Describe One Of Your Best Defensive Plays

ImminentDanger

Up and Over
Describe (with some detail) your best defensive play.

For instance:

I was pitching. The batters were hitting some middle shots left & right of me and they were getting thru.

So, on a right hand batter, I pitched him outside, expecting him to take it backside to right field. Just to cover the middle, I started to head for 1st base after releasing the ball.

Well, instead of hitting right field, he shot it up the middle. I was mid-stride when the ball slammed into my left thigh, midway between my knee & the jewels.

Since I was moving, my right leg was coming forward and trapped the ball between my legs.

I picked the ball out of my legs for an out on the batter and then threw the ball to 1st base for a double-play.

That left a wicked bruise on my thigh, but I was happy that I turned the double-play since I was going to be black & blue for awhile.

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etnstudios

Addicted to Softballfans
playing first base as a righty. ball hit just to my right. backhand the ball and throw over second hoping short was coming to the bag. continue spinning to the right to end up going towards first and get to the bag just in time to turn and find the ball coming from second for the double play. i know i barely saw where i was throwing the ball and have no idea how i saw it coming back at me at first. couldn't do it that perfectly again if we tried 100 times.
 

ImminentDanger

Up and Over
I always had trouble making double plays when I was at 2nd or 1st. Good for you.

I sometimes played 1st Base for a senior team. Whenever there was a runner on 1st, I always played an extra 10ft deeper and slightly more off the line. Then I called the play to be 2nd Base since I was playing back. It worked well that way and I got very few hits my way since I was covering more territory back that 10ft. Only if there was a really hard hit right down the line would I have trouble reaching it.

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TheKid33

Star Player
well I’m basically a full time DH now but main position was always 2nd base. Turned a lot of double plays, had a really good quick transfer (still do haha).. but my absolute favorite play that stands out is back in 2017. A ball was hit up the middle on the second base side. I played deep with 2 outs and a slow runner at bat. Fast runner on 1st. I dove and fielded it cleanly behind the bag, but was completely laid out on my stomach. I grabbed the ball from my glove and pushed myself up and threw the ball as best I could to the bag and got the runner by a step to end the inning. Idk if it’s my best play ever but it’s the one I remember at first thought.

Another one, was as the catcher in a tournament. Cut off man threw the ball home and the bad throw was over my head and to the right, but I read it right away and ended up catching it like 10 feet behind the plate. The runner was coming home and I knew he wasn’t going to slide, and I did not feel like getting into a collision and risking losing the ball or getting hurt.. so I slid across home plate and tagged him on his feet as he jumped over me. The other team was livid. Ump told them he didn’t slide so it was my right to avoid the collision and try to get the out. Next inning another play at the plate and another guy tries to slide this time and I got him easy. After that they held a few runners at third who would have scored in my opinion. I won defensive player of the tournament because of it lol.
 

defos

Well-Known Member
I played SS for many years, and made a lot of plays I shouldn't have been able to make. I could cover a lot of ground to my right, but not so much to my left, so I shaded well toward 2nd. (Some time later in my "career" that reversed, and I don't know why.) On this play the ball was hit in the 5-6 hole, and I took off. I remember seeing I was going to get a nice bounce and field the ball thigh high on the run, and thinking "Then what am I going to do?" I remember the ball going in my glove, and the next thing I was aware of was the ball rolling off my fingertips. If I could have reached out and pulled it back, I would have because I was sure I had launched into right field. I had fielded the ball, planted my foot, spun, and thrown the ball submarine- style all in one motion without thought. I ended up running backwards into left field. I found the ball, and realized that aside from it being 20-25' in the air, it was right on target. It was so high, and dropped so sharply, the 1st baseman couldn't do anything but wait for it to come down. He caught it right above the button on his cap standing straight up on 1st. As he caught the ball, I realized I hadn't seen the runner, and thought maybe he had already rounded first and was headed for second. Nope. The throw beat him to 1st for the out, and everyone on both teams and all the spectators busted up laughing. I thought he had to have fallen down, but their pitcher said he was just that slow getting to 1st.
 

stang7222

Addicted to Softballfans
Bases loaded 2 outs and i'm playing LC on a field with a 4' fence. Guys hits a hanging line drive type ball to straight away CF. I have a bead on it but I'm running out of room. The very second the RC tells me it's gone, I jump while running full speed. At the top of my jump the ball hits my glove at the same time I hit the top of the fence about mid-thigh. I catch the ball and land on the top rail of the fence. A few teammates and guys on the other team said it was the best catch they ever saw baseball, softball, MLB... I didn't see a thing.

Coincidently, my second best defensive play was a full on Superman type diving catch in which I landed on my throwing hand breaking 3 bones, against the same batter.
 

