Who do you have cover 3b in this situation?

[mad hornet]

That's why I want to experiment with it. The other side of the coin using the LF to cover despite not having any back up is the idea of deterring the runner from advancing which mitigates the concern over lack of a back up. Typically our LF is not our best athlete (and I don't mean that in any way to be derogatory toward outfield - we place very high importance on outfielding).

 

[FPMark]

If I saw the LF covering 3rd (at younger ages) I would have the runner round 2nd far enough to force 1st to throw to 3rd. If LFer caught the ball, runner goes back to 2nd, if she misses the ball, it's an easy run. At older ages, when all the players can throw and catch equally, having LF at 3rd will usually deter any runner from trying this. Not to mention 1st throwing behind the runner at second if she rounds the bag tends to keep the runner closer to 2nd.

 

[smallball]

If F5 fields the bunt, I have my pitcher cover 3rd. If the pitcher fields it I have F5 cover. If neither fields it, F5 covers.

 

[CycloneSoftball22]

If F5 fields the bunt, I have my pitcher cover 3rd. If the pitcher fields it I have F5 cover. If neither fields it, F5 covers.

This is the way we have starting doing it as well. Much easier for the pitcher to get there than LF.

 

[sluggers]

Screwby is 100% correct. Teach them the right way to do it now.

She is absolutely correct that you do not cover 3B with a pitcher. In college ball, the other team would love to have a chance to take out your pitcher. (My DD has a 1.000 college batting average. In her first at bat, she doubled. The SS gave her a shoulder as she rounded second, sending her to the ground. The coach pulled her and never let her bat again.) Sending the pitcher over to 3B to cover is inviting a disaster.

Additionally, pitchers are not great fielders. They spend their practice time pitching (surprise) not practicing making tags. So, put someone down there that knows how to tag out runners. I personally like the idea of the oversized muscular F5 or the catcher standing at 3rd base begging the runner to try to advance one more base because they want to hit someone before the game is over.

When she says, "covering third is not a priority if you make the initial play", she is absolutely correct. If a team plays the bunt well, with a crisp throw to 1B and the player at 1B ready to make the throw to 3rd, and you'll stop all of this "taking third base on a bunt" nonsense.

 

[SBFAMILY]

pitcher if she does not field the bunt. Just worked on this with our 18U team this weekend and we teach the same to our high school team. We bring in the LF to cover the throw, but with today's speedy kids , the girl going to second on a bunt will turn and be 1/2 way to third and has a green light if she thinks she can beat the throw or player to the bag.

 

[Kaizen]

The original post was asking about 10-12U. At this age, you do not usually have specialists that only pitch. The pitcher is often one of the better athletes on the team and plays other key defensive positions when not pitching. It should be no problem for the pitcher to cover 3B. I'm not too worried about teams trying to "take out your pitcher" at this age. Do whatever works best for your personnel, but definitely make it a priority to have someone covering the bag. Even at the professional level, runners will always take an extra bag if someone is not covering quickly.

 

[mad hornet]

Exactly. Our kids are a long way from college.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I have to agree with sluggers. No one ever had the pitcher cover 3rd that my DD pitched for. In fact, I would tell the coach, she's not to do that.

Covering 3rd is a lot different, than covering home.

It is such a low percentage play, that I would have LF do it. It just isn't going to occur often enough to risk your pitcher at any age. She has enough to do. Plus, I am betting that she is your bet athlete.

 

[mad hornet]

I have to agree with sluggers. No one ever had the pitcher cover 3rd that my DD pitched for. In fact, I would tell the coach, she's not to do that.

Covering 3rd is a lot different, than covering home.

It is such a low percentage play, that I would have LF do it. It just isn't going to occur often enough to risk your pitcher at any age. She has enough to do. Plus, I am betting that she is your bet athlete.

At 10u we have four pitchers who are pretty even - no clear cut #1 or #4. And I can assure you it is not a low percentage play - it happens a lot when teams are caught sleeping. On offense we teach our runners to exploit it when possible.

How is it different than covering home from a risk of injury perspective?