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slater that's the line drive base hit
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wasabi is going to be waved home and now
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he slips and falls and they may have him
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at third
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and they do
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hey there coach rizz here and today
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we're going to talk about basic cutoffs
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and relays
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one of the most important fundamentals
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for players and coaches to grasp is how
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to position and run a proper cutoff
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when the offense hits a single the
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defense always prepares for
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a play two bases ahead of the lead
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runner so with no one on base the play
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is to second base
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on base hit to the short stop side of
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the field the shortstop is the cutoff
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and on base it's the second base side of
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the field the second baseman is the
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cutoff
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base hits to center field are usually
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communicated during the play
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as to who's going to be the cutoff and
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who has the bag
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it's important to know the game
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situations in advance of the play so
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that you can react and make quicker
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decisions
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and to also anticipate plays before they
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happen
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knowing the number of outs where the
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base runners are as well as the speed of
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the base runners or batter will give
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good defenders a huge advantage
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here we have a base hit to left field so
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the shortstop is going out to be the
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cutoff
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notice that since there may be a play at
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the bag the throw from the outfielder is
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going all the way into second base
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in this next example there are two outs
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and the defense is down a run late in
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the game with the same speedy runner at
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the plate
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because of the situation the defense
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must anticipate that this runner is
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going to apply
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pressure on them and try to stretch the
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single into a double
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that slips right center field towards
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the gap
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[Music]
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that is with the base hit being to the
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right side the second baseman is the cut
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and the shortstop has the bag
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[Applause]
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there's a base hit with the runner on
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first base the defense lines up for a
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play at third base or two bases in front
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of the lead runner
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the short stop is always the cutoff for
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third base the second baseman must
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control
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second base the general rule is any
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situation that includes a runner on
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first base
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along with a base hit the second baseman
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must control second base
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and once again it's important to know
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your game specific situations
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three balls two strikes short lead at
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first and a line drive out to right
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center field that'll drop for a hit ruiz
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round second heads to third
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and here we see the shortstop lined up
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as the cutoff for third base while the
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second baseman is in position to control
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second base
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roman quinn on one hop he is out
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the shortstop does a couple important
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things here he positions himself so that
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a throw that is at his head ends up
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being a long hop to third base
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he also fakes or better known as a deak
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in baseball
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to freeze the runner at first base
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he got it up in the air we haven't seen
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a lot of games like this ball again 93 i
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think but still
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in this next example you can see that
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there are runners on first and third
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whenever there is a base hit with the
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runner on third the primary concern for
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the defense becomes the next base runner
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or in this example the runner on first
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base
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so the defense once again prepares for a
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play at third base
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and a base head off the fastball
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stanton score the shortstop is lining up
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for a play at third base
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second has control of second base and
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the pitcher is working his way
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over to back up either home or third
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base
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with the runner on second base and a
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base hit to left field the third baseman
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becomes the cutoff for a play at the
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plate
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and the short stop has to slide over and
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control third base
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it's important that your outfielders
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understand that they are throwing
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to the plate through the cutoff whenever
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there is going to be a play at home
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lined into left field madrigal is going
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to be waved home
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here comes alex's first throw to the
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plate it is on the money
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out at home knows about alex gordon's
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great arm and accuracy and now he's seen
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what it's like firsthand
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i can see him taking a chance but at
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some point everybody's going to have a
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pretty good feeling it's really
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difficult to score on ali
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notice how the third baseman must get
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depth or get closer to home plate
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after this ball gets through the infield
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in order to properly get into position
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to where the ball
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goes through his head and one hops to
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catch it he also deeks the runner at
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first base to hold him there
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while the deke is important on holding
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that runner notice how he doesn't ever
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actually come
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close to touching the baseball it's his
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first throw to the plate it is on the
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money
