The dyslexia play

here's something about the ball and the runner arriving at the same time, bang, bang, that gives coaches their sugar rush for the day. Whether it's at first or second, if it's close, an umpire should expect a coach to say something, to react in some fashion, to expose his umpiring skills to the world as he seeks to advise the umpire of what he "should" have seen.

The proven drill at any Jim Evans clinic is the blindfold demonstration. A student wears a blindfold and stands about 12 to 15 feet from first base. The instructors allow him to practice when they make the sound of a ball slapping into a glove and then the sound of a foot thumping a base. The drill proceeds with an instructor standing at the base, ball and glove in hand.

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