good first baseman to study?

[jamesh23]

what are some of the best 1st baseman in the game today? or a few back in the day that I coudl study and learn a few things from? also is there any short 1st baseman? im talking like 5'9"-6' how much do they weight? cuz im about 5'9" right now at 15.

[BenHertz]

Doug Mientkiewicz

[Go Cardinals]

Albert pujols

[paul5150]

kevin millar.

[Jake Patterson]

Youk. Fundamentally very sound.

[jamesh23]

thanks I seen that they arent like 6'4" so that gives me some confidence, also where can I find videos on these guys?

[korp]

They are usually 200+ lbs and hit for power. Maybe look at youtube but you may just want to watch a game on tv or in person.

[mudvnine]

If you don't mind going back a couple of years, then you won't find many that field the position better then 6 time (consecutively) Gold Glove Winner, Wes Parker.

He played in over 1100 games at 1st base, had over 9600 PO, 695 assists, and only 45 errors, giving him a lifetime fielding percentage at 1st base of .996 not too shabby for the lefty.

[chesspirate]

Adrian Gonzalez and Albert Pujols currently, JT Snow past.

[Nater44]

what are you looking to study?

[jamesh23]

what are you looking to study?

mostly footwork, how far they play from the bag, how they stretch, how they dig balls? you know? thanks.

[StraightGrain11]

mostly footwork, how far they play from the bag, how they stretch, how they dig balls? you know? thanks.

Best way to "dig balls" is by moving your glove "into" them. You can work on this with a short-hop drill.

For footwork - if you're RH...(if you're LH, read it anyway...you'll see why later on):
A)-On bunts and balls hit back to the pitcher: you want to take throws with your glove-side (left) foot next to/on the bag. This keeps you square to the throw and prevents you from stretching "up the line" INTO the runner (VERY dangerous). It also allows you to block the ball with your body on a bad throw (if needed). The reason I say start with your foot NEXT TO the bag, is because once a 1Bman (or any fielder, for that matter) gets his foot ON the bag, he feels "anchored" to it (does not want to come off it). By keeping your foot NEXT TO/JUST OFF the bag (an INCH or so), you allow yourself to move a little more freely and give yourself the opportunity to "go get" a bad throw. You have no idea how many "extra bases" you will save by starting off the bag and jumping for a high/wild throw, coming down, and then stepping on the bag - instead of simply "stretching" for it while trying to "hold" the bag.

B)- On balls hit to the fielders AT their positions: you "stretch" with your glove-side (left) foot (obviously). But, you want to start with both feet at the bag, [both feet] pointed in the general direction the balls coming from, and step/stretch so that your foot hits the ground AS - or slightly before - the ball hits your glove (this will allow you to "read" the throw(s) better/longer, and keep you from "stretching" prematurely on balls thrown high or wide). You want to take these throws from the back corner of the bag (the one closest to the 2Bman) - this keeps you farthest from the runner and in the spot you will least likely be stepped on (not many runners will attempt to step on the back of the bag). The reason it looks like (on TV) 1Bmen "come off the bag" so quickly after taking a throw is because they are taught to "walk through the catch".

-Note: If you're LH, the same techniques apply, except you don't have to switch your feet up on bunts and balls hit back to the pitcher, it's the same as taking throws from the field (which is why LH 1Bmen are favorable - amongst other reasons).

For positioning: at the HS level, probably 7-10 steps behind the bag - at the deepest. The way you can position yourself "off the line" is (early on in the game) play so that if you drew an imaginary line from home plate through the edge/tip of the "cut-out" the line would pass just to the left of you. Now, if you have a scouting report on a LH pull-hitter, obviously, you have to honor that. As you get later into the game (5/6/7 innings), you position yourself more closely to the line (known as playing "no doubles").

When holding a runner on:
- If you're RH: stand so your R foot is on the dirt, touching the side of the bag closest to the plate, and open yourself up (L foot will probably be on the [foul]line) so you are as square as possible to (facing) the pitcher.
- If you're LH: stand so you are slightly in front of the corner closest to the pitcher. Again, you want to be as square as possible to him.

When taking "snap throws" from the catcher after a pitch: DO NOT attempt to "go back to the bag", take them right where you're standing and make a swipe tag behind you. In attempting to "go back to the bag", you may turn your back on the ball or get tangled with the runner or even trip over the bag while trying to pick the ball back up. Just take it from wherever you're at and throw a tag on him. You shouldn't be more than a foot or so in front of the bag, anyway, and if the throw is online and he's off the bag far enough so that it beats him, the umpire will most likely call him out. :)

Hope that helps. :thumbsup:

[mudvnine]

A)-On bunts and balls hit back to the pitcher: you want to take throws with your glove-side (left) foot next to/on the bag. This keeps you square to the throw and prevents you from stretching "up the line" INTO the runner (VERY dangerous). It also allows you to block the ball with your body on a bad throw (if needed). The reason I say start with your foot NEXT TO the bag, is because once a 1Bman (or any fielder, for that matter) gets his foot ON the bag, he feels "anchored" to it (does not want to come off it). By keeping your foot NEXT TO/JUST OFF the bag (an INCH or so), you allow yourself to move a little more freely and give yourself the opportunity to "go get" a bad throw. You have no idea how many "extra bases" you will save by starting off the bag and jumping for a high/wild throw, coming down, and then stepping on the bag - instead of simply "stretching" for it while trying to "hold" the bag.

