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Sherman Schuett lectures and instructs on successful baseball base running and base stealing
You can't steal first base!! How prophetic that statement is, and how it applies to base running may be obvious to those of us who have played the game, but to those who haven't it may be "profound". In plain English it means "you must first get to first base in order to have an opportunity steal the next base, and possibly score a run. However, a tip that Sherman Schuett passed along to the players is "after hitting the ball, run directly at first base - in a straight line. DO NOT look up or out, at how the fielder is or is not making the play. Sherm asked the players "how many of you have been thrown out at first base by ½ a step"? All 14 players in attendance raised their hands. Sherm's first drill was to have the players swing at an imaginary pitch and run directly to first base, glancing only as they headed out of the batter's box where the batted ball was hit. For this purpose we used the shortstop in the hole. The Aliens coach timed each of the players going to first. Then, Sherman had each player run directly to first base after hitting the imaginary pitch to the shortstop, this time WITHOUT glancing at the shortstop making the play. Each player had this effort timed by the Aliens coach. In each instance, the player cut his "home to first" time by at least a tenth of a second, and some cut their time down by three tenths of a second!! In essence, turning an out into a hit! A major league player's "home to first" time averages 4.1 seconds. Eight of the Aliens players' times were less than or equal to 4.1 seconds.
Once the hitter earns his spot at first base and turns into a runner, the next critical point that Sherman Schuett instructed was, before EACH pitch "determine where the outfielders are positioning themselves". The runner should glance at where the outfielder is playing so that once the ball is hit into the outfield, the runner can gauge where the ball will land and then determine if the outfielder has a chance to make the play. Sherman Schuett asked the players how many of them had been thrown out by ½ a step going from first to third? Again, all of the players raised their hands. By knowing where the outfielder is playing on EACH pitch " will give you at least a full stride advantage going from first to third".
Last, Sherman Schuett provided a significant tip on how to steal 2nd base. The runner MUST watch the pitcher's ELBOWS. From the pitcher's set position, the pitcher will give away if he is going to home to deliver a pitch or throw to first base in an attempt to pick off the runner. The runner only needs to watch the pitcher's front elbow to determine if the pitcher will try to pick off the runner. If the pitcher's front elbow moves towards home plate the runner can immediately take off for second. If the pitcher's front elbow starts to swing around towards first base, the runner should scamper back to avoid the pick off. Sherman Schuett instructed the players based on what "he" had learned about the Front Elbow concept, while watching the teaching sessions that Major League Baseball offers on television. Ricky Henderson, Hall of Fame base runner, provided this insight on the teaching session and should be credited with this significant, somewhat little known way to steal a base.
All of the Colorado Aliens players and coach staff took time to thank Sherman Schuett profusely for passing along these base running and base stealing tips. Thanks Sherm!!
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Twilight Movie Baseball Parody #2 (all characters)