There is no doubt about it: Defense wins championships. A team absolutely needs consistent, solid pitching and clutch hitting but if you cannot catch and throw the baseball while practicing sound defensive prowess, the team is not going to win. In a nine inning game, you need to record twenty-seven outs. If you only give the opposing team twenty-seven outs, chances are strong your team will win. If you give the opposing team more than twenty-seven outs to work with, you will be fighting an uphill battle by allowing the opposition more opportunities to put runs on the scoreboard. The Baseball Mastery Series I wrote has three parts: Baseball Hitting Mastery: The Art of the Line Drive Swing aims to teach players the fundamentals behind a crisp, repeatable, competitive swing that can work for players even at the highest level of competition. If you are not doing what is in this book, your swing will be inconsistent and a good pitcher will expose you. Baseball Pitching Mastery: Guide to Becoming a Dominant Pitcher breaks down the explosive act of pitching into manageable splices, allowing players to focus on offering a sound, repeatable throwing motion aimed at eliminating batters while also discussing key mindset hacks for the dominant pitcher. The third part to the baseball mastery series is defense. Defense should not be taken lightly because defense is first and foremost a mentality. You’ve got to WANT the ball to be hit your way and be excited when you get the opportunity to make a play for your team. Hitting gets most of the publicity and praise, but being a great defender can take you a long way in baseball. During both my playing career and now as a coach, you would be surprised how often a very good hitter ends up sitting the bench during crucial innings because the coach requires sound defensive play. The purpose of this aspect of the baseball mastery series is to discuss some basic fundamentals while on defense including: throwing, catching, and fielding for the young players needing to be reminded of their fundamentals along with some drills to hone in on your skillset. The greatest piece of baseball-related advice I received as a youngster was to not allow myself to be defined as just a hitter or pitcher. I was taught to be a BASEBALL PLAYER. Train oneself to be a game changer from your position in the field just as you would seek to be a game changer when at the plate with runners in scoring position. Let’s be real. Hitting is fun. It gets the press and attention of casual fans. Ask anyone who knows the game and they will tout the absolute importance of defense on the game. If you are reading this book, you are the athlete who wants to be a complete baseball player and for that I commend you. Let’s get to it by starting with fundamentals and concepts.