Fredonia State Baseball: On the bases with Tommy T

Thursday, October 27, 2011

On the bases with Tommy T

“A great base runner never loses track of the ball.” That is a quote I heard when I was younger, and now every time I take the field that quote means more and more to me. Transferring in from JCC I knew the FSU program was a good fit for me right away, base running and hustle are highly stressed. It doesn’t take talent to hustle, and a great base runner isn’t always the fastest guy out there, I feel it’s the most alert guy out there.

We take a lot of pride in our base running. There are a few things I always like to be aware of when I’m on the bases. I could be here for days, but the main things are, the score and inning of the game, the positioning and arm strengths of the outfielders, how fast or slow a pitcher is to the plate and if he is getting into any type of pattern.

A few things I always like to remind myself of are, when people scream halfway when the ball is in the air it doesn’t really mean halfway, it means go as far as you can go as long as you can get back. When stealing a bag, get a big lead and make the pitcher throw over. Learn what his best move is and exploit it. If he doesn’t step back, you can get a moving lead. If he isn’t paying attention or gets predictable, get a good jump. If he slide-steps, stop and stay because you’ll be thrown out.

Base running is my favorite part of the game, many games I have played in throughout the years, there has been big plays on the bases that had big outcomes in which team won or lost. I know the attitude here at Fredonia is Pete Rose-like, and we believe in letting the other guy lose, so we will continue to pay attention on the bases, take some chances, and never lose track of that ball.

Baserunning is a huge part of the game. Look at the action below. Everyone on the bench is making some noise and into the game! Take pride in your baserunning!

Tommy T