Baseball Drills: Outfield : Shallow Fly Balls

Drill: Shallow Fly Balls

Purpose:
Working on tagging up and coming off the third base on shallow fly balls

Equipment:
Baseballs, batting helmets and a fungo

Setup:
Have a catcher, 2 third basemen, 2 shortstops and 2 left fielders, rest of the team should have helmets.

Execution:
Have a line of runners at third base. Hit soft line drive and fly balls into shallow left field. The runner at third base should move back to tag as he reads the fly ball of the bat. He should then try to determine whether the fly ball will be caught and whether he should stay on the base or come off and move down the line.

Have the next fielders and runner ready to jump in after each play to keep the drill moving along.

Coaching Note: This is one of the most difficult base running situations, so try not to stop the drill each time and critique each decision. The more reps the baserunners get in the more they will get the idea.

This drill also gives outfielders and infielders an opportunity to work on calling for a fly ball and being called off by another player.