crow hopping for infielders

Question
Is it imperative or mandatory for infielders to crow hop before throwing the ball. I do not see the benefit to crow hop as the momentum of his charge to the ball is not at the same angle to the direction he/she has to throw to. I fully agree that outfielder may gain an advantage to crow hop because of the momentum thing.

Answer
great question. there are times to crow hop and times where it is not needed.
but, i really like the fact that you noticed momentum and movement.

anyway, if a fielder is moving to the ball and breaks down on it, his last 2 steps are always a right left. this redirects him back towards 1b where he wants to throw the ball. so the crow hop is ok on plays where a fielder breaks down and has time.

if a fielder is making an "off balance" play there is no crow hop.
if a fielder makes a play and catches the ball and there is not time to crow hop, then he will load up and throw.

this response is tough to put in print, but i hope i helped. the big point here is why does a fielder always catch the ball with a right left on his last 2 steps. this causes the redirection and allows for the the crow hop into his throw. but the crow hop is not always going to happen.

great question!
steve