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Beginning of any discussion with regard to throwing for an outfielder has to begin with the way that you grip the ball. And as youngsters, we have been taught to grip across the seams and across the seam grip would be one where we grip across the two wide seams almost like a horseshoe. This way, see the horseshoe, just turn it sideways and we grip this way. The reason that we do that is because it actually allows the ball to travel a little bit faster that way. We have been told over and over, grip the ball across the seams, we did not really know why.
The baseball is in what we call an air pocket. The air travels around the ball and creates a pocket around the ball and as that happens, it allows the ball travel through the air a little bit easier. In fact, it allows the ball travel through two to four miles an hour faster than if you did not grip it across the seams. If you grip with the seams, you do not get that air pocket effect. So we want to make sure that we will grip the ball across the seams. An outfielder throws a little bit different than in other positions on the field. Pitchers parallel outfielders, but the infielders and catchers throw completely different.
We will not talk a little bit about what we need to do for an outfielder to allow us to take complete advantage or whatever arm strength he has. When an outfielder makes the move to throw after he has received the ball and it is in his glove, an outfielder drops his hand down below the waist. We call that going down, back and up in this fashion. So we are going to create kind of a circle going around. That movement down allows an outfielder’s arm to gain velocity and that velocity gain translates into a faster throw. He has got a longer throw. It is not quite as important. He gets rid of this quickly as an infielder. So consequently, he has got a chance to do that.
Pictured as a same thing, infielders and catchers again, they do not. It is a little bit different technique. So when an outfielder splits his hands, we want this kind of a motion. We want to split off the glove, down, back and up this way, we want the glove to go out and what we teach our kids is what we call a scarecrow. This looks like a scarecrow standing on the field. Glove is out, fingers are on top of the ball in this fashion, and then as we begin to throw, that gloves is going to come back to my chest and the arm will rotate up in to a 90-degree angle and allows to make a good strong throw.
If I am facing my partner, I am going to always point my shoulder, my hip, and my knee at the target. Again, my hands are in front of my chest and when I split, I am going to point right at it, right here, into the scarecrow. My gloves is open facing backwards, fingers on top of the ball, bring the gloves to my chest which end it off itself, will help you gain another three to five miles an hour because we are helping you up pull the arm through. We get that 90-degree angle, notice my fingers are behind the ball and I have got four seam grip and then I make my throw, and that is the outfielder’s technique.
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Be kind of picky when we talk about how we receive the ball. You know warming up prior to a practice or a game is a time for you to get something done. It is not a time to horse around. It is a chance for you to perfect your technique and I know a lot of times we do not like to think about it like that. Young players do not like to that, but it is important that the coach is, or you as a player take enough pride in what you are doing to get it done right. When we receive the ball, we want to make sure that our partner number one knows who were ready to receive the ball and number two, we show him what to throw at and that is a middle of our body.
So when set up to make a catch. We want to spread our feet about a shoulder with the apart and we want to flex our knees a little bit. This puts me in a position to anticipate a poor throw from my partner. Even if he does not make poor throws very often, I should be set up to receive it every time he lets go of the ball. We always anticipate a poor throw. Flexed position, be ready to receive the ball. Hands go up and we show him a target, right here. This is the box, we show him the target on and we want to make sure that each time the balls received we are in our box.
That allows me number one to show where I want, number two, it also reminds me that I want to catch that ball right here in this box. So if he happens to make a throw to my left, I am going to slide my feet a little bit and get my chest in front of the ball, if he throws it to my right, I will do the same thing. Anytime you can catch the ball on the middle of your body, it is going to translate into a quicker release when you go to throw the ball. You catch it out in here because you did not move your feet, wrap over your head or place it, it takes you a longer amount of time to be able to pick it out and go.
We want to make sure that we bend our knees and get set in to a position where we can receive the ball. Once his throw is made, we move to meet the ball, put the chest in front of the ball, and receive it with two hands. Above the waist, I am just going to slide my thumbs together and trap it in, if it is below my waist, I will put my pinkies together and trap it in there. That is catching technique for outfielder.
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