Mike Trapasso

Head Baseball Coach

University of Hawaii

We all strive to prepare our teams to execute certain aspects of the game when called upon.  Executing the short-game, in particular, is something we all must do.  Whether we are a team built on power, speed or both…executing the short game, on command, is essential to winning baseball.  After all, when a short-game situation arises, it’s usually in a close game and at a crucial time.

Les Murakami Stadium, at the University of Hawaii, is a definite “pitcher’s ballpark.”  The dimensions are fairly large, the air is heavy, and there is a large amount of foul territory.  That means the short-game, and being able to execute, is a must for our team.

One of the ways we practice the short game is to have “situational intrasquads.”  We start each inning with a particular offensive situation in mind and spend that inning focusing on its execution.  For instance, all of our situational intrasquads include a sacrifice bunt inning.  Whether it be with a runner on first base or a runner on second base, bunting off live pitching, on a regular basis, is the best way to ensure you’re going to get the bunt down in a game.  It enables our hitters the opportunity to practice bunting off live pitchers and enables our infielders to practice our bunt defenses.  You can have the pitcher go one time through the line-up before changing sides, or just set a pitch count.

Any situation you think is important, or needs work, can be implemented in situational intrasquad.  Another situation we practice live is hit and run.  Runner on first, runners on first and second, runners on first and third…they all can be worked on off live pitching, in a controlled scrimmage.

Runner on third base with less than two outs is a situation that helps your offense and your defense.  You can try different infield depths and see what works best versus certain hitters or with certain personnel you have.  Your hitters must execute scoring the runner by letting the infield dictate what their approach must be: infield in: get a pitch to elevate (preferably in the middle of the diamond…what we call the big part of the field), infield back:  something you can elevate or a ground ball middle but not to the pitcher (easiest RBI for a hitter), corners in:  big part of the field…etc.  Sometimes we will even practice this situation but add a runner on first base just to work on his steal jumps.  Our defense approaches it as a runner on third situation, but the runner at first can benefit by working on his base running.

You probably have the idea by now.  Come up with your own situation you need to work on.  Runner on second, no outs:  move the runner over to third base.  First and third, one out:  safety squeeze.  First and third:  fake bunt, steal second.  Be sure to cover all the bases.  Try to make sure that any situation that may arise in a game has been experienced and worked on live, but in a practice environment.  It all adds up to helping eliminate pressure.  Pressure…described by Tony LaRussa once as encountering something that you are not prepared for.

Finally, while executing situations in scrimmages will help you execute them in games, keep in mind that while the short-game is vitally important to your success, much of the game still focuses on the one-on-one, pure competition between the pitcher and the hitter.  Sometimes it just comes down to “see the ball, hit the ball.”  So make sure you still allow time for your hitters and pitchers to compete against each other, with nothing to execute other than the hitter trying to drive the baseball, and the pitcher trying to get a ground ball.  After all, it’s a simple game….it’s just not easy.