The Art Of The Double Play

Momma Cuandito sometimes refers to me as "The Linear Guy." She even gave me a pair of boxers with that moniker stitched on the pant leg. I wear them proudly. Somehow, "linear" seems a little less derogatory than "anal." To be honest, I don't mind being called linear. It's mostly about the process. I admit that I'm not particularly creative or able to think outside of the box. Maybe my left brain works overtime, while my right brain is a slacker. I believe I've always been that way. For example, when I played ball as a youngster The Marquis was my coach for several years, and he always put me at third base. At the time I attributed that assignment to my having very quick reflexes, honed by hours of playing ping pong, a sport which demands that ability. Looking back, however, it could be that the reason for having me at the hot corner was that a third baseman only has two assignments. If the ball is hit to you, scoop it up and throw accurately. If the ball is not hit to you, go directly to the bag and be ready for a play at that base. Even a linear guy can keep that straight.

Despite my experience as a third sacker, it is the shortstop position that holds the key for me and which I find the most fascinating. Quite often you can tell what a manager is thinking just by looking at where his shortstop is playing. Everyone knows that championship teams are built with a strong defense up the middle. Corner infielders and corner outfielders can be forgiven for sub-par glove work if they can hit. Not so for the two middle infielders, the catcher and the center fielder. Their bread and butter is defense.

More balls are hit to the shortstop than to any other player. There is almost no margin for error at short; bobble the ball and the batter is safe. The throws from the hole are longer than those which the other infielders must attempt. There is more ground to cover on foul balls. Bang-bang base stealing attempts. Taking charge on infield pop-ups. And, what separates the wheat from the chaff - - turning the double play.

The guy who played short next to me for four years was Wayne Ziegler, a human vacuum cleaner. Ziggy was 20% bigger than me, yet 40% quicker. Our second baseman was Steve "Woody" Wooddruff, a little lead-off type guy who, like Ziggy, took it as a personal insult if a ball squirted through our infield. If only we had a first baseman who could've caught our throws! Just kidding.

All of this is a prelude to the main focus of this post, double plays. Double plays are frequently dubbed "a pitcher's best friend," because nothing gets a hurler out of a jam more quickly than a good ol' DP. Other than triples and (of course) home runs, DPs may just well be the most exciting plays during a game. Yet, I feel they are underappreciated by too many fans. DPs are all about positioning, timing, chemistry, footwork, and (Dare I say it?) courage. If you think I'm exaggerating by writing "courage," I suggest you google "Tsuyoshi Nishioka injury."

By my count, almost all the DPs you're likely to witness during a game fall into one of six categories.

1. The Strike 'em Out/Throw em' Out DP. A lot of teams like to send a runner (i.e., attempt a steal of second base) on a 3-2 count with less than two out. (Of course, with two out, a man on first will be running anyway on a 3-2 count.) Why? Because if the 3-2 pitch is a ball, the runner reaches second base without a throw. If the batter strikes out, the catcher still has to make a throw to second in time to get the runner. That is asking a lot of a catcher, since the batter is likely swinging. Whichever middle infielder takes the throw usually does so in front of the bag, so that the bag does not get in the way, and tries to swipe tag the base stealer. As I wrote above, it is a bang-bang play.

2. The Around the Horn DP. Scored as a "5-4-3" double play, this simply means that the ball is hit to the third baseman who starts the double play by throwing to the second baseman, who then relays the ball to first. The ball is in the air a little longer than a DP which starts with the first baseman (# 5 below) or a middle infielder (# 6), so unless the batter is a catcher or is otherwise built like Prince Fielder, there is usually a photo finish at first. A long-legged first baseman who can stretch comes in handy here.

