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silveradept[This is part of a series exploring the Baseball Tarot.]
The Suit of Bases is fixed and immovable, breakaway bases to help avoid serious injuries at the learning levels notwithstanding. They are the anchor points, used both as safe havens for the offense and touchpoints for the defense to collect outs. They define the basepaths, the line between the infield and outfield, and the division between fair and foul territory. Without bases, there cannot be baseball. Cricket, maybe, but not baseball.
One would think that such a well-defined suit would not need a coach to help players with them. They seem straightforward, and they supposedly work according to rules that are easy to remember.
As with all things baseball, apparent simplicity conceals incredible complexity. How one interacts with the bases is a strong determiner as to how successful an offense or defense will be in the game. And thus, there is a need for a baserunning coach to explain the proper way to interact with the bases.
At the learning leagues, for example, batters are first taught that if they hit the ball and have to run to first base, they are to run through the base. In this case, that means running full tilt, making sure to touch the base, but not trying to stop on the base. Running through the base prevents injury to both batter and fielder alike, as the batter is not trying to stop and occupy the same space as the fielder, but only passing through. To that end, several stadia of the learning level use a double base for first, so that the batter doesn't have to try and get entangled with the first base fielder at all.
Beyond learning to run through the base, though, and that one should always turn back into foul territory when coming back to the base, the next thing to learn is that if one hits a base hit into the outfield, one should turn a bit toward the next base, in case there is a fielding mishap or a badly thrown ball coming back into the infield and one should attempt to collect the next base. Turn too far and you get picked off by an enterprising fielder. Turn too shallowly and you miss opportunities.
Some of the other cards in the suit of Bases reflect things that require coaching - Hugging the Base, for example. In other places as well - when to Steal, how to spot a Pickoff, how to try and get the pitcher to Balk. All of these things are elements that require the touch of a baserunning coach.
What might be one of the hardest things to teach on the basepaths is how to tag up and when to tag up. The rules of the game say that in any ball that is caught on the fly, baserunners may attempt to advance to the next base at their own peril, provided they have first made contact with the base they last legally obtained after the catch. For most fly balls, a baserunner is advised to position themselves sufficiently far away from the base that they can get back to it safely if the ball is caught, but can also take the next base or two if the ball isn't caught. For particular situations, especially for fly balls hit a bit more shallowly, the baserunner holds on the base, creating a constant tag-up situation so that they can take off for the next base as soon as the catch is made and hopefully beat out the throw arriving from the outfield intent on making another out. If the ball is hit behind the baserunner, the coach can serve as their eyes to tell them when to start for the next base. Thus, even when the player knows all the right things to do, they can still use a coach to help them.
The Coach of Bases is in the domain of Learning New Ways of the World. For most people, learning the ways of the world are characterized as figuring out that the world is cruel and doesn't give a damn about you and that other people will screw you when they get the chance. This is not true - it also entails learning how to hit the Goldilocks standard of confidence in hostile environments, how to trust that someone else is looking out for your interests (and when to ignore their advice), being able to juggle more complex interactions and decisions, and knowing when to retreat to the base and tag up so that you can advance.
As with all the coaches, a happy result is from being able to incorporate their lessons. And the possibility of you being the coach or mentor that someone else needs to have. The bad side is being unable to learn those new ways and getting stuck in old ways, or worse, refusing to learn the new ways because of bad reasons. The Coaches are powerful forces in shaping and reminding players, and they should not be taken for granted. That, too, is a way of the world that has to be learned.
The Suit of Bases is fixed and immovable, breakaway bases to help avoid serious injuries at the learning levels notwithstanding. They are the anchor points, used both as safe havens for the offense and touchpoints for the defense to collect outs. They define the basepaths, the line between the infield and outfield, and the division between fair and foul territory. Without bases, there cannot be baseball. Cricket, maybe, but not baseball.
One would think that such a well-defined suit would not need a coach to help players with them. They seem straightforward, and they supposedly work according to rules that are easy to remember.
As with all things baseball, apparent simplicity conceals incredible complexity. How one interacts with the bases is a strong determiner as to how successful an offense or defense will be in the game. And thus, there is a need for a baserunning coach to explain the proper way to interact with the bases.
At the learning leagues, for example, batters are first taught that if they hit the ball and have to run to first base, they are to run through the base. In this case, that means running full tilt, making sure to touch the base, but not trying to stop on the base. Running through the base prevents injury to both batter and fielder alike, as the batter is not trying to stop and occupy the same space as the fielder, but only passing through. To that end, several stadia of the learning level use a double base for first, so that the batter doesn't have to try and get entangled with the first base fielder at all.
Beyond learning to run through the base, though, and that one should always turn back into foul territory when coming back to the base, the next thing to learn is that if one hits a base hit into the outfield, one should turn a bit toward the next base, in case there is a fielding mishap or a badly thrown ball coming back into the infield and one should attempt to collect the next base. Turn too far and you get picked off by an enterprising fielder. Turn too shallowly and you miss opportunities.
Some of the other cards in the suit of Bases reflect things that require coaching - Hugging the Base, for example. In other places as well - when to Steal, how to spot a Pickoff, how to try and get the pitcher to Balk. All of these things are elements that require the touch of a baserunning coach.
What might be one of the hardest things to teach on the basepaths is how to tag up and when to tag up. The rules of the game say that in any ball that is caught on the fly, baserunners may attempt to advance to the next base at their own peril, provided they have first made contact with the base they last legally obtained after the catch. For most fly balls, a baserunner is advised to position themselves sufficiently far away from the base that they can get back to it safely if the ball is caught, but can also take the next base or two if the ball isn't caught. For particular situations, especially for fly balls hit a bit more shallowly, the baserunner holds on the base, creating a constant tag-up situation so that they can take off for the next base as soon as the catch is made and hopefully beat out the throw arriving from the outfield intent on making another out. If the ball is hit behind the baserunner, the coach can serve as their eyes to tell them when to start for the next base. Thus, even when the player knows all the right things to do, they can still use a coach to help them.
The Coach of Bases is in the domain of Learning New Ways of the World. For most people, learning the ways of the world are characterized as figuring out that the world is cruel and doesn't give a damn about you and that other people will screw you when they get the chance. This is not true - it also entails learning how to hit the Goldilocks standard of confidence in hostile environments, how to trust that someone else is looking out for your interests (and when to ignore their advice), being able to juggle more complex interactions and decisions, and knowing when to retreat to the base and tag up so that you can advance.
As with all the coaches, a happy result is from being able to incorporate their lessons. And the possibility of you being the coach or mentor that someone else needs to have. The bad side is being unable to learn those new ways and getting stuck in old ways, or worse, refusing to learn the new ways because of bad reasons. The Coaches are powerful forces in shaping and reminding players, and they should not be taken for granted. That, too, is a way of the world that has to be learned.
no subject
Date: 2016-07-13 07:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-07-13 01:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-07-13 03:25 pm (UTC)I doubt the need goes away, as an adult, just it's potentially a lot more mutual.
no subject
Date: 2016-07-13 04:20 pm (UTC)