What Do 1st Base Coaches Really Do?

[@DAatDA]

At the youth level 1. Yelling "BAAAACK" on a pick off. 2. Reminding the runner of how many outs 3. Saying "freeze on a line drive" with less than 2 outs. 4. Collecting batting gloves and elbow guards.

[@P90Camper]

Thank you for teaching me about the inside baseball stuff.

[@justcs3]

For our kids (11-12), we got a lot of players that were either taught not to look or would stare at the ball. We taught them to take a peek while running, pick up the ball and go. We did most of what you described, situational awareness. I mostly said the same thing over and over for them and us. Learned something here though. Thank you.

[@HuckFTW]

And most importantly, trading oven mitts for handfuls of gloves and EvoShield guards

[@owenmasry4778]

Bring these back!!

[@TheArtOfDean]

Good video, and it's quite the skill to read and determine if a pitcher is either going to 1st base or pitching to the catcher.

[@blue387]

I have an idea for a video: what does a pitching coach say to a pitcher on the mound? What do the infielders do during a meeting on the mound?

[@marcgaron-nielsen3343]

Okay, well, uh... candlesticks always make a nice gift, and uh, maybe you could find out where she's registered and maybe a place-setting or maybe a silverware pattern. Okay, let's get two! Go get 'em.

[@Mutaffis]

Great video, as always. You forgot to mention the first base coach doing a huge "safe" call any time that there is a close play at first... 😅

[@thecollected_]

I think this definitely varies based on age and awareness level. When we coach 6U, we are still telling the kids to run, as a lot of the less experienced ones will hit it and just stare. I agree with all the points for older kids, but like everything in baseball, first base coaching is situational not just on the field, but at the age level.

[@PB4Y2]

One thing I thought of was that on a pick off attempt, the coach should make sure that the first baseman actually throws the ball back to the pitcher and warn the runner against the hidden ball trick.

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Technically runner should never get back off bag until the pitcher is on the rubber.

[@007Scubagolf]

Ha ha…

[@1701odin]

I coach Little League. I do have younger players not watch the ball, because more often than not, when they DO watch the ball instead of focusing on first base and running hard, they slow down, often enough to turn what could be a hit or close play into an easier out. Later on they figure it out. Though at that age they can only take one base 90% of the time anyway.

[@savedin87ify]

Good seeing you back. Been wondering what happened to you.

[@450-dingers]

Great video thanks Matt!

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Glad you liked it!

[@dennischapman4978]

That video was spot on. Today's parents do not understand what good coaches teach to their kids. They want everyone to get their participation award. Jo Adell messed that play up. Bummer for him. People should focus on the unbelievable defensive play that was made on that seed.

[@SuperBaller]

ive missed these videos!

[@eliarbaiza]

@Matt Antonelli what is the travel schedule like in MLB? Like s'pose the Orioles play a home game on a Wednesday afternoon then head on the road (say Texas) for a weekend series there (starting Friday). Would they travel from Baltimore to Texas on Wednesday evening or wait until Thursday? Or if it's a Thursday night game would they travel late night or travel to Texas Friday morning?

[@cameraman763]

Thanks. What do you talk to the first baseman about?

[@mptr1783]

After watching your near triple play in the Yanks-Nats game you can now do a video on "What do 3rd Base Coaches really do" next

[@genesispuredeaf2390]

I love that you are teaching young players to develop at much higher levels. That said, they need to crawl before they walk, and walk before they run. The coaches who ar3 harping on their players to look to them need to first take off upon knowing they have contact. If they stand and watch the hit before deciding to run, they better be fast runners and have a big stick. Likewise if they turn their head sideways to watch it the entire time they run. This sounds so basic but a lot of your audience includes those coaching beginning level players who want to see if baseball can be their thing. So after that is sorted and they no longer need to know to run through or turn and look, is when the amount of data shared can increase. It is always good to keep them connected to the outs, runners on base, etc. but much of the information shared about the pitcher tendencies that you talked about depends upon the runner being able to process it. By high school all players on the team should be there. Keep pushing out great content but don’t forget that all good players including the greatest of all time (GOATs in every category)started out as a newb too.

[@joshuaanderson4090]

Thank you oh wise Internet commenter who knows so much about playing and coaching baseball. More than even a multi year minor and major league player. Please make you own videos so your great wisdom can be shared with the world.

