Travel ball coach: Consider these factors for ‘infield in’

The depth of the infield should vary depending on the game situation. (Joe Sullivan/NEBJ)

One of the areas I think worth a deeper look as a coach is the depth at which coaches play their infielders after a call of “infield in.”

Playing your infield in is generally intended to gamble on playing closer to home plate in an effort to get a runner out at home via tag or force. It can also be successful in obtaining an out while keeping a runner stationary at third base.

The gamble of moving closer to home plate carries the penalty of minimizing the range of balls a fielder can cover left to right. With depth of players being a natural tradeoff, I think there is more we as coaches should be factoring in when positioning your infielders.

Here a few factors to consider:

• Coaches overwhelmingly seem to bring all players onto the first few feet of the infield grass to prevent an out at home. What if your shortstop has a cannon for an arm? Should he be positioned a few steps deeper to increase his range? Should a poor-arm player be even closer?
• What about the speed of the baserunners? If we are trying to get the runner out at home, should we be factoring the speed of the runner into the infield depth?
• What about if it’s a force play at home? Should we play a step deeper as we remove the need for the timing of a tag play?
• What about factoring in the field conditions for that day? I’d argue that playing on turf lets us have players a few steps back due to the trueness of the bounce. I’d also argue that a field with big lips from grass to dirt probably requires us to be on the grass regardless to take away the potential of a bad hop.
• What about the depth of the outfield? If we are bringing our infielders in 20-30 feet, should we be doing a corresponding move to bring our outfielders in as well? Why keep a massive gap when the normal alignment of our outfielders is predicated on where our infielders normally stand?
• How about the pitches our catchers call? Are you factoring in that you want to induce a ground ball into your pitch-calling? Should our pitchers be operating in the bottom half of the strike zone?

In a nutshell, not all fielders, runners, playing fields or game situations are created equal. Depth of your infield is an important component to successful defense and is not a one-size-fits-all answer. 

I’d encourage coaches to consider factoring in more variables and looking to personalize each player’s depth based on multiple factors to give your team the best chance to get the out you need in the most critical time.