Double-play depth, and the ten feet it costs you

Double-play depth, a baseball defence drawn in Playmaker: 9 of our players and 2 opposition players on the pitch. — Pitcher — 1 of 11

Baseball · Defence · 9 of your players and 2 opponents

Ten feet in and a stride closer to the bag is the whole trade. The middle infield can turn two from here, and the ball in the hole that used to be an out is no longer one.

Open in Playmaker

Opens on a baseball pitch with the shape already drawn. Free, no signup.

What moves, and by how much

Only two players change, and neither of them moves far. The second baseman and the shortstop come from about 150 ft to about 140 ft, and both shade a step towards second so that either can arrive at the bag on time or take the feed there. The pitcher, the catcher and the corners stay where they were, and the outfield does not move at all: this is a short, cheap adjustment, not a new defence.

Ten feet sounds like nothing until you draw it against the runner. The eleven figures here include a runner on first and the batter, so you can see the two things being traded in the same picture — the middle infielder is a stride nearer the base he has to beat the runner to, and a stride further from the ball he would otherwise have cut off.

The situation it is for

A runner on first with fewer than two out, and a hitter on the ground more often than not. Two out and it is pointless, because there is no double play to turn. Bases loaded and it becomes a different conversation about whether the force at home is better.

The reason to be deliberate about it is the cost. At 140 ft the ball to the shortstop side of the hole gets through, the slow roller arrives sooner than the fielder wants, and a left-handed pull hitter finds the right side of second more often. If you are not reasonably confident of the ground ball, you are giving up base hits for a play that never comes.

Coaching the feed and the turn

Draw the feed, not the position. Drag the shortstop to the bag and animate it. The throw should arrive where the second baseman will be standing, which is the only version of the picture that helps.
Both directions. Ball to the right side, shortstop takes the bag; ball to the left, second base covers. Two drawings, and everyone should know which one they are in before the pitch.
Time it out loud. Say the count and the runner speed. Double-play depth against a fast runner is a different decision from the same alignment against a slow one.

Open it up, mark the feed and the relay to first, then press play and watch whether your turn actually beats the runner you have drawn.