[@genesispuredeaf2390]

@@joshuaanderson4090 first…you’re welcome although I suspect that your thank you was really a weenie move (weak signaling, passive aggressive, or even a sign of narcissistic behavior). Now that we are past that direct response, I’ll clarify something for you ….I never suggested that I know more than Matt nor that my input was more important than his. Go back and reread it and point out what specifically triggered your angry outburst. I’ll be here to listen if you want to talk more 💪

[@Mitten4371]

Yea I pitched and played firstbase from little league to highschool and at age 13 I played travel baseball for coaches that played pro or college. So as a base runner and once you hit the ball you try to follow where the ball is going and before the hitter enters the batter's box. You are taught to survey the field to see how the defense is going to play. Now when you are at first base you are taught as a base runner to see where the defense is playing before you start to get your lead and you have to know how many outs there are as well. So before you get your lead you are taught to pick up your third base coach because he is going to flash a bunch of signs at you so you know what to do. But the job for the first base coach is also to watch the pitcher to see how good of a pick off move that they have and whether we can take the next base or not. Also the first base coach can tell you with less than 2 outs to freeze on a line drive and try to get back to the base or on a fly ball to go half way. Because if the fielder drops the ball from the outfield then you have a much better chance in getting to the next base or get to third if you can. Now I've never played at the major league level but you are taught communication and yes a major league stadium is much louder than playing on a highschool field. So the reason that I brought that up is because the players at the major league are communicating with each other on the field. So if you are a fan watching from home or who are watching the game in person there is a ton of communication going on the field at the major league level. So what they typically do if it's loud they will get together before the game starts and they will remind each other that it might be loud and so they will communicate with each other silently

[@trentoncummings9732]

Do 3rd base next!

[@fishfoolishness4222]

Never even noticed the 1st base coach until I was standing on 1st base.

[@AntonelliBaseball]

@@fishfoolishness4222 me too

[@scottmccomas22]

I guess I was coached incorrectly. I was always told to pick up the first base coach and he would watch the ball. But I only played high school

[@Beowoolf-ge1xn]

I have a question about coach pitching. How hard should you throw to your kid my son has quicker hands then most of his teammates so his coach has started pitching a little harder to him. Is that a good idea or is keeping him at a slower pitch better hadn't really changed his hitting.

[@dustyburwell592]

If they’re getting better at hitting faster pitches, keep it up. The kids will pitch faster and straighter in the next division up so it’s good to prepare for that. I’ve seen kids who are great at fast pitches struggle to adapt when a coach pitches them slow and end up with outs when they swing ahead of the pitch.

[@dustyburwell592]

Also, you’ll see better exit velocity off a faster pitch.

[@dustyburwell592]

You’ll also see faster exit velocity off of faster pitches.

[@daytonpyro]

what do starting pitchers do after they pitch 100 throws? do they never throw for 5 days or so? how many throws do they do during warmups? do players get the chance to hit off their starting pitches to practice on pitches they have a hard time hitting?

[@mosinc7388]

He must have been slow so had no chance to turn a single into a double. Surely the 1st base coach tells players to go to second. What if you looked and it was gonna be a single but the outfielder bobbled it? Are you supposed to watch the ball the entire time? 1st base coach tells them.

[@Algorerhythm]

There was a situation where I did tell the batter runner to dive into the bag. But it was a tied game in the last inning with two outs and we needed the runner from third to score on a ground ball so that we could win the game.

[@keithcolvin8063]

Do you think Jo Adell got fined? Is this a fineable offense ??

[@bernier42]

👍

[@ralphrussell714]

🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆

[@mondoseguendo6113]

I blame all my problems on the first base coach.

[@AntonelliBaseball]

@@mondoseguendo6113 I blamed the hitting coaches 😂

[@cosmostrek2001]

eats sunflowers🤣 seeds and wait for the manager to get fired so he can take over.🤣😂😂😂😂

[@bobfystro4935]

The #1 job of the 1st base coach in the MLB is to drink with the manager and tell him he is right.

[@dereknorris4543]

As a batter should u already know all of this without being reminded?

[@AntonelliBaseball]

@@dereknorris4543 yes you usually do, but it’s just reminders. Sometimes as a player you have a lot of things going on inside your head

[@jesusgarcia7460]

audio out of sync

[@AntonelliBaseball]

@@jesusgarcia7460 hmm looks normal on my phone

[@joshuaanderson4090]

This is almost never a problem with the recording on a modern recording device. It's almost ALWAYS a problem with the data on the playing end. There is nothing the author of the video can do about your playing device or Internet connection

[@squarewheel1587]

From what I can tell, a first base coaches job is to slap players on the butt when they get on base

[@AntonelliBaseball]

@@squarewheel1587 😂

[@MarkStoddard]

I can still barely hear you on my phone, your videos are so quiet. Laptop: same as any other video. Android: half the loudness as any other video and I have to crank it to 100.

[@fredfredlund8648]

It's loud and clear, you might need hearing aids 😊

[@genesispuredeaf2390]

Clearly it is a phone issue …not something that Matt can address

[@brianeaston007]

Loud and clear on my android phone.

[@thenostalgiafactor5023]

Could be the loud crowd noise. He talks about it in this video.