A long time ago, way back when I was just starting out as a coach, I had the opportunity to work with a coach (let’s call him Schmitty) I had known going back to my high school playing days. I had always admired how well-coached Schmitty’s teams were, and not to mention, how hard they competed against – and beat – superior teams.
The opportunity to see Schmitty in “coaching action,” came in the off season, during an “open gym.” (For those unfamiliar with the term “open gym” is: It’s a loophole in the northeast high school rules that allows teams to practice in the off season, if another coach outside of the school’s coaching staff runs the practice. To further “legalize” the situation, a ping pong table, basketball, or any other random piece of equipment from another sport outside of baseball is stuck in the corner of the gym to satisfy the “open gym” title.)
After I finished throwing BP to my group of players, I went over to help Schmitty out with the defensive portion of practice. He was hitting ground balls to our infielders across the gym. Sounds simple enough right? Well, what I saw was, let’s just say, different…
The first ground ball I saw hit was dropped by the player in line to field them. (No big deal so far, right?) Then the next fielder did the same thing. So did the next one after that… and the next one, and the next…
I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed, but I began to notice a pattern!
When a player did in fact field the baseball cleanly, Schmitty would yell across the gym, “Bobble, bobble, recover!” The fielder would immediately drop the ball, pick it up with his bare hand, and make the throw across the gym.
I had to ask Schmitty what was going on!
He explained to me – and loud enough for every player in the gym to hear – that high school infielders will misplay the majority of ground balls hit to them. Because of that “fact,” he decided to create the “Bobble, Bobble Recover” exercise. In order to get used to what is apparently going to happen anyway, the exercise requires infielders to “boot” every ground ball hit to them, and calmly recover and make the throw across the diamond.
Hmmm…
I asked Schmitty, “Isn’t that just teaching your infielders that you don’t think they can make the play… even the routine one?”
His answer: “Not at all! They know they’re going to mess up anyway!”
Wow!
Like I said, I truly admired how well Schmitty’s teams played for him over the years. But the exercise AND the explanation were (oh how can I put this politely) the dumbest thing I had ever seen and/or heard during a baseball practice!
First off, I live by the Golden Rule of good defense: The most important thing a player has to do on defense is CATCH THE BALL. It doesn’t have to be pretty. It doesn’t have to be technically sound. It doesn’t have to be a “Web Gem.” It just has to get the job done! Besides, if you don’t catch the ball, you can’t get anybody out!
Second, I would never tell any one of my players that they can’t do something. I want my players as confident as humanly possible. I want them to think they can get to every ball hit at them, in front of them, behind them, wherever. The more confident they feel, the better the chances of them making plays even YOU didn’t think they could make (but wouldn’t dare tell them).
Third: While I want my players to field every ball hit their way, I also understand that occasionally, well, they might not. Whether the “boot” is the result of a bad hop, a lack of concentration, or an unexplained mystery of the universe, I know it might happen, and I want them to react appropriately.
Even though Bobble Bobble Recover is a silly exercise, the reaction to a misplayed ground ball is correct: pick the ball up with the bare (throwing) hand, in order to get rid of the ball quicker.
Instead of one player fending for himself and possibly panicking after a miscue, my whole team gets involved by yelling the verbal cue, “Stick It!” When a player near the ball hears that, they know to pick the ball up with their bare hand.
Lastly, a defensive player cannot improve without repetition. Lots of repetition! The more reps a player gets, the more “unconscious” fielding ground balls become. I want my players to react to a ground ball hit to them like they do breathing: they don’t think about it… it just happens!
Back to Schmitty…
That night, I let him finish his exercise, and the rest of his part of the practice, but once practice had ended, I told each player to forget what happened on defense that night, and get back to becoming the best infielder they can become.
Coach Bones
