Keep Your Defense Hopping with These Fielding Drills

Fielding short hops is part of every infielder's job, and it's not easy.

These drills are intended to improve your hand quickness and your fielding abilities.

For each drill, stand 20-30 feet away from another player. Keep your feet stationary.

In each drill, throw 25 balls to your partner. Completing the complete set of drills provides you with the opportunity to field 150 balls in 10 minutes. Perform these drills five or six times a week to greatly improve your fielding abilities.

Direct Short Hop
• With your glove on your fielding hand, spread your feet shoulder-width apart with your knees bent and your hands in front of you on the ground.
• Throw short hops to your partner, making sure to catch each thrown ball with two hands.

Forehand Short Hop
• Turn to your forehand side with your front foot turned about six inches from parallel to your back foot. This will allow for easier throws and balance when catching the short hops.
• Position your glove on the ground near your back foot.
• Throw short hops to your partner’s forehand side, and use only one hand to catch each ball. This simulates running to your forehand side and having to reach for the ball.

Backhand Short Hop
• Turn to your backhand side with your front foot turned about six inches from parallel to your back foot. This will allow for easier throws and balance when catching the short hops.
• Position your glove on the ground near your front foot.
• Throw short hops to your partner’s backhand side, and use only one hand to catch each ball. This simulates running to your backhand side and having to reach for the ball.

For tools to help with these fielding drills, look for Rawlings' 5-Tool Training Program items including the Reaction Ball, designed to bounce erratically. Rawlings has partnered with Ripken Baseball to produce the 5-Tool Training line.

Visit RawlingsGear.com or contact a Rawlings Gear Customer Care representative at (866) 678-GEAR(4327) for information on tools to conduct fielding drills.

For the Best Southpaw Selections, Go with Rawlings Gear

Rawlings Gear is your retailer for Rawlings left handed gloves.

With more than 90 models in stock, RawlingsGear.com carries the left handed gloves you won't find in stores. Our site is the only place you'll find images of the gloves when you search.

Rawlings has introduced 16 left handed gloves for the 2011 season:
• Pro Preferred Series: model numbers PROS12MTKB-RH, PROS20BR-RH and PROS15MTBR-RH
• Heart of the Hide Series: model numbers PRO12VHPM-RH, PROTB24B-RH and PRO302DC-RH
• Gold Glove Legend: model numbers GG302L-RH, GG209L-RH and GGTML-RH
• Gold Glove Gamer: model numbers GG601G-RH, GG12XTCG-RH, GG20G-RH, GG204G-RH, GGFPG-RH and GGCMG-RH
• Gold Glove Gamer Pro Taper: model number GG1125G-RH

For every level of play and from youth to adult sizes, Rawlings has a left handed glove.

Model numbers for left handed gloves include the letters “-RH,” which means the glove is worn on the right hand. It should be included at the end of the model number on your order.

Because it also means that you throw with your left hand, be sure “Throws With Left Hand” is shown in your shopping cart.

Visit RawlingsGear.com or contact a Rawlings Gear Customer Care representative at (866) 678-GEAR(4327) to purchase your left handed glove.

Don’t Let This Skill Slide: Tips for Learning How to Slide

Sometimes the important skill in base running isn’t running. Sometimes it’s the slide that means you’re safe.

Improper sliding, however, can result in injury to the young ball player. It is very important to teach proper sliding fundamentals because serious knee, ankle or hand injury can occur.

The most popular slide, and probably the safest, is the bent leg or figure 4 slide.

Here are some tips for sliding:

The key element to the bent leg slide is that one leg is straight and extended to the bag and the other is tucked under the straight one. Your hands should be up and loosely clenched to avoid injury.

You will want to start your slide approximately 7-10 feet in front of the bag depending on your speed and height. It’s important to not slide too late because you may jam a leg or ankle or too early because you may not reach the bag.

Take off from either leg. You will initially land on the bent leg’s calf and thigh and your rear end.

Stay low to the ground and throw your head back slightly to avoid hitting your knees too hard on the ground.

As your front leg comes into contact with the bag with your heel up, both legs should give to cushion the slide.

Practice on wet grass or use a large piece of cardboard with no shoes first before practicing on the field.

Visit RawlingsGear.com or contact a Rawlings Gear Customer Care representative at (866) 678-GEAR(4327) for information on tools to conduct base running drills.

Fielding Drills

It's no secret that practice makes perfect. It's also no secret that doing fielding drills can improve your defense immensely.

These short hop/short catch drills are intended to improve your hand quickness and your fielding abilities.

For each drill, stand 20-30 feet away from another player. Keep your feet stationary and focus on your hands.

In each drill, throw 25 balls to your partner. Completing the complete set of drills provides you with the opportunity to field 150 balls in 10 minutes. Perform these drills five or six times a week to greatly improve your fielding abilities.

Bare Hand Roll (no glove)
• Place your glove on the ground behind you.
• Spread your feet shoulder-width apart with your knees bent and your hands in front of you on the ground.
• Roll the ball to your partner, and focus on catching the rolled ball with two hands.

Bare Hand Short Hop (no glove)
• Place your glove on the ground in front of you.
• Spread your feet shoulder-width apart with your knees bent and your hands in front of you on the ground.
• Throw short hops to your partner, making sure to catch each thrown ball with two hands.
• Because no glove is being used, all throws should be softly thrown.

