Playing Left Field
Left fielder is No. 7: most balls from righty pull hitters.
How it actually works. Play a little shallow for youth hitters and shade toward left center. On contact, the first step is never in. Open up and go back first, then adjust forward if the ball is short, using a crossover step to chase and a drop step on balls over your head. Call the ball loudly and work with the shortstop on cutoffs.
Why it is done, and when it is wrong. Most right handed hitters pull the ball, so left field sees a lot of action at the lower levels. The play that separates a good left fielder is the one nobody notices: backing up third on every throw there, and cutting off the ball down the line so a single stays a single.
What people get wrong about it. Running in on the first move and then watching the ball sail over his head, drifting to the ball instead of taking a direct angle, and throwing to the wrong base instead of hitting the cutoff.
At Little League and travel ball. The ball over the head is the youth killer. Teach every outfielder that the first step is back, because a ball in front can be chased down and a ball over the head is a triple.
Batter's Eye: look up anything in baseball