TROY GLAUS: HOW TO FIELD THE FOUL BALL POP-UP

Category: Top Stories

5 Tips to Navigating This Sometimes Dangerous Play

Pitchers have long feared St. Louis third baseman Troy Glaus when he steps to the plate. Entering the 2008 season, no major league third baseman had blasted more home runs since 2000 than Glaus' 274.

With all that offensive production, it would be easy for Glaus to overlook his responsibilities in the field. That hasn't happened.

Few fans might realize that he committed only seven errors in 2008, leading all major league third baseman with a .982 fielding percentage. His ability in the field even surprised St. Louis Cardinals' manager Tony LaRussa.

"Last year, if he got his glove on it, he caught it and he threw accurately to first," LaRussa recently told Junior Baseball. "He's a world champion third baseman. I just didn't realize his hands were so sure. We called him Magic Glove. If it hit his glove, it stuck."

Glaus earned national recognition when he led the Anaheim (now Los Angeles) Angles to a World Series title in 2002. Glaus hit .385 with three home runs as the Angels defeated San Francisco in seven games and was rewarded by being named World Series MVP.

"That was the most fun I've ever had playing the game," Glaus told us. "That month of the playoffs and the World Series, that's what you play for. That's what you work for, the opportunity to get there and be successful."

While opposing players may see Glaus primarily as an offensive threat, he works hard on the defensive side of the game. The way Glaus sees it, a player can't be great if he can't play the field.

"Driving in runs, doing that is great, but there are a lot more ways to help your team win a game than just hitting," Glaus said. "It's something that you have to take pride in to be good at. I take my ground balls and work on my throws every single day, and that's the only way to improve and get better at it - through repetition."

Playing third base requires quick reactions. They call it the hot corner because line drives come at third basemen so fast that they barely have time to react. Those who man the hot corner also have to be quick enough to field bunts and have a strong enough arm to make the long throw across the diamond.

When it comes to reliability, Cardinal pitcher Ryan Franklin told us there is no one on their staff that they would rather have at third base than Glaus.

"I try to get them to hit it down there at him every time," Franklin said. "That's my goal, to try to get them to hit the ball to third. Those are Gold Glove hands over there. I don't think he's ever won one, but he should."

Glaus said some of the most challenging -- and potentially dangerous -- plays a third baseman has to make are catching a pop-up hit in foul territory. Making the play here takes extreme concentration and a lot of extra things to deal with. Glaus gave us 5 tips for fielding a foul ball successfully.

TO READ TROY GLAUS' 5 TIPS ON FIELDING A FOUL BALL, BE SURE TO PICK UP THIS ISSUE OF JUNIOR BASEBALL MAGAZINE. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE RIGHT NOW.

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