UncleMosk

Well-Known Member
Going back to 2005. Joined a local town squad who was looking to beat the young bar team in the league. Was actually a one year deal since I left a team I did enjoy playing with but was asked to jump to beat this rival bar team. The other guys understood my decision and gave me the thumbs up as long as I returned the next season. Anyways...

We do get to finals against the young team bottom 7th game three. Up 6 to 4 with one man on 1st base. A sharp line drive is hit to our RF who makes a diving stab for it. The runner on one bolts to second thinking its going to drop. RF catches ball in which the runner now tries to get back to first base. RF throws a lawn dart to me @ 1st that bounces to my right. To see a 300 lb, 36 year old do a ballerina split to catch the ball on the bounce hold the bag for the inning ending double play and Chip win. To this day when I see some of of those old chaps they remind me of that pick and the sight!
 
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ImminentDanger

Up and Over
Sometimes the best response is to be COOL and act like you've been there before...

But the fireworks are always going off in my head when I get one directly at me.
That one was aimed for my heart... :mad:

( 5/10th second of evaluation -- 2/10th second of reflective response )

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blakcherry329

Well-Known Member

Occupational Hazard as a pitcher. I get a few of these every season. It helps when you're a pitcher that was a position player at 3rd or 1st, initially. Not even close to being one of my best defensive plays. All of those came when I was a fielder. Those came at 1st, 3rd, and C.
 
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blakcherry329

Well-Known Member
i see the first guy no helmet but the next batter has one. that normal for modified?
My modified leagues play with the F12 Clinchers, not even the Clincher Gold. So, after playing against the much harder White Dudleys(back in the day) and the Yellow balls, Clinchers don't really pose a threat, imo. Plus, in modified, the pitcher has a lot more control of where the batter can hit the ball with authority, again, imo.
Having said that, some pitchers will where the fielding mask, but no helmets. I do wear my LAX helmet when I fill in my friend's modified league. They use the Clincher Gold which is a step or two below the 52/300 and Classic M's, but much harder than the F12.
 

etnstudios

Addicted to Softballfans
My modified leagues play with the F12 Clinchers, not even the Clincher Gold. So, after playing against the much harder White Dudleys(back in the day) and the Yellow balls, Clinchers don't really pose a threat, imo. Plus, in modified, the pitcher has a lot more control of where the batter can hit the ball with authority, again, imo.
Having said that, some pitchers will where the fielding mask, but no helmets. I do wear my LAX helmet when I fill in my friend's modified league. They use the Clincher Gold which is a step or two below the 52/300 and Classic M's, but much harder than the F12.
i meant the batters
 

defos

Well-Known Member
I've caught a number of those no-time-to-think liners at 3rd. The last one, in October, was past me when I caught it. I never show any reaction after the catch. It's all over and done so fast. The exception was one hit right at my face. I saw it leave the bat, and then 18" from my face. Everyone thought it knocked me down, but in trying to catch it and get out of the way at the same time, I twisted and lost my balance after the catch. Scared the batter and his teammates, so I had to assure everyone I was ok. He and I subbed for opposing teams following that game, and he went oppo every at bat - probably out of respect, but mostly out of fear I wouldn't catch the next one.
 

defos

Well-Known Member
A few times over the years, I looked at a guy on deck, or as he stepped out of the dugout, and knew exactly where he was going to hit the ball and exactly how the ball was going to bounce.
The first time I remember this happening, we had 2 outs with a runner on 2nd. 1st was empty. Before the batter came to the plate, I knew he was going to hit an easy grounder to me. I had been working on my feet 10-14 hours a day moving office furniture for weeks. I was very tired, and first base seemed a long way away. I thought, "This guy's going to step off 2nd as I field the ball, and I'll just toss the ball to Ed, our 2nd baseman. He'll tag the runner, and we'll go hit." I was also thinking "I need to tell Ed what I'm going to do, but if I do that, the guy won't step off the base." First pitch was a ball, and I was still trying to figure out how to let Ed know my plan. Batter hit the next pitch, I moved less than a foot to my left, fielded the ball, and tossed it to Ed, who was already standing on 2nd. As I started to throw, the runner ducked, and as he did, he said, "Aw, man." It would have been an easy out, but Ed stood and laughed at the runner instead of tagging him first, and we ended up getting the guy out in a rundown.

During one of the last seasons I played SS full-time, I saw this guy step out of the dugout, and knew without a doubt he was going to bounce one straight up the middle. I could read the pitch and the hitter, and get a good jump on the ball even in Little League. The pitcher released the pitch, and I took off for center field before the ball was 1/2 way to the plate. The ball and I got to shallow center simultaneously, I got a perfect bounce, and made a no-look backhand flip to my 2nd baseman for the out. Had I not taken off when I did, it would have been a clean single.
 