For tools to help with these fielding drills, look for Rawlings' 5-Tool Training Program items including the Reaction Ball, designed to bounce erratically. Rawlings has partnered with Ripken Baseball to produce the 5-Tool Training line.

Visit RawlingsGear.com or contact a Rawlings Gear Customer Care representative at (866) 678-GEAR(4327) for information on tools to conduct fielding drills.

Rawlings Gold Glove Award: Baseball's Defensive Benchmark

Ozzie Smith, Johnny Bench, Brooks Robinson—These are some of baseball's greatest defensive players. And great defensive players get honored with the Rawlings Gold Glove Award.

Since its creation in 1957, the Rawlings Gold Glove Award has been the benchmark by which all defense is measured. Today, the award remains the highest symbol of defensive excellence and ultimately determines who is “the Finest in the Field.”

In its first year, nine professional players received the award.

The next year, 18 players received the honor, one for each position in both the National and American Leagues.

Managers and coaches from the Major Leagues select the winners prior to the conclusion of the regular season. They may not vote for players from their own club and can only vote for players in their own league.

In 2007, in conjunction with the award’s 50th anniversary, the Rawlings Gold Glove Award expanded to recognize athletes at the collegiate and high school levels. Nine awards are given to each division in the NCAA (1,2,3), the NJCAA (1,2,3), the NAIA, as well as high school athletes from around the country.

The storied history of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award has inspired a new class of athletes to attempt jaw-dropping plays and acrobatic snags in the dirt, all in the hopes of taking home the gold. More than 50 years later, the Rawlings Gold Glove Award remains the game’s greatest measure of defensive excellence, and its legacy is sure to live on for years to come.

Award the players on your team for their hard work and efforts with the Miniature Rawlings Gold Glove Award (style number MINI). Then customize it by putting their name on the nameplate.

Visit RawlingsGear.com or contact a Rawlings Gear Customer Care representative at (866) 678-GEAR(4327) to purchase Miniature Gold Glove Awards for your team.

Top Colleges Choose Rawlings 5150 Bats

The country's top college baseball teams power their offenses with Rawlings' 5150 bats.

Players for nationally ranked Virginia have been impressed with the 5150 Exogrid with Ph.D.

“The 5150 Exogrid has reached a new level in the bat industry, with players using this bat with more confidence than ever,” Virginia Head Coach Brian O’Connor said. “The ball seems to jump off this bat, and the feel of the bat is liked by many players. Players are always excited about a new bat, and the 5150 Exogrid definitely has our players excited.”

The 5150 Exogrid is built with a stiff handle and a large sweet spot and capitalizes on Vyatek's Ph.D technology (that's passive hybrid damping) to reduce vibration on impact.

Players at Georgia Tech, also nationally ranked, have gone with the 5150 alloy.

“Tony Plagman, our senior first baseman, has hit five home runs in eight games using the 5150 alloy,” Georgia Tech Head Coach Danny Hall said. “The ball jumps off the bat.”

Other college baseball teams that use Rawlings bats are:
• Cal State San Marcos
• Central Methodist University
• Cortland State University
• Cypress College
• Fairfield University
• Kent State University
• Lackawanna College
• Manhattan College
• Marist College
• Merced College
• Monmouth University
• Monroe College
• Montclair State University
• North Carolina A&T University
• Northern Illinois University
• Potomac State
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Rider University
• Santa Ana College
• Solano College
• Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
• Southern Vermont
• Tulane University
• University of Alabama A&M
• University of Hawaii
• University of Indianapolis
• University of Maine
• University of San Francisco
• University of Utah
• Wayland Baptist University
• Youngstown State University

Visit RawlingsGear.com or contact a Rawlings Gear Customer Care representative at (866) 678-GEAR(4327) to purchase your Rawlings bat.

How to Choose an Outfield Glove

Roam the outfield confidently with a Rawlings glove.

Rawlings has dozens of gloves perfectly made for outfielders, so use the following tips to find the one that’s just right for you or the outfielder in your family:

• When choosing an outfield glove, choose a large glove with a deeper pocket.

• Make sure the glove feels comfortable and not clumsy. You don't want your glove to be so big it falls off your hand.

• Choose an open web to handle high fly balls. The Trap-Eze web is the most popular web among outfielders.

• BIG LEAGUE TIP: Shift your fingers over by placing your ring and pinky fingers in the last finger slot and shift your middle and index fingers over one slot to the left. This deepens the pocket, providing more glove control while reducing the ball impact on your hand.

CoachKat of Wentzville, Mo., recently wrote an online review at RawlingsGear.com of the Heart of the Hide 12.7- inch Left baseball glove (model number PROTB24): “Durable, reliable, dependable, what else can I say, it's a Rawlings. Highly recommended for any outfielder who wants to trap what he dives for.”

GUnit of Virginia wrote an online review of the Gold Glove 12-inch Dual Core (model number GGL20D): “This is an excellent, mid-range priced glove. You can't go wrong if you are looking for a durable 12" baseball glove.”

Visit RawlingsGear.com or contact a Rawlings Gear Customer Care representative at (866) 678-GEAR(4327) for more information on outfield gloves.