Ichiro, coaching high schoolers, pushes back on conventional Japanese lead: sidestep off first, then cross trail foot behind to gain ground. His take — that cross-behind is wasted motion and leaves you tangled on a pickoff. He wants a lead you react from, not one you rehearse.
Reading a lefty, from Eduardo Pérez — passed down from Lou Brock:
Key on his left foot, the one on the rubber.
Toes lift at the start? He's coming to first.
Toes stay down? He's going home.
Eduardo's advice? One foot tells you everything.⚾