Cutoffs and Relays in Youth Baseball: Who Goes Where

Watch a youth game long enough and you'll see it: a ball rolls into the outfield, the outfielder picks it up, and then… nobody is there. The throw sails in over everyone's head, bounces past the infield, and the runner who should have stopped at first ends up on third.

The fix isn't a stronger arm. It's the cutoff: one infielder who goes out and gives the outfielder a short, easy target. On a long hit it becomes the relay. Here's who does what, in the conventions most youth coaches teach.

The one rule behind every cutoff

The throw goes to the base the lead runner is trying to reach, and somebody lines up in a straight line between the ball and that base. That's it. Everything else is working out who.

• Nobody on base: the throw goes to 2nd, to keep the batter at 1st.
• Runner on 1st: the throw goes to 3rd, where that runner is headed.
• Runner on 2nd: the throw goes home, because that runner is trying to score.

Singles: one cutoff

Throw to 2nd (nobody on)

The middle infielder on the side of the ball goes out. Ball to left or left-center: the shortstop is the cutoff and the second baseman covers the bag. Ball to right or right-center: they switch. The pitcher backs up 2nd, and the catcher trails the batter down the line to back up 1st.

Watch this play
Single to left field, nobody on. The shortstop is the cutoff; the second baseman covers 2nd.

Throw to 3rd (runner on 1st)

The shortstop is the cutoff from any field, about 25 to 40 feet from 3rd, in line with the throw, and off the base path, because the runner is rounding 2nd right there. The third baseman covers 3rd, the second baseman covers 2nd, and the pitcher sprints behind 3rd in foul territory to back up the throw.

Watch this play
Single to right field, runner on 1st. The throw goes to 3rd and the shortstop cuts it.

Throw home (runner on 2nd)

This is where corners come in. From left field the third baseman is the cutoff and the shortstop slides over to cover 3rd. From center or right the first baseman is the cutoff and the second baseman covers 1st. The cutoff sets up about 35 feet in front of the plate (a bit more on a bigger field), and the catcher, who can see everything, yells "Cut!" or lets it go through. The pitcher backs up home.

Watch this play
Single to left field, runner on 2nd. The third baseman is the cutoff to home; the shortstop covers 3rd. Watch this play
Single to right field, runner on 2nd. The first baseman is the cutoff to home; the second baseman covers 1st.

Some programs use the pitcher as the cutoff to home. That works too. At this age, we'd rather the pitcher be behind the catcher to stop the ball that gets away.

Extra-base hits: the relay and the trailer

When the ball gets into a gap or down the line, the outfielder usually can't throw it all the way in. So a middle infielder runs out toward the ball, the relay, and the other middle infielder follows about 15 feet behind as the trailer, in case the throw is off. Ball to the left side: shortstop relays, second baseman trails. Right side: the other way around.

With nobody on, the relay lines up with 3rd (the batter may try to stretch it). The first baseman follows the batter to cover 2nd, and the pitcher backs up 3rd.

Watch this play
Double into the left-center gap. The shortstop goes out as the relay and the second baseman trails.

With a runner on 1st, that runner is trying to score, so the relay lines up with home. The first baseman becomes the cutoff in front of the plate, and the pitcher goes halfway between 3rd and home, reads the throw, and backs up whichever base it goes to. Notice that nobody covers 2nd on this play: the shortstop is out as the relay, the second baseman is trailing, and the first baseman is at the plate. (The right fielder comes in behind 2nd, but nobody is on the bag.) That's a real trade-off. The batter-runner will probably take 2nd, and that's the price of stopping the run at home.

Watch this play
The same double with a runner on 1st. The relay lines up with home, and the first baseman cuts in front of the plate.

Softball: the same principles hold. The fields are smaller, so the cutoff sets up a little closer and there's less time to line up, which makes the talking even more important.

Teaching it to kids

1. Arms up and loud. A cutoff with both hands up yelling "Here! Here!" is a target the outfielder can find in a panic.
2. Line up, then adjust. Have the cutoff glance at the base behind them and take two steps left or right to get in line.
3. Hit the cutoff chest high. Outfielders aim at the cutoff's chest, not over their head.
4. Everybody has a job. Even on a clean single, the kid in right field has somewhere to be. Walk through each position once, slowly.

Quick answers

Who is the cutoff on a single to left field?

With nobody on, the shortstop goes out as the cutoff and the second baseman covers 2nd. With a runner on 2nd, the throw goes home and the third baseman is the cutoff while the shortstop covers 3rd.

Who is the cutoff on a throw home from right field?

Most youth coaches make the first baseman the cutoff on throws home from center and right field, with the second baseman covering 1st.

What's the difference between a cutoff and a relay?

A cutoff stands between the fielder and a base on a normal single and can catch the throw or let it go through. A relay goes way out toward the ball on an extra-base hit because the outfielder can't throw all the way in, and a trailer backs the relay up.