Pitcher As a Fielder
Pitcher is fielder No. 1: he fields his spot and backs up bases.
How it actually works. His jobs are throwing strikes and controlling the tempo, fielding bunts and comebackers, and covering first on any ball hit to the right side. He finishes his delivery square to the plate and balanced so he can react: forward on a bunt, glove side on a comebacker. When he covers first he runs to a spot on the line a few steps short of the bag and then up the line, so he is moving with the throw instead of across it.
Why it is done, and when it is wrong. A pitcher who fields his position well is worth outs every game, and the reason is how many plays run through him without anybody noticing. Every ground ball to the right side needs him at first. Every bunt needs him off the mound. He also sets the rhythm: working quick keeps the defense on its toes, and a pitcher who takes forever has fielders standing flat footed when the ball is hit.
What people get wrong about it. The common mistakes: watching the ball after it is hit instead of breaking to cover, forgetting to cover first entirely, rushing the delivery and spraying wild pitches, and falling off toward first base instead of finishing toward home, which leaves him in no position to field anything.
At Little League and travel ball. Covering first is the play to drill. Young pitchers almost never break on a ground ball to the right side on their own, and at that level it is the most commonly missed routine out on the field.
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