What Does an Infielder Watch When a Pitch is Thrown?

While I was covering the Altoona Curve in September, I heard something that I never thought about in the past. What does an infielder watch when a pitch is thrown?

Obviously, the infielder is focused on the batter at the plate, like everyone else. But how does an infielder stay focused and ready to react to the ball off the bat when he doesn’t know where the ball will end up, or whether the hitter will swing and make contact?

While talking to first baseman Mason Martin, the topic was brought up about having a soft focus, followed by a narrow focus.

That specific description was something I hadn’t heard before. Fortunately, Altoona’s bench coach is Gary Green, and there’s no better person to…