Who is cut off man

Play is at home plate, with a possible cut and throw to 3rd base. First baseman is the cut off man. In this situation, the throw is to home plate, with potential for a cut and throw to 3rd base. This section describes the positioning for a base hit to outfield if there are runners on both first and second bases.

The shortstop will cover 3rd base. With no one on 1st, the 2nd baseman should run to 1st base in case there is an attempt to get the hitter out at first. This diagram shows the setup for runners at 1st and 2nd base when a single is hit to left field.

The 3rd baseman is the cut-off guy, so he may choose to reroute the throw if to 2nd or 3rd if needed. The shortstop will line up to 3rd base because the outfielder has the option of throwing home or to 3rd depending on the ball hit and the speed of the runners. The 2nd baseman is covering second base, and will be expecting the ball from a cut off man if the runner takes to big of a turn around 2nd base.

The shortstop lines up to 3rd base, expecting the throw from the outfielder who has the option to go to home or to 3rd base.

You should line up in a straight line and about 15 — 20 feet to the 3rd base side of 2nd base. This will allow you to keep the ball and runner in your line of vision and make the decision to cut the ball or let it go through.

This decision depends on what the runner decides to do. To summarize, the shortstop must understand that depending on where the runners start out makes a big difference on which base to cover during baseball cut-offs and relays. Doug Bernier , founder of Pro Baseball Insider. He has Major League time at every infield position, and has played every position on the field professionally except for catcher.

You should click to watch this great defensive play by Bernier Where is he now? After 16 years of playing professionally, Doug retired and took a position as a Major League scout with the Colorado Rockies for 2 years.

Why not use the 2 bagger as the cut off for throws to 3rd with a hit to RF? I understand the SS would have a better view, but the play seems to naturally take 2B in that direction and SS to cover 2nd base. If you do not mind, I would like to take a stab at the answer. If the second baseman is the cutoff man, then a the right fielder would be precluded from ever throwing the runner out at third base; b if the second baseman wanted to throw the runner out at third base he would have a much longer throw than the shortstop; and c because of this longer throw by the second baseman, the hitter would have a better chance of reaching second base on that throw.

This is all predicated on the very reasonable assumption that the second baseman will have a much more difficult time running over and getting into the correct position to be the cut off man and it much better for the outfielders to make long throws so the cut off men can make relatively short throws.

Because you want your pitcher to either back up 3rd base on a throw to 3rd or the catcher on a throw home. If the ball gets away on an errant throw, it stops runners from advancing further. Also how many throws a game do the 1st baseman and 3rd baseman usually get during a game? Not very many…. I totally agree.

If your second baseman has a stronger arm than your third baseman, you should rethink where they are playing. The 3B more times than not should have the stronger arm when compared to a 2B. Usually with young players its easy to put the kid with a weaker arm at second base.

As kids get older, your defense will be a lot stronger if your second baseman has a good arm. It will help on double plays, backhand plays up the middle and relay throws. There are a few ML teams where the second baseman has a stronger arm then the third baseman. Also, assigning cut responsibility based on how many throws a potential cut man might otherwise make during a game is just silliness on several levels.

With this mindset, I suppose one would relieve the 1Bman of his long and well-established around-the-mound cut responsibilities, in favor of the pitcher, catcher, a MIer, or perhaps an outfielder. Most likely the cut off man would re direct the ball to a different base or just catch and hold the ball and make sure no other runners advance.

The 3B is the cut off man because the throw may need to be re directed. Having a player in the proper position as a cut off man will also keep trail runners from advancing to the next base. It has nothing to do with arm strength or throwing accuracy. I have always taught my players to initially move towards the baseball off of the bat. Instinctively I want them trying to make a play on the ball. In the case of a base hit directly up the middle with a runner on 2nd base, the 2nd baseman should be moving to his right to try and make a play on the ball.

Every cut diagram I have seen including this one shows the 2nd baseman covering 1st base…. Is this realistic or practical for that matter? Craig, Me too. I still teach my kids to follow the ball and that means the 2nd baseman and SS cover 2nd depending on the direction of the hit.

In most instances he will be close to the middle, holding the runner on second base. Therefore, he will likely be able to make a play on a ball hit to his right. If he can not make a play, given his proximity to the middle he will know it right away as you mentioned and will likely not have made wasted movement in that direction before moving to cover first.

For example, on a throw to home from left field have your third baseman be the cutoff. Don't have your shortstop be the cutoff person simply because he is the best athlete. Same applies with a throw to home from center or right. That's the role of the first baseman.

Get them used to their roles on the basic plays from various positions. This will give them a good foundation to build upon. Many coaches continually yell out to the outfield during the game, "Hit the cutoff man", "Make sure you hit the cutoff", "Why didn't you hit the cutoff? But, unless you practice plays which require a decision to be made during practice, your outfielders may not really understand why it's important.

During practice don't always have the ball go through to the base. Have your players use "Cut" followed by a different base. When working on hitting the cutoff man in practice. Don't overlook the positioning of the cutoff.

The following is a common example from an outfielders point of view. If the ball is hit over the outfielder, the cut-off man generally moves into the shallow outfield to receive the cut-off.

The actual position player who becomes the cut-off man depends on which half of the field the ball was hit. If the ball is hit to the left of second base, the shortstop usually functions as the cut-off man, while the second and third basemen hold their respective runners.