By: Dustin Peek

Playing an outfield position in baseball requires a number of skills. These include things like catching fly balls, catching ground balls, playing balls off the wall, communication, throwing to cut-off men, and throwing to bases. There are many drills that have been developed over the years to help outfielders improve these skills. Continue reading to discover the top 5 outfielding drills in baseball that cover the essential skills needed to be successful:

1. 9-points Fly Ball Drill

Judging fly balls and having good footwork can be very tricky for an outfielder. Becoming skilled at catching fly balls consistently takes years of practice. The 9-points fly ball drill allows an outfielder to practice catching fly balls moving in a full spectrum of different directions.

For this drill, the coach should imagine that there is a grid of nine sections surrounding the outfielder. The nine sections of the grid are middle, front, behind, left, right, front-right, front-left, back-right, and back-left. The coach should proceed to hit nine fly balls, one to each of the nine sections surrounding the player. If hitting the baseball to these sections is difficult, the coach has the options of throwing the baseballs, using a pitching machine to launch fly balls, or using a tennis ball with a tennis racket.

The player should practice taking the appropriate drop steps and getting under the baseball as quickly as possible. If this drill is performed correctly, the player gets the full range of movements required to catch fly balls in all nine directions.

2. Ground Ball Drill

For this drill, all outfielders should congregate in centerfield. The coach and a catcher should stand near the outfield foul line about half way between the infield and the fence. One at a time, the coach should firmly hit ground balls to the outfielders ensure that they get one to the left, one to the middle, and one to the right.

The outfielders should concentrate on keeping the ball in front of them, cleanly catching the ball, and quickly returning the ball back to the catcher. The goal is to ensure that the ball does not get past them and to be able to quickly throw the ball back in to prevent baserunners from advancing.

3. Line Drive Drill

For this drill, the set-up is exactly the same as the ground ball drill only the coach hits line drives instead of ground balls. The coach should concentrate on hitting some the right, some the left, and some to the middle.

Also, the coach should hit some line drives that have easy hops and some line drives directly at the players’ feet. This mimics one of the most difficult plays for an outfielder when he must make a decision to either make an attempt at catching the line drive or let it drop in front of him for a hit.

4. Communication Drill

For this drill, you will need outfielders and infielders to take their normal positions. The coach should then proceed to hit pop-ups and fly balls between positions so that the players must call-off each other in order to make a play. The following plays should be covered:

a. Short fly ball down 3rd base line (left fielder, 3rd base, shortstop)

b. Short fly ball to left field gap (left fielder, centerfielder, shortstop)

c. Long fly ball to left field gap (left fielder, centerfielder)

d. Short fly ball to center field (centerfielder, shortstop, 2nd base)

e. Short fly ball to right field gap (right fielder, centerfielder, 2nd base)

f. Long fly ball to right field (right fielder, centerfielder)

g. Short fly ball down 1st base line (right fielder, 1st base, 2nd base)

This drill should ensure that all players know the priorities for catching fly balls and that they know when and how to call each other off.

5. Throwing Decision Drill

One of the most challenging tasks for an outfielder is knowing where to throw the ball back to the infield when there are runners on base. The throwing decision drill mimics these scenarios so that the outfielder can practice deciding where to throw the baseball, hitting his cut-off men, and throwing out runners on the bases.

For this drill, all players should take their normal positions. The coach should place one baserunner at home plate, one baserunner at 1st base, and one baserunner at 2nd base. The coach should then hit a variety of fly balls, line drives, and ground balls to all parts of the outfield. When he does, the baserunners should advance normally and the outfielders should practice throwing to the correct base based on their own judgment and communication from the infield. The goal is to stop the lead runner without letting trailing runners advance unnecessarily.

The above drills allow an outfielder to work on the essential skills required to be successful. If practiced regularly, these skills will give any outfield an advantage over its competition.

Article Source: http://www.myadspost.com free article

Dustin Peek is a former player and a true baseball fanatic. He loves helping others succeed in the “great game.” Learn more about outfielding drills at: www.baseballskillscenter.com

People that are searching Internet for more information about golf stretching exercise, check out the link which was mentioned right in this paragraph.