How To Play Baseball: Throwing & Catching

Learn these simple throwing and catching techniques to improve your 3rd baseman skills.

(Music Playing) Always remember, that anytime you get to throw, you must first have gone through a thorough stretching program. We are going to work for some of our younger players here in terms of throwing but even younger players need to go through stretching. You have to reach the point where your muscles have developed to the degree that if you do not get stretched properly and go through a thorough stretching program you will up end hurting yourself. You are born, you know how to throw with one arm at least most people and unless you can trade that in for a better one. You better take care the one that you have. Now, the good thing about working with young players in terms of proper throwing technique is to see, I have not necessarily learn any good habits or any bad habits. In many cases I do not really have a habit. If you can get one young enough or you can teach him the proper technique, you can sure help their arm. If you get one to their 15 or 16 years old, it is too late really and that you are one in a hundreds who is going to be able to make a change to noticeably improve what they are doing to be able to play at a higher level. It has to be done eight, nine, or 10 years old and has to be worth through so we are going to work with our younger end fielders and make sure that they know how to do it right. Okay, we always want to make sure we take a four same grip when we grip the ball. Tom, if you would hold out a little bit, for it seems across the scenes, all right, hands together in front of the chest. An infielder takes what we call a “Short Arm Circle”. A short arm circle involves never drop in his hand below his waist. We do not want to drop it down in here. That is an out fielder or pitcher and we do not want to come here with your elbow that is the catcher. We want to go short arm circle, giving him a chance to just a little bit arm velocity and yet still make a nice rapid throw wherever it needs to go with, okay. That is throwing the ball. Receiving the ball. You want to make sure when we receive the ball that we show our partner, our backs or our window here, feet are spread, knees bent just a little bit and we always would not anticipate the poor throw. If the ball moves Tommy to his right, he just slides his feet and stays in front of the ball. If the ball moves into his left, slides his feet, stays in front of the ball. Above the waist, we are going to use the thumbs coming together to catch it and trap it in. Below the waist, think he is coming together and we trapped it in this way, always using two hands. Take a little pride in a way that you throw. You can actually get something out of this and I do not care how old the kids are, three years old, make him do it right. Because the more you emphasize the right way to do things, the faster it is going to become a habit for any player that you have. Okay, fellows school is ahead and get lose. Always anticipate the bat through hands up, catching with two hands. Notice how they step right to left, left to right. Very nice, that is it. Two hands all the time. They are getting themselves loose. They are not just getting loose here. They are learning how to catch the ball in a game situation. Notice how they do it right every time. Very little sense in throwing and not working your technique, you can do both at the same time. The way that you throw and the way that you begin prior to the practice and prior to your game is a tempo that you are going to set for the rest of the day. If your coach or a parent demand, do not ask, demand that they do it right and if that means, you have to go down the line with him to get it done, fine and go down the line with him but make sure they are throwing and catching the way it needs to be done. Because I will tell you something, games generally are not won by overpowering people, they are lost and you are lost because you cannot pick up the ball, you can not throw the ball, you can not throw a strike. This is where you learn how to win ball games right here. (Music Playing)