Short Hop Pickup
Also known as: picking a short hop, short-hop technique
A short hop pickup is fielding a ball the instant after it hits the dirt. You take it low and out front with soft hands, not waiting for it to rise.
Attacking the ball at that point, rather than retreating from it, requires the glove to get down and out in front early. The eyes track all the way into the pocket. The ball is rising fastest right after it hits the dirt, so timing is unforgiving. The glove must arrive a beat before the ball, not after. Otherwise the fielder ends up stabbing at a ball that has already climbed past the intended catch point.
Soft hands do the rest. Giving slightly with the glove on contact, rather than a rigid punching motion, absorbs the remaining energy and keeps the ball from deflecting away. Many fielders instinctively back off, hoping the ball will rise into an easier position, but retreating only compresses the available reaction time further.
Practise the glove-down-early cue on every rep — get the glove to the ground before the ball lands, not after. As a result, you are always attacking rather than reacting.
A 12-inch ball does not seat in the pocket the way a baseball does. As a result, open the glove wider and take it deeper toward the heel. Fielders who try to pick a softball with fingertips alone deflect balls that a fuller presentation would hold.
Example
The chopper landed a stride in front of her. The glove was already down and open, and she took it off the dirt cleanly instead of backing up and letting it climb.
Why it matters
Confident work low to the dirt lets infielders play balls where they land instead of timing a comfortable arrival, closing off more of the infield. Watch your footwork on these chances on video; Motion Lab does not see the glove or the bounce.
How it shows up on video
Look for when the glove reaches the ground relative to the ball. Fielders who succeed have the glove down and open before the ball lands. Fielders who struggle drop the glove after. The stab is visible as a jab rather than a give.
Common mistakes
- Backing away from the ball instead of attacking the hop, which only shrinks the available reaction window
- Getting the glove down too late, so it arrives after the ball has already started rising past the intended catch point
- Using rigid, punching hands instead of soft, giving hands, which causes the ball to deflect off the glove rather than settle into it
- Taking eyes off the ball just before contact to check the runner, causing a clean short hop to be dropped
In SwingVantage Motion Lab
Motion Lab does not see the glove or the bounce, so it cannot compare when your glove gets down with when the ball lands.
Frequently asked questions
Does glove size matter in slow-pitch?
Yes. An infield glove sized for a baseball leaves very little room behind a 12-inch ball, and it tends to ride back out. Most slow-pitch infielders use a slightly larger pattern precisely so the ball has somewhere to go.
Where does the rover fit into this?
The extra fielder lets the corners play tighter to the lines. This means more balls arrive at the corner infielders low and fast rather than on a comfortable long bounce. The alignment buys range and spends it on harder individual plays.
Related terms
- In-Between Hop (Slow-Pitch)The in-between hop is the awkward mid-bounce point of a grounder. Too high to scoop and too low to catch comfortably, it is the hardest hop to field cleanly.
- Bad HopA bad hop is a ground ball that bounces unpredictably off a seam, rock, or divot in the infield. It changes direction or height at the last instant.
- Glove-Side BackhandA glove-side backhand fields a grounder on the glove-hand side with a reach across the body. The glove turns outward; the feet do not shuffle to square up.
- Ready Position (Slow-Pitch Fielding)Ready position is the balanced, athletic stance a fielder takes just before the pitch. It allows an immediate first step in any direction.
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