Another important habit for outfielders is communication. Outfielders should be talking constantly - to their fellow outfielders and to their teammates. They should tell their fellow outfielders regarding their positioning and to the infielders regarding their depth. On balls in the air that are not to them, outfielders should tell their fellow outfielders whether they should go “back” or “in” on the ball. When the ball is hit to them, they should make the proper call for the ball. An OF will call “I Got It” to differentiate from the infielder’s call of “Ball,” and to announce his priority in the situation (see Priority Chart at the top of the next page).
When a fellow outfielder prepares to throw, the outfielder should relay what base he should throw to based on the calls being made in the infield and say “throw it through him” to remind his teammates to throw a shot through the cut, not a high arching throw over the cut.
Even before the play, outfielders should be communicating about what a hitter might look to do in a given situation, what the current situation is (count, score, etc.), where the ball should go, and what the weather elements are (wind, rain, sun, etc.). Outfielders must work as one three-person unit and be in constant communication with each other.
Communication must be practiced in order to become a habit. It must become part of every drill an outfielder does and there are a number of drills that can encourage communication such as the “In Between” drill with a fungo or machine, Communication Corner, live reps, Cuts and Relays, as well as any scrimmage situation, including the Doghouse Scrimmage.
