman (3B) stay where they are in the animation; in a game the pitcher would break towards first on any ball hit to the right side.

The diagram is drawn on a full-size diamond with 90 ft bases. On the 60 ft diamond most Little League, coach-pitch and t-ball fields use, every distance is two-thirds of the drawn one, so the throw is about 75 ft. Start with soft rolled balls for t-ball, then hit them once the fielders are catching cleanly. It suits any age once players can catch a thrown ball.

The rule it is practising

The force play. When the ball is put in play, the batter becomes a runner and has to go to first, so first base is a force: the fielder does not need to tag the runner, only to touch the bag with the ball held before the runner gets there. That is why the first baseman stands on the bag and stretches towards the throw, and why the throw goes to their chest rather than being run over. At any other base, a runner who is not forced has to be tagged, and the rundown drill on this shelf is where you practise that.

The batter-runner is allowed to overrun first base and come straight back without being tagged out, as long as they do not try to go on to second, so teach them to run through the bag. In the last half of the way to first they must run inside the running lane, in foul ground, or they can be called out for interference with the throw. Check your league's rules for t-ball and coach-pitch: some do not record outs at the youngest ages, and some have every batter run whatever happens.

The mistakes to watch for

Fielding the ball beside the body instead of in front of it. Throwing on the run when there was time to set the feet. A first baseman who stands on the middle of the bag, or stretches before the ball is thrown and cannot move for a bad one. And a catcher who watches the play from behind the plate, so the one overthrow of the inning rolls to the fence.

More baseball drills

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