Part One: Cut offs, taking extra bases and bunting for a hit

Hit your cut-off man

As an outfielder, a ball hit into the gap will find you relying on not only your fellow outfielders but your infielders, who become cutoff men. Those infielders are there for a reason and once you recover the ball in the outfield, hit your cutoff man with a strong, accurate throw, which will eliminate the chance of the opposing team taking extra bases.

Get to third, man

Taking extra bases is a great skill to have if you’re successful at it. Instinct has a lot to do with taking extra bases and a lot of that comes from experience. But you can actually practice taking extra bases, namely going from first base to third base when a ball is hit to the outfield. If you’re standing on first and a ball is hit into the outfield, watch the ball first and as you’re about to reach second, pick up your third-base coach; he’ll know exactly where the ball is and what your chances are of making it to third base safely.

Remember: it’s a gamble trying to make it to third with no outs or two outs in the inning. If there’s one out, trying to reach third is a better gamble.

Drop one down

Sacrifice bunting isn’t always the best strategy since you’re effectively giving the other team an out. But drag bunting (bunting for a base hit) is a great strategy if you can be successful and you know where on the field to place the bunt. To bunt for a hit is to attempt to surprise the opposing defense, so you need to square around just like you were sacrificing. The only difference is, you begin running towards first before you put the bat on the ball.

Whether you are a left-handed or right-handed hitter, a ‘drag’ bunt means to drop the ball down the third-base line; and ‘pulling’ the bunt with you means to drop it down the first-base line.