3. The Outfield Assist DP. Sometimes a runner will tag on an outfield fly, and try to advance a base after the catch. If he's thrown out, it's scored as a DP. The most common scenario for this type of DP is a runner at second tagging on a ball hit in the air to right field, followed by the right fielder nailing the dude at third. When it's executed by the home team, the crowd goes wild. When you think about how long a throw from right field to third base is, and the accuracy required, it boggles the mind. Almost every team puts its outfielder with the strongest arm in right field. But of the fourteen teams in the American League, there are only a handful which have right fielders who are blessed with a cannon for an arm. The cream of the crop are considered to be Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays, Jeff Francoeur of the Royals, Nick Markakis of the Orioles, and Torii Hunter of the Angels. Ichiro Suzuki of the Mariners, Josh Reddick of the A's and Nelson Cruz of the Rangers would closely follow on the next tier. Baserunners and third base coaches respect those guys' throwing prowess, so unless a fly ball is hit very deep to one of them, only a team's speediest runners will tag at second and go.

4. The Line-out DP. As the name suggests, this DP occurs when a runner is doubled off a bag following a line drive out. The base runners are most vulnerable to this kind of DP if a steal attempt or a hit-and-run is in the works. That is a risk managers take when they employ either of those offensive strategies. By the way, if a runner passes second base and has to retreat to first to avoid getting doubled off, he must re-touch second on his way back.

5. The 3-6-3 DP. First base is the position which most baseball observers call the easiest of the nine to play, and I won't pick an argument with those who think so. But a properly executed 3-6-3 double play requires some athleticism by the first baseman. On this type of DP, the first baseman fields a ground ball and has to make a quick throw to the shortstop covering second. In order to avoid hitting the runner in the back with this throw, the first baseman will usually have to take a step forward, toward the plate, before making the toss. If the first baseman is right handed, this requires a little do-si-do twirling of the body as he's getting ready to throw the ball. (That is one of two reasons most first basemen are left handed. The other is being quicker on a swipe tag on a pickoff move by the pitcher.) Finally, after making the tough throw, the first baseman has to hustle back to the bag in time to receive the return throw from the shortstop. Sometimes that necessitates trying to "find the bag" with his big toe while keeping his eye on the incoming throw from the shortstop. If the first baseman can't get back to the bag in time, the pitcher is supposed to be there to take the throw. In that case, the DP is scored "3-6-1."

6. The Middlemen DP. This is the most common DP of all, when the ball is hit to a middle infielder who either (i) steps on second base himself and throws to first, or (ii) more likely, throws the ball to his counterpart for the force at second, and then said counterpart throws to first. There are several things to watch for during the Middlemen DP.  The ball should arrive at second base at the very moment that the middleman taking the throw arrives at the bag; timing is paramount.  I love watching an agile second baseman, playing a left-handed batter to pull, gobble up a hard grounder off the infield skin and make a long on-target throw to his shortstop to beat the hustling baserunner at second.  My favorite element of the Middlemen DP is the shortstop crow hop. Whenever a middle infielder takes a throw at second from his counterpart, he is supposed to touch the bag with his "outside" foot, meaning the right foot for a shortstop, or the left foot for a second baseman. In the latter case, this enables the second baseman to step away from the bag to avoid the sliding incoming runner and simultaneously plant his right foot before throwing the ball to first. When it's the shortstop who is taking the throw, he does so with his right foot on the bag and his left foot extended forward, then does a crow hop with his right foot before stepping into his throw. By "crow hop" I mean that he is bringing his right foot to a spot behind his left foot instead of ahead of it. Ironically, Brian Dozier, the Twins' rookie shortstop, has had his troubles in the field with routine ground balls, yet is one of the best I've seen at turning the double play. He is a master crow hopper!

The Twins, with a record of 21 & 34, have the worst record in the American League. The main culprit has been an abysmal starting rotation, with an earned run average approaching a horrid 7.00. The hitting has been off and on, and the bullpen has been above average, but the bright spot so far this season has been the defense. The Twins have turned 76 double plays this year to lead the American League, easily ahead of the Blue Jays' second highest total of 63. When the Twins have frustrated you to the point where you feel like the game is not worth watching, remember that a well-executed double play is a thing of beauty, and the Twins are pretty good in that department.