Fielding Tips - Baseman's Stretch. Lew Fonseca, formerly first baseman of the Chicago White Sox, knows that umpires judge close plays at his base by watching the runner's foot and listening for the sound of the ball against the baseman's mitt. By stretching out to meet the ball Fonseca, and other good first basemen, can cut six to eight feet from the ball's flight, and cause it to smack into their mitts a split-second faster than would be the case if they stood upright on the base with their arms close to the body. First basemen must be expert on making one hand catches of wide throws.