Royals Coach Tests Players With Baseball Quiz

Royals Coach Tests Players With Baseball Quiz
Last Edited: Sunday, 24 Feb 2008, 12:44 PM EST
Created: Sunday, 24 Feb 2008, 12:44 PM EST

By DOUG TUCKER
AP Sports Writer

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- When sliding feet-first into a base, is your front foot straight up or sideways?

Before a game starts, what are the first two things a player should check?

Stumped? Don't fret. When first-base coach Rusty Kuntz asked the Kansas City Royals to take his quiz on outfield play and baserunning fundamentals, there were quite a few "who didn't have a clue."

But that was better than the first player Kuntz quizzed a couple of years ago in Pittsburgh.

"Out of 50 questions, the guy got five correct," Kuntz said. "And this was a starting player in the major leagues, a very well-known guy. I thought, `Oh, my gosh. Oh, my goodness.'"

So Kuntz came up with a detailed list of written questions and tried them out on a number of players. The results were encouraging.

"By the end of spring training, I gave the same player the same test, along with a bunch of other guys, and he got every one of them right," Kuntz said. "And I noticed that during the year, he responded quicker to certain situations. I thought if you can do that for outfield play, why not throw in some baserunning fundamentals?"

Now, as a member of Trey Hillman's new staff in Kansas City, Kuntz's written quizzes have become a big feature during the first full week of spring training.

Even Hillman says he's benefited.

"We talk about wanting this to be a learning situation," the manager said. "There's always things you can learn. I've learned from Rusty about things that were considered my areas of expertise. If you ever get to a point where you feel like you know it all, it's probably time to get out."

Not every player on the Royals was given the written quizzes. Among those who were, there was a wide range of success and failure.

"I'd say it was 50-50," Kuntz said. "Some of them did relatively well. Some did OK. And some had no clue."

Kuntz didn't want to name the slackers, lest anybody be embarrassed. But getting a lot of the written questions incorrect doesn't necessarily mean the major leaguers haven't been paying attention while playing the game for as long as most of them can remember.

For a great many, it may be the first time they've ever been drilled in the finer points of the fundamentals. Another possibility is some players aren't accustomed to written tests but have learned to react instinctively when situations arise during a game.

"These guys are major league players, but they've got a couple of years of minor league experience, and before that they were in high school," Kuntz said. "I'm trying to get them out of the box. I'm trying to feed them bits and pieces so they can apply it once the game starts. Such as, can you have an infield fly rule on a bunt play?"

That's one most of the Pirates two years ago and most of the Royals this spring got wrong.

"They say you can," Kuntz said. "The answer is no, you can't."

Another one that gives everyone trouble has to do with umpires. If the ball hits an ump on the infield grass, is it alive or dead?

"I had experienced baserunners say it's live," Kuntz said. "Well, it's actually dead. But if the same ball hits an umpire on the outfield grass, then the runners keep running because that's a live ball."

A lot of players didn't know that the proper way to slide feet-first into a base is to have the front foot straight up, or that the sun and the wind should be taken into account as soon as a player leaves the clubhouse before a game.

One of the Royals who aced the tests was outfield prospect Chris Lubanski.

"The tests have been great because even the ones you get wrong, now you know the situation," he said. "And the ones you get right, it refreshes your mind. At least now I know that I know what's going on."

So which question was missed most often?

"When you're waiting on a flyball, what part of the ball do you look at, the top or the bottom?" Kuntz said. "Everybody said the bottom. But you've got to concentrate on seeing the top."

And the easiest question anyone missed?

"The distance between bases," he said. "It's 90 feet, of course. Some guys got that wrong."

That's kind of funny.

Quote :

But that was better than the first player Kuntz quizzed a couple of years ago in Pittsburgh.

"Out
of 50 questions, the guy got five correct," Kuntz said. "And this was a
starting player in the major leagues, a very well-known guy. I thought,
`Oh, my gosh. Oh, my goodness.'"

And they wonder when players make stupid plays, they probably don't know the rules. I think the tests are a great idea.

You have to use your brain at this! It isn't all mindless stuff (come on, EARN those BIG BUCKS! lol)--