Be a better outfielder

Question
Dear Coach,

I woul dlike to know how to improve on my accuracy when throwing to home plate or a cut off man. I can hit the guy but not at his chest every time. Also arm strength, i always want to improve with that but wan to know if there is anyother way than long toss or is there a way to lift to help you throw further. Most of all coach im going to be playing varsity baseball with my hs team and wan to know some good drills and tips to work on as an outfielder.

Thank You

Answer
Rob:  Throwing long toss is one of the best ways to increase arm strength.  

Check with your high school and see if they have a supervised weight program that you could get into.  The combination of the two will do the most to increase your overall strength as well as your arm strength.

On my website, www.theoleballgame.com, under Baseball Instruction - Outfield, there are some tips on outfield fundamentals that you may find helpful.

Without seeing you throw, it is hard to say what may be throwing you off.  Here are some things to check:

1.  Did you step straight at your target with your front foot when you threw?  

If you step offline, it causes your throwing elbow to drop, and the baseball to come out of the side of your hand.  The sideways spin created will cause the ball to slice away from the cutoff man or the base to which you are throwing.

2.  Check your arm slot to be sure you are getting your thumb to your thigh, ball extended back and away( if you look back at it, you should see the back of your hand, not the ball ) and that your elbow stays up and the spin on the baseball is closer to right back to you.

I would refer you again to my website to look at Baseball Instruction- Throwing, both rookie and advanced.  I believe the pictures and information, on both of those pages, will provide you with some check points to compare with your mechanics.

There are also a couple of outfield drills on the site also.  Under Baseball Drills - Outfield, there is a drill called the One Look Drill and one called Steal the Home Run.  Both are needed skills in the outfield.

In getting ready for high school varsity baseball, I would work on the following:

1.  Throwing Mechanics - What we talked about above.

2.  Reading fly balls off the bat and turning the right way.  At the same time, work on a full carioca step to get back around for those times when your read was incorrect.

3.  Reading ground balls to both sides and getting the correct angles to get behind and around those balls to cut them off.  You not only want to keep them from getting past, but you want to work to get around them so that you can come to it and through it, which creates momentum for your throw.

4.  Get behind all fly balls that it is possible to do so on, set up and catch them on your throwing side, coming back through it.  If you make it a habit on every fly ball, even when you do not need to make a throw, the times that you do need that throw, it will be automatic.

5.  Avoid back peddling at all times, it makes your eyes bounce and  the ball hard to judge, and is a slow way to travel, at best.

6.  Avoid coasting or drifting to fly balls.  Make the effort to get there, get behind it and make a solid, balanced catch.

7.  Study situations and learn where all the back ups occur, for each outfield position.  Whenever a ball is hit, there is someplace for an outfielder to move towards.  You may make these initial movements a thousand times, to be ready and in position for the one time the backup is required.  It doesn't cost anything to be there; but can truly be costly not to be there for that occasion when the ball shows up.

8.  Field ground balls off your front, glove side foot.  Bend your knees to get your glove down and through the ball.  Without your knees, the glove never gets down.

9.  All throws need to go through the cutoff man, except do or die plays.  Think about throwing through his head, long hopping the base you are throwing to.  All balls do not need to be cut off; but the defense needs the possibility to cut them if needed.  It is what keeps batter/runners off second base and the double play alive, or other runners from moving up on an uncuttable throw.  If the ball is low enough to be cut, it forces them to stay where they are, even if it doesn't get cut.

10.  The one hop, long hop throw makes an easier and quicker tag for the infielders.  If you have no one to work out with, take a 32 gallon plastic trash can out to the field, set it at third or home, facing the field you are throwing from that day.

Toss yourself a fly ball, get behind it, come through it, catch it on your throwing side, crow hop and one hop, long hop the trash can.

Take a bag of balls with you and you don't have to shag so often.  As your skill develops, the balls will be in the can, not someplace beyond it.  Less distance to shag.

If you have one or more friends to work out with, take turns hitting fly balls and ground balls, and rotate throwing.  It is a good challenge, and fun.  Keep records on how many you put in there each time, so you can judge your progress.  

Can also do that same drill with do or die, off both fly balls and ground balls.  Put the can at home plate, and move your positioning up closer.

All outfield throwing drills take a lot out of your arm.  I suggest you limit the number of throws to 10 or less, and then just every other day, or even less frequently.  Spend the majority of your time on footwork, proper angles to cut balls off, and getting your body in position to throw.  Throwing mechanics you can drill while playing catch.

I hope this gives you some things to get started with.  I am adding to the website on a regular basis.  There are currently 84 pages there, you may find some additional information in other areas.

If there is something you are not sure of, or have additional questions, I am available here, or off the website.

Good luck as you move forward.  

Yours in baseball,

Rick