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out at home plate here's another example
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of a base hit to left field with the
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runner on second and a properly run cut
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off for a play at the plate
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51 is a base hit off the diving try of
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gonzales
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reynolds tries it again and rounds gets
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another man
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reynolds charging hard so he has some
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momentum on this one
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once again a deke by the third baseman
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to hold the runner at first
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and the perfect depth for a one hop to
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the catcher a
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perfect strike outfielders must
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understand that they are not throwing to
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a cut off they are throwing through the
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cutoff to the target
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their throws must be able to be cut to
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take advantage of base running mistakes
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or changing circumstances such as a
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coach stopping a runner
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as in this example where a good throw
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from the outfielder
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along with the third baseman and the
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shortstop being in proper position
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leads to the defense being able to take
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advantage of a base running mistake
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with a runner on second and a base hit
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to the outfield
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anywhere but to left field the first
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baseman becomes the cutoff for a play at
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the plate
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if there is not a runner on first base
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the shortstop controls second base and
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the second baseman is responsible for
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controlling first base
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however if there is a runner on first
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base
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as well as a runner on second base the
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second baseman now must control second
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base while the shortstop becomes the
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cutoff for a possible played third
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our primary concern is the play two
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bases ahead of the lead runner
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or the play at the plate but our
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secondary concern now becomes keeping
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the runner on first pace off of third
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base
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and then our third concern is then
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keeping the batter off of second base
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to keep it simple the second baseman's
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need to remember
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that anytime there is a runner on first
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base with the base hit to the outfield
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they are responsible for controlling
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second base
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in this next example we have a runner on
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second base with a base head to right
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field
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you'll see the second baseman moving to
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control first base
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however pay attention to how the first
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baseman doesn't get enough
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depth this leads to an otherwise perfect
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throw by the right fielder being high
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enough over the cutoff's head that the
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base runner can read the ball out of his
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hand
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as being uncuttable so he is able to
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easily advance to second base
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while this may not seem like a big deal
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due to the
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defense getting the out at the plate
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this inevitably leaves them with
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two outs and a runner on second base now
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a two out single or
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error scores a run as opposed to if they
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had held the batter to
00:07:15
first base then the offense would need
00:07:17
to get two singles or an extra base hit
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to scoring
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these subtle nuances are often what
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separates good from bad teams even at
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the major league level
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this is why outfielders who continually
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overthrow cut-offs
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and cut-offs who continually don't get
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to their proper spots
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will eventually play themselves out of
00:07:35
the starting lineups of higher level
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baseball regardless of armed strength or
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athletic ability
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this throw by the right fielder is a
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strong long hop throw to the plate
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therefore it is evident that the first
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baseman didn't get to the proper depths
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since a long hop throw to the catcher
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should ideally pass
00:07:57
him at head level in this next example
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as we look at the situation
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we see that there is now a runner on
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first base as well as second
00:08:06
remember this changes the second
00:08:08
baseman's responsibility and he now must
00:08:10
control second base the shortstop will
00:08:12
now line up as they cut off for
00:08:14
potential played third
00:08:15
conforto to third he's going to be waved
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around inciarte unleashes the throat of
00:08:19
the plate it's cut off but now they have
00:08:21
alonzo and a rundown
00:08:22
and freeman tags him out that enables
00:08:25
kanoa to get to second
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notice how the first baseman is
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positioned with his feet and shoulders
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facing where he anticipates he might
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need to cut the baseball
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i cannot stress this enough outfielders
00:08:37
will be the player throwing out the
00:08:39
runner at the plate
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very very rarely will this ball be
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relayed by the cut off to home
00:08:47
on base hits with runners on second the
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third baseman or the first baseman
00:08:52
whoever is responsible depending on
00:08:53
where the ball was hit is the cutoff
00:08:56
not the relay his job is to line up
00:08:59
properly
00:09:00
so that runners cannot advance without
00:09:02
taking a risk of giving the defense a
00:09:04
free out like in this example
00:09:07
and conforto is going to score on this
00:09:10
there's no need for pete to get tied up
00:09:12
that's
00:09:12
not a good base running move there
00:09:15
now it's two outs even though you got
00:09:17
your runner on second base it was first
00:09:18
and second
00:09:19
one out and still a big rally potential
00:09:22
on this play we see the importance of
00:09:24
the second baseman understanding that
00:09:26
when a runner is on first base he must
00:09:28
control second base
00:09:30
watch as the a's execute an otherwise
00:09:32
textbook cut off
00:09:33
but without the second baseman in his
00:09:34
proper position they allow a runner to
00:09:37
advance to scoring position
00:09:40
that's in for a big hit springer will be
00:09:43
waved around
00:09:48
cut off rush scores throw to third and
00:09:50
they'll get the out there about two day
00:09:52
so they do get the out but coming in to
00:09:55
score for the astros with the fifth run
00:09:57
from second base is springer and it's
00:09:59
five for houston
00:10:02
rbi single for michael brantley to
00:10:05
center field
00:10:06
running proper cut-offs is one of the
00:10:08
key indicators of how well a team is
00:10:10
coached
00:10:11
as well as an individual player's
00:10:12
baseball iq
00:10:14
it is not simple it requires a lot of
00:10:16
reps and mental energy to master
00:10:18
but is always a primary aspect of
00:10:21
successful programs
00:10:23
once you feel comfortable with the basic
00:10:24
cutoffs please check out my video on
00:10:26
double cuts
00:10:29
i hope you've gotten something out of
00:10:30
this video and feel free to leave any
00:10:33
questions in the comments and thanks for
00:10:37
[Music]
00:10:44
watching
