Shortstop

The shortstop must be an exceptional fielder of ground balls and must be able to cover ground like on antelope. Shortstop Marty Marion of the Cardinals is called “The Octopus” because of his sensational acrobatic work at short. Marion says, “A shorts top must have a strong throwing arm and must be able to make the long throw to first on a dead run, crouching or on his back. He must also be the talky kind of ballplayer, the one who is full of pep and is always speeding up the club.”



The shortstop plays about thirty feet from second for a right handed batter and twenty-five feet for a left-hander. He should wait for the development of a play in a natural, relaxed position, knees bent with the weight slightly forward (Fig. 59). On grounders he fields the ball with the back of the gloved hand almost on the ground. Both hands must be close together so that as soon as the ball hits the glove, the naked hand can close in on it (Fig. 58). Keep your feet close together and don’t let ground balls go through you. Most young shortstops are so anxious to got the base runner out that they throw the ball before they have actually fielded it.
The double play involving the second baseman and shortstop is one of the most important plays in baseball. On the play from second to short to first, the second baseman tosses the ball toward the left shoulder of the shortstop. The shortstop touches the bag with his right foot, pivots on his left, and throws off his right foot. Figure 60 shows the footwork used by Phil Rizzuto. In Figure 53 Rizzuto is tossing underhand to Stirnweiss for the start of another fast double play. On all double plays the runner coming into second base will try to knock you off your feet, so as soon as you have made the force play, get away from the runner and make your throw.



In keeping a runner close to second base the shortstop need not keep dashing back and forth to the bag to drive the runner back. Here is a play Bob Feller and Lou Boudreau use. Feller stands off the rubber facing Shortstop Boudreau. He gives Lou a sign that he will throw after counting four. As Bob steps on the rubber, he starts counting “one-two-three-four. At “four’ Feller whips around and Lou, who broke from his shortstop position at the count of three, reaches the bag just as the ball arrives at the count of “five.” It takes a smart runner to keep from getting caught off base with this heads-up play.

Here are a few more tips for the short :
1. Think ahead of the play.
2. Always shout out the number of outs.
3. Clear out any pebbles or stones from your position. If a ball hits a pebble, it may get away from you.
4. Go out to left field on balls hit beyond the left fielder and relay the throw in.
5. Keep feinting at a runner on second. Don’t let him get too much of a lead. Remember: he can score on a single.