by Coach Griff

Ooooh boy, you better get good at backing up.

Watching those extra run cross the plate because you were not where you were supposed to be… it hurts.

Backing up is a sign of a well educated and team-focused player. Pitchers who don’t back up are seen as selfish, lazy or emotional.

What is backing up?

There are certain places you need to be at certain times, depending on the circumstances of the game.

For pitchers, these roles places are often backing up an incoming play in case of an errant throw.

These situations are most commonly:

1. When a ball is hit into the outfield
2. When a runner is scoring or likely to score
3. When a runner is caught in a pickle

<aside> 🧑🏼‍🚀 Pitchers aren’t special. You always have a job to do. When a ball is hit in play, you need to involve yourself by supporting other players, just like they all do.

</aside>

How do I back up?

Each time a ball is hit into play, someone will start calling out a base.

Whatever base is called out, you need to run to a position behind that base (except first base on a ground ball).

Quick intro to backing up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64JY-gomcrc

Detailed version

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYouZWVQICw

Tweeners

Sometimes it can be difficult to know where a throw will go.