In baseball, a double play (denoted on statistics sheets by DP) for a team or a fielder is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. In baseball slang, it is referred to as “turning two”.
When I played baseball, I played a lot of second base. I loved that position because I was able to turn two often! As a defensive baseball player, there is nothing better than turning a difficult DP while a baserunner is bearing down at you! Many times it helps get your team get out of a “jam”, or difficult situation, and propels your offense to score some runs!
DP’s are also known as “the pitcher’s best friend” because they disrupt offense more than any other play, except for the rare triple play. Pitchers often select pitches that make a turning two more likely (typically a pitch easily hit as a ground ball to a middle infielder) and teams on defense alter infield positions to make a ground ball more likely to be turned into a DP. Because turning two ends an inning in a one-out situation, it makes the scoring of a run impossible in that inning. In a no-out situation with runners at first base and third base, the DP may be so desirable that the defensive team allows a runner to score from third base so that two outs are made and further scoring by the batting team is more difficult.
Below are some videos that demonstrate how to turn different types of DP’s. These will be good resources for baseball coaches when they teach their youth baseball players how to turn two.
If you have a great double play drill or tip, share it with us by filling out the information below. Your information will then have it’s own page on My-Youth-Baseball.com. The more the merrier!
2B DP PIVOT DRILL
DP DRILL – SHORTSTOP PIVOT
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