B)- On balls hit to the fielders AT their positions: you "stretch" with your glove-side (left) foot (obviously). But, you want to start with both feet at the bag, [both feet] pointed in the general direction the balls coming from, and step/stretch so that your foot hits the ground AS - or slightly before - the ball hits your glove (this will allow you to "read" the throw(s) better/longer, and keep you from "stretching" prematurely on balls thrown high or wide). You want to take these throws from the back corner of the bag (the one closest to the 2Bman) - this keeps you farthest from the runner and in the spot you will least likely be stepped on (not many runners will attempt to step on the back of the bag). The reason it looks like (on TV) 1Bmen "come off the bag" so quickly after taking a throw is because they are taught to "walk through the catch".

-Note: If you're LH, the same techniques apply, except you don't have to switch your feet up on bunts and balls hit back to the pitcher, it's the same as taking throws from the field (which is why LH 1Bmen are favorable - amongst other reasons).

StraightGrain11, very good, short, conscise explanation on what can be a difficult technique to describe . . . great job. :applaud: :applaud:

I would like to expand just a bit on what we used to call the "dance", that takes in exactly what you talked about when starting "in front of the bag, squared up to the fielder" and add to it the use of either foot as the "tag/anchor" foot depending on the location of the throw, not always "stepping or stretching" with the same lead (glove-side) foot.

Not wanting to reinvent the mousetrap, I'll use what was already very well written by another coach, but describes exactly how we used to play it as "lefty" firstbasemen and that was, "You did not commit which foot would touch the bag until you knew what side of the base the throw was on. If the throw was to your right, you moved your left foot directly behind the right one and "stepped" with the right foot - leaving the left foot as the "tag" foot.

Conversely, if the ball were thrown to the left side, you did the opposite, i.e., placed your right foot behind your left, touching the bag, and stepped with your left." This is quoted from an unknown "Coach Bob", but adds the lateral movement that is so important when receiving throws at that position.

The advantage of using the "dance" is that you increase your lateral range for receiving the throw by approximately a distance equal to the width of your feet in their original position, plus the width of the bag as you move from corner to corner, using the entire width of the bag depending on the throw and enforcing the "not stretching, until you know where the throw is going" philosophy, many times not taught as much as it should be, IMO.

.

[califangels72]

what are some of the best 1st baseman in the game today? or a few back in the day that I coudl study and learn a few things from? also is there any short 1st baseman? im talking like 5'9"-6' how much do they weight? cuz im about 5'9" right now at 15.

kotchman is sooo damn smooth...saves the angels a ton of runs....truly makes all the other infielders better players...

[mudvnine]

kotchman is sooo damn smooth...saves the angels a ton of runs....truly makes all the other infielders better players...

Yes, Kotchman is definitely one of the game's best!!

[hellborn]

From the recent past, I'd say Keith Hernandez and Mark Grace.
Minty and Youk are darned good now.
Derrek Lee was pretty slick last time I saw him, but it's been a while.

[jamesh23]

kotchman is sooo damn smooth...saves the angels a ton of runs....truly makes all the other infielders better players...

is that his normal stance or just when he is about to field a ball? also im looking more for right handed first baseman.

[StraightGrain11]

is that his normal stance or just when he is about to field a ball? also im looking more for right handed first baseman.

Yes, THAT is the proper "ready position" (for ANY infielder) as the pitcher is about to deliver the ball (you start low, stay low, and work from the ground--up). Some players will start with their gloves on the ground to "check" themselves to make sure they are low enough (A-Rod will tap his glove on the ground a few times as he gets into his "stance"), others won't - but your BODY should be in that position, either way. Now, middle infielders tend to stay a little higher because they need to move laterally more (the corners are mainly "reacting"), but for the most part, they aren't much higher when the ball crosses the plate.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2067/2330672711_30dbeddb58.jpg?v=0 http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3056/2415055391_8432205b32.jpg?v=0

Here's a pic of Mientkiewicz; if you look in the background, you will see Jeter "getting ready" also, so you know the ball has NOT been hit yet. :)

[ChinMusic]

Todd Helton. Three gold gloves and still quite underrated.

[StraightGrain11]

Todd Helton. Three gold gloves and still quite underrated.

Very underrated - especially as a hitter. It's amazing you can have a .330 lifetime BA (23rd ALL-time) and hardly ever get talked about when it comes to hitting.

[hellborn]

Very underrated - especially as a hitter. It's amazing you can have a .330 lifetime BA (23rd ALL-time) and hardly ever get talked about when it comes to hitting.

Helton is a good player and hitter, but don't get too excited about the lifetime BA... .364 home, .295 road.

For present day righties, Minty, Youk, and Lee would all be good choices.

[jamesh23]

thanks a ton guys, right now i normally played 3rd base but am switching to
1st cuz I like it better and have a better chance at starting on the varsity level, this year I started as a DH and am a sophomore. anyway im playing 1st in summer league but wont get much time there cuz the current 1st baseman is 5'7" 265lbs and the coaches son, he cant dig a ball that well but is decent at grounders and ok at hitting, I can easily beat him out on the highschool team, wish me luck guys, and thanks.

[tyberesk]

howabout some john olerude...he was always a first basemen I looked up to while watching him play and he influenced alot of my first basemensship haha.....although he has more of a build compared to me(hes 6 foot 5 220...im 6 foot 3 190) I always thought of him as a great fielder...and im sure it wouldnt hurt to watch him.