Tools

FANTASTIC VOYAGE - Fielding Mechanics

By Tom Wylie

Story Created: Jul 14, 2011 at 6:01 PM MDT

Story Updated: Jul 14, 2011 at 10:00 PM MDT

They call them "Web-Gems".

It is a term first used on ESPN's Baseball Tonight to describe spectacular run or hit saving plays. Plays that can shift momentum in the blink of an eye.

"They can kill an inning or give you a big inning," said Voyagers big play outfielder Mark Haddow. "It can turn a 5 run inning into a zero run inning and vice versa."

But these plays aren't flukes. They're a product of solid mechanics and fully developed fundamentals.

"You gotta have good timing," explains Joe De Pinto, the Voyagers nimble second baseman. "That means not hustling to balls and diving to make it look better than it really has to be."

"If you're thinking about it too much or trying to hard, you're not gonna make any plays, " added Haddow. "You just gotta react to what's going on, and when the opportunity presents itself, you gotta take advantage of it."

************************************************************************

TIPS:

De Pinto on fielding grounders in the infield:

"It's all about positioning," he says. "You want to get down in an athletic stance. And as soon as the ball as hit you work your body to get around it, so that your momentum is going towards the base you're throwing too."

"Once you have that, just stay down and the ball will come right to you."

************************************************************************

Haddow on catching fly balls in the outfield:

"When the ball is hit at you, you always want to be behind the ball, " he explains. "So what we do is get behind it and as the ball's coming we want to come through the ball, to make sure we have something on our throw to get into the base."

"It's also very important that you hit your cutoff man every time, because you;re not always sure where the runner is going to be."

"Between pitches you can relax and think about whatever, but once the pitcher gets ready, I'm in my athletic stance getting ready for the pitch and wherever it's hit, I'm able to react."

Great Falls & Helena Weather

Icon
Great Falls Great Falls Intl Airport, MT
Current Temp 61.0 °F
A Few Clouds and Windy
Wind : from the Southwest at 31.1 gusting to 40.3 MPH (27 gusting to 35 KT)
Pressure : 1002.0 mb
Humidity : 31 %
Icon
Helena Helena Regional, MT
Current Temp 61.0 °F
Partly Cloudy and Breezy
Wind : from the West at 21.9 gusting to 28.8 MPH (19 gusting to 25 KT)
Pressure : 1006.5 mb
Humidity : 29 %
Click here for our video forecast
More Weather
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

AP Video