A Brief Insight into different Baseball Field Positions

Baseball Field Positions

Baseball is a very unique game when it comes to the fielding positions which are described in the game and also the associated number with all positions. Positions in the baseball game are classified as infield and outfield. Infield positions are the ones which are on the infield dirt and are described shortly in serial numbers 1-6. Outfield positions are the ones that are on the outfield grass and are described in serial numbers 7-9.

Baseball Field Positions

Describing the main characteristics of all the positions in the game, they are considered as primarily defensive in nature but at the same time when it comes to batting in the game, all the players become in the role of an offensive role.

Baseball Field Dimensions (all dimension are in feet)

BASELINE

90’

80’

70’

60’

50’

 HOME TO SECOND

127’ 3 3/8”

113’ 1 5/8”

99’

84’ 10 1/4″

70’ 8”

 HOME TO FRONT
OF RUBBER

60’ 6”

54’

48’

46’

38’

RADIUS OF SKINNED INFIELD

95’

80’

65’

50’

50’

 HOME PLATE TO BACKSTOP

60’

40’

30’

25’

20’

 HOME PLATE CIRCLE

26’

24’

22’

18’

20’

 BASE CUT OUT RADIUS

13’

12’

11’

9’

9’

DUGOUT DISTANCE
FROM FOUL LINE

15’

12’

9’

6’

6’

HOME PLATE TO
LEFT FIELD DISTANCE

320-350’

250’

200’

175’

150’

HOME PLATE TO CENTER
FIELD DISTANCE

400’ +

300’

250’

225’

200’

PITCHING MOUND
DIAMETER

18’

15’

12’

10’

9’

 PITCHING MOUND HEIGHT

10”

8”

6”

6”

4”

Infield Positions

Baseball inField Positions

  1. Shortstop – Shortstop, also known as SS, is a position on the baseball field that lies between second base and third base. It is a defensive position and is considered to be extremely important and difficult to man. The position is a lynchpin for communication on the infield. While playing on defense, it is a position that is considered as infield captain and gets into the action as soon as the ball gets airborne. This position requires strong throwing and fielding abilities, and a good range. Shortstops who are able to play a strong offensive and defensive game are one of the most valuable players in the game.
  2. Pitcher – This is a position which starts each play by throwing the ball towards the catcher. The purpose of each throw is to retire a batter or to make him draw a blank. Considered an important defensive position, on the defensive spectrum, it lies on the right end. Middle reliever, starting pitcher, lefty specialist, relief pitcher, closer, setup man, etc. are some of the different types of pitchers on the field.
  3. Third baseman – Close to third-base and directly opposite to home plate, lies the position of the third baseman. The pop flies, line drives, and ground balls that are hit around the third-base bag are fielded by the third baseman. There is relatively less mobility demand for this position as compared to the shortstop, which plays beside it.
  4. First baseman – The position of the first baseman lies on the right of the first base when there is no runner and on the first base when it is occupied by a runner. This position has two purposes. First, it has to field ground balls. And second, it has to receive throws coming in from other midfielders so as to get the runner out. There is not much requirement of range and strength for playing in this particular position. The first baseman has focus approach and concentrates on the ground balls and the receiving and throwing it back to the runner.
  5. Second baseman – This position lies between second and first base, tending to be closer to the second base. It is usually at the back end of the infield dirt. This position is supposed to field the ball when it is hit to their right or left and requires fast lateral movement ability. Given the proximity of this position to first and second base, its occupiers are generally not required to have strong arms for throwing the ball; rather they are supposed to be agile and fast in their movement.
  6. Catcher – All of the pitcher’s pitches which are thrown with a purpose of getting the batter retired or otherwise are received by the catcher. This position lies behind the home plate. Catchers also have a psychological role to play of calming down a pitcher or offering advice to a struggling pitcher. A catcher conveys hand signals to the pitcher without letting it seen by the opposing team as to what type of throw the pitcher is to pitch.

Outfield Positions

Baseball Outfield Positions

  1. Left fielder – The left side of the outfield grass is covered by the left fielder. The importance of this position lies less in defensive abilities than inoffensive ones. Because throws from the left side of the field to second base, third base, or home base are not too long, left fielders are not expected to have strong throws.
  2. Right fielder – The right side of the outfield grass is covered by the right fielder. Though right fielders are not required to be fast and resilient, they are expected to have the strongest throws on the field because of their distance to other bases.
  3. Centre fielder – The central position in the outfield grass is covered by the centre fielder. Range and stamina are the most important attribute of this position because of the amount of ground it has to cover as compared to the other two fielders, i.e., right and left fielders. Normally, the centre fielder should also have a strong throw because of the distance at which other bases lay from it.

Baseball

Positioning in this game is very important and all the nine positions in this game are linked and associated with numbers. All the nine sequences of the players/positioning which is defined in this game are: a pitcher who is number 1, at 2nd position there would be the catcher, the first baseman at