Catch the ball with two hands

[Ltlabner]

From "The Book on the Book" , Bill Felber, 2005. Pgs.18-19


"...When Sammy Sosa, or any other outfielder, catches a fly ball with one hand, how many tenths of a second does he waste getting his ungloved hand up from his side and into position to remove the ball from his glove in preparation for a throw? Five tenths? Three? "

"Well, even the slowest base runner can cover the ninety-foot distance between bases in about five seconds, a pace that translates to eighteen feet per second, or about five and a half feet in three-tenths of a second. So the question really is: How many tag plays at a base are decided by a distance of five and a half feet or less?"

Would you say it's standard practice for most major league outfielders to catch the ball with one hand, instead of two? (Except maybe for high pop-flys that head right at them).

With what seems to be simple math why wouldn't coaches mandate using both hands? Just thought this was an interesting topic from the book.

Your thoughts?

[DTCromer]

From "The Book on the Book" , Bill Felber, 2005. Pgs.18-19



Would you say it's standard practice for most major league outfielders to catch the ball with one hand, instead of two? Except for high pop-flys that generally come right at the outfielder it seems to me that most only use one hand.

With what seems to be simple math why wouldn't coaches mandate using both hands? Just thought this was an interesting topic from the book.

Your thoughts?


Coaches probably do mandate that their players use two hands. The problem lies within the players themselves.

[rotnoid]

Isn't that one of the basics we teach our kids when they first start tee ball? Use both hands.

It's fundamental for second sackers turning double plays to have their throwing hand next to the glove to ensure a quick throw to nail the runner at first. If infielders can do it, why not outfielders? Somewhere between tee ball and the draft things go awry. Maybe the problem starts when the poor fielding kids are relegated to right field...

Interesting post.

[Razor Shines]

From "The Book on the Book" , Bill Felber, 2005. Pgs.18-19



Would you say it's standard practice for most major league outfielders to catch the ball with one hand, instead of two? Except for high pop-flys that generally come right at the outfielder it seems to me that most only use one hand.

With what seems to be simple math why wouldn't coaches mandate using both hands? Just thought this was an interesting topic from the book.

Your thoughts?

I could be wrong but I think that most ML outfielders catch the ball with two hands when they have to make a throw. And the good ones come around and catch it on the side of their throwing hand, if they have time. But almost all of them do not catch it with two hands when they don't have to make a quick throw.