Whenever a baseball team succeeds or fails all the credit goes to either the players or the manager. The truth is there are a lot of people who contribute to a team’s success including the rest of the coaching staff. One of the members of the coaching staff is the first base coach. You may be wondering what exactly the first base coach does, so I’m going to tell you.
The first thing the first base coach does is inform a hitter what to do. Once a hitter has made contact with the ball and is on his way to first base the first base coach will direct the hitter on where the ball is so that the hitter knows whether he should run through the bag or round first base and head for second base. If the hitter can not locate the ball then it is the job of the first base coach to tell the hitter which one to do.
The first base coach is also there to encourage players. Whenever a player gets a hit the first base coach is the first one there to pat him on the bottom and tell him good job. Maybe players don’t absolutely have to have this encouragement every time they get a hit but it certainly doesn’t hurt to be told that you’re doing a good job.
Once a runner is on base it is the first base coach’s job to remind a runner how many outs the team has gotten. You might think this is a pretty simple thing to remember and that players would know it without having to be reminded but you never know what could happen. A player could be concentrating on the at-bat so much he isn’t paying attention to outs or he could be concentrating so little he doesn’t remember how many outs there are. The first base coach will also inform the runner of other important information like how many balls and strikes there are.
The first base coach is also there to help players with running decisions. A lot of times, especially in the Majors it is ultimately up to the batter when to run and when not to but the first base coach will certainly give his opinion in case they need some help. The most common times a first base coach will direct a runner is when a fly ball is hit and the runner needs help deciphering whether to go back to first base and try to tag up. Another instance is when a pitcher is about to attempt a pickoff. The first base coach might have done his homework more than the runner and may recognize the pitcher is about to attempt a pickoff before the runner does.
As I mentioned in the paragraph above, first base coaches have to do homework too. While teams are warming up and during the game first base coaches will watch the players on the other team and make some mental notes. If the first base coach notices that the left fielder is limping and the batter hits it to the left fielder then the first base coach may tell him to try for a double when he wouldn’t usually in that situation.
These are a few of a first base coach’s jobs. So remember next time your favorite player stretches a double into a triple or tags up and goes to second base that it might have just been the first base coach that made that play happen.
