Sheaitaintso's Baseball Corner!

What is “fundamental baseball”?

Is constantly knocking balls out of the park considered fundamental baseball? Why not, its the best thing a hitter can possibly do! The greatest players of all time are usually the home run leaders like Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds except Ruth hit more of them than entire teams and still holds the record for highest slugging percentage. Why is small ball supposed to be how baseball is supposed to be played?

I don’t think “small ball” is synonymous with the “fundamentals”…Instead, I think the “fundamentals” are an integral part of “small ball” and “big ball” alike.

The “fundamentals” involve all the seemingly minor actions often not noticed by the fans:

For a batter it means knowing the situation, reading the defense and hitting the ball based on the pitch thrown rather than “aiming” for a particular result.

For a base-runner it means taking a good lead but not getting picked off. It means watching your coaches and following their directions.

For a defender, it means being in proper position before each pitch. It means hitting your cutoff man and being in the right position to back up your teammates.

For a pitcher/catcher combo, it means proper pitch selection and execution.

In short, the “fundamentals” simply mean playing the game according to the situation and not making the “small” mistakes that can lead to big changes….failing to advance the runner can kill a rally….throwing to the wrong base could put a guy in scoring position…and so on.

Youth Baseball Player Angelo Hitting @ 12U

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