When does a third basemen usually move into the grass?

Question

i see some third basemen move closer in sometimes and theres nobody on third base and sometimes nobody on base at all.......why is this?

Answer 1

Additional reason.  You generally play in for a left handed hitter.

Answer 2

two seperate reasons:  (1) the batter is a known good bunter, so the thirdbaseman has to respect that and be ready.

(2) the infield is being played "in" to attempt to cut down a run at the plate on a ground ball when there is a runner on 3rd with less then two outs.

Answer 3

because the batter is bunting or has like no power

Answer 4

Possibly because the batter is attempting to lay down a bunt, so the third basemen sometimes moves in to get a good hop on the ball.

Answer 5

There are many reasons why a 3rd baseman would play in:

1) if they think the batter may bunt. this could be either because its a sac-bunt situation or because the hitter is known to try to bunt for a base hit.

2) if there is a runner on 3rd base and the infield is playing in so they can throw home to prevent the run. Typically this happens late in the game if its the winning run on 3rd base. It can also happen with runners at 1st and 3rd, when the corners play in so the runner can't score on a grounder to 1st or 3rd, but the middle infielders might still play at double-play depth in that situation.

3) Anytime the 3rd baseman thinks that a soft grounder or high-chopper is more likely than a hard-hit grounder or line drive. This is typically the case when a left handed pull hitter is up because anything hit down 3rd is probably not going to be a well hit ball. Or it could be a right handed hitter that just doesn't have a history of hitting hard down the line.

4) if the 3rd baseman is covering the base for a pick-off throw. They don't have time to move to their normal position so they just take one step off the base and get ready to field.