ImminentDanger

Up and Over
I could read the pitch and the hitter, and get a good jump on the ball even in Little League.
This is a skill that cannot be over emphasized! Too many of the young players wait for the ball to be hit before paying attention to where it is going.

Like looking at the tires of the cars waiting to enter my lane while riding my Harley, to see if they are starting to move, checking the batter's feet, where the pitch is placed and knowing how the batter hit previously are critical to PRE-PLANNING how you are going to defense their hit.

Watch the bat hit the ball because it will (with experience) give you a clue where that ball is going to go.

Good job reading the batter and anticipating the defense needed to match the offense.

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defos

Well-Known Member
I had to train myself to hold up a bit in slow pitch for that very reason. The good hitters will do like you said, and there are poor hitters that will snap or roll their wrists early from time to time, and pull more than they usually do. On the play above, I was absolutely sure what was going to happen when the guy stepped out of the dugout.
 

r8dr_rider

Well-Known Member
Any grounder I can get. 41 now and my grounder skills are **** nowadays. I used to be a solid SS now I’m lucky to grab a hard grounder at 1B or 2B
 

blakcherry329

Well-Known Member
We all have few plays that really stand out from back in the day. Plays that make you reminisce and smile. ;) But the one play that I think about from time to time was in the OF. I was never fast, but I used to be fast for my size. So, in desperate situations, I would play OF in my modified leagues. I really liked playing OF in pick up games and stuff, but I wasn't fast enough to play regularly. I was great at tracking the ball and scouting the hitters to be in the best position to make a play, so I could do ok, in a pinch. Kinda like a backup QB. Leave me out there too long and I'll probably get exposed. LOL

It was around 2014 or 2015(I remember cuz I was swinging a 30oz SP12ST100 that I bought from ilyk2win, they came out in 2013, but I digress:)) In my modified league, we had 10 exactly playing the A division leaders. We were one of the best B division teams. But the A teams were definitely better teams because they were sponsored, traveling modified teams, and we were just a league team, and that's it. We had two pitchers, me and the guy who ran the team. He was a really good player and he threw harder than I did, so he pitched and I went to RF. Not ideal for me to be in the OF, but no biggie.They didn't have their best pitcher, so we held our own, but we lost a close game.
I get few hit my way and I don't embarrass myself. My knees were great back then. lol

They had this one Huge Lefty and he was just missing his pitches. Long foul balls. Like 325+ so I'm playing pretty deep.
He finally squares one up and hits one of those Prince Fielder HR derby shots. Off the bat, it's going way over my head. I just turn and start running, not evening looking for the ball, cuz I'm a fat mofo and I think I'm never going to catch up to it. I guess the wind must have knocked it down a bit. When I pick up the ball, it's coming down behind me. I stop, turn and dive back to catch it. Kinda like the Willie Mays catch only I overran it and had to dive back to avoid looking like an idiot.;) Even the other team was impressed.
 

ImminentDanger

Up and Over
Thanks for posting up - I'm enjoying these stories of great defensive plays. I LOOK FORWARD TO MORE...

They haven't found a way to make unnaturally super fielding gloves, like they have the bats. It still takes decent skill to accomplish a great defensive play, not just buying the latest fad glove.

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JN137

Active Member
This one doesn't quite count, but I had a "nearly" unbelievable play to end a game a few years ago.

I was playing CF, it was bottom of 7 with 2 outs, we were up by 1. 1 guy on.

Guy hits a ball to RC, pretty deep. I'm running back and to my left, to the fence. I get to the track and just before I get to the wall, the wind starts drifting the ball slightly back towards C. I'm at the fence, in stride, but a little twisted now since I was running "left" and the ball was now traveling across to the "right". No time to adjust, I jump and throw my non-glove hand up and catch the ball above the fence, in my bare hand. On my way down, my arm hits the top of the wall and I drop the ball over the fence. 4 base error, game over.

I was that close to robbing a game winning HR with my bare hand. It went from being almost one of the most incredible plays we had ever seen, to being funny and a little embarrassing lol
 

etnstudios

Addicted to Softballfans
lucky you kept all the meat on your arm.

from the opposite side of things, i once hit a long fly to right-center. i don't actually recall if it ended up hitting off the fence or going out but the outfielder was tracking it pretty well but looking dead into the sun back towards the plate. he hit the warning track and turned just in time to hit the mid-bar halfway up the 10 ft fence with his face. i think he lost a couple teeth. big yikes
 
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