In baseball, groundballs present a challenge. Like snowflakes, no two grounders are alike. Bouncing over grass and dirt (or even over artificial grass), one grounder differs from another because of the initial force delivered by the batter whose bat contacts the ball in variously partial or full ways and in various vectors. The ball then bounces relatively nearer or farther from the point of contact and continues to bounce over slight-to-great irregularities in the surface that absorb different quantities of energy.
Through practice, infielders assume a general predictability to groundball bounces, largely determined by their familiarity with grounders over many surfaces on different baseball fields. They easily recognize a series of “true” bounces. But, as anyone familiar with the game knows, “bad bounces” occur. They are always possible, so players need not only some general sense of the way grounders behave, but also quick reactions for the unpredictable bounce, such as one caused by a pebble or divot on the field.
Bad bounces can change a game. One did so in the Yankees v. Pirates 1960 World Series, when a bad-bounce grounder off the bat of Bill Virdon struck the throat of Yankee shortstop Tony Kubek on what might have been a routine double play in the seventh inning. Kubek fell, and the runners were safe. On ensuing plays the Pirates scored, taking a 9-7 lead. Although the Yankees tied the game, the Pirates went on to win the game in the bottom of the ninth on a famous homerun by their second baseman Bill Mazeroski. The Yankees might have won had it not been for the bad bounce that allowed the Pirates to keep pace with scoring of the Bronx Bombers.
That bad bounce changed the game, just as bad, or unexpected, bounces change your daily game. Experience allows you to field most of what comes at you, but the playing surface always has that unexpected pebble or divot that variously absorbs the energy. Occasionally, you’ll miss one because of a bad bounce. If you do what you practiced, you’ll likely not make a mental error, but a physical one is a possibility. Fielding grounders with 100% efficiency is rare.
Infielders are told to play the bounce rather than have the bounce play them. Often that means aggressively charging toward the ball to intercept it during the most opportune part of its bounce, as it comes up toward your glove. In contrast, you don’t get to choose bad bounces, but you do get to react to them. And that’s where the mental game comes into play.
In everyday life you have to field a number of bad bounces. Some will hit as one did Tony Kubek. Nevertheless, charging aggressively whatever comes at you is a better policy than waiting for the ball to hit that divot or pebble. Practice fielding the true bounces, but prepare to deal with the bad ones.
Through practice, infielders assume a general predictability to groundball bounces, largely determined by their familiarity with grounders over many surfaces on different baseball fields. They easily recognize a series of “true” bounces. But, as anyone familiar with the game knows, “bad bounces” occur. They are always possible, so players need not only some general sense of the way grounders behave, but also quick reactions for the unpredictable bounce, such as one caused by a pebble or divot on the field.
Bad bounces can change a game. One did so in the Yankees v. Pirates 1960 World Series, when a bad-bounce grounder off the bat of Bill Virdon struck the throat of Yankee shortstop Tony Kubek on what might have been a routine double play in the seventh inning. Kubek fell, and the runners were safe. On ensuing plays the Pirates scored, taking a 9-7 lead. Although the Yankees tied the game, the Pirates went on to win the game in the bottom of the ninth on a famous homerun by their second baseman Bill Mazeroski. The Yankees might have won had it not been for the bad bounce that allowed the Pirates to keep pace with scoring of the Bronx Bombers.
That bad bounce changed the game, just as bad, or unexpected, bounces change your daily game. Experience allows you to field most of what comes at you, but the playing surface always has that unexpected pebble or divot that variously absorbs the energy. Occasionally, you’ll miss one because of a bad bounce. If you do what you practiced, you’ll likely not make a mental error, but a physical one is a possibility. Fielding grounders with 100% efficiency is rare.
Infielders are told to play the bounce rather than have the bounce play them. Often that means aggressively charging toward the ball to intercept it during the most opportune part of its bounce, as it comes up toward your glove. In contrast, you don’t get to choose bad bounces, but you do get to react to them. And that’s where the mental game comes into play.
In everyday life you have to field a number of bad bounces. Some will hit as one did Tony Kubek. Nevertheless, charging aggressively whatever comes at you is a better policy than waiting for the ball to hit that divot or pebble. Practice fielding the true bounces, but prepare to deal with the bad ones.
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