Home > Baseball positions

Roles of Fielders

• P: Pitcher (Position "number" 1). While the primary role of a pitcher is to pitch the ball, he must also be able to field his position. This consists of fielding ground balls and bunts up the middle of the diamond, and running to cover first base on any batted ball that pulls the first baseman out of position.
• C: Catcher (2). Wears protective equipment: mask, special helmet, shin guards, chest protector. Uses special glove designed as a padded target. He must catch, or at least block, all the pitches to prevent baserunners from advancing, in addition to preventing stolen bases with a strong throwing arm. He must also catch pop-ups into the foul territory behind the baseline, and tag out runners who are attempting to score, while blocking their access to home plate. Backs up first base on all plays where a runner is not a risk to score.
• 1B: First Base (3). The first baseman's job, in addition to fielding balls hit in his direction, is primarily to catch throws from the other infielders (2B, 3B and SS) in order to retire the batter and prevent him from getting on base. When a runner is on first base, the first baseman will tend to stand on or near the bag, holding the runner close to prevent the runner from stealing second base.
• 2B: Second Base (4). Second basemen have an important defensive role to field ground balls hit toward him and, if necessary start a double play. When the ball is hit to the shortstop, the second baseman will help "turn" a double play by stepping on second base, fielding the throw from SS, and throwing to first base, to retire both the batter, and the runner on first.
• 3B: Third Base (5). Third base is known as "The Hot Corner", since most right-handed hitters will tend to hit the ball hard in this direction. The third baseman must be able to field ground balls and throw strongly to first base, as well as cover fly balls in fair and foul territory.
• SS: Shortstop (6). Shortstops, like the second baseman, must field ground balls and start or turn double plays. In addition, they need a stronger arm as the throw to first base is farther from the shortstop side.
• LF: Left Field (7), CF: Center Field (8), RF: Right Field (9). The role of the outfielders is to chase down and catch any ball hit into the outfield and, if necessary, make a rapid and accurate return throw, either to a base or to the "cut-off man", a infielder who has moved into a position specifically to make a relay throw.

The numbers for the position are used to score put-outs. For example:

• If the third baseman fields a ball and throws it to first, it is recorded as a 5-3 out.
• A double play where the second baseman fields, throws to the shortstop at second base, who throws to the first baseman is recorded as a 4-6-3 double play.

The fielding positions in baseball are the basis for the famous comedy routine Who's On First?, created by the team of Abbott and Costello.

See also : BaseballBusch Stadium in Saint Louis, Missouri. Baseball is a team sport in which a small hand-sized ball is thrown and hit with a bat. Scoring involves running and touching markers on the ground called bases, hence the name. The ball itself is also called a base, Official scorerBaseball In the game of baseball, the official scorer is a person appointed by the league to record the events on the field and to send this official record of the game back to the league offices. The official scorer never takes the field (he typically wa, Baseball positioningIn baseball, while there are nine named fielding positions, players may move around freely. The positioning for the nine positions is very flexible, although they all have regular depths distances from home plate, and sometimes lateral positioning. A shif (depths and shifts), Gold Glove AwardIn American baseball, the Rawlings Gold Glove Award usually referred to simply as the Gold Glove is the award annually given to the Major League player judged to be the most "superior individual fielding performance" at each position (in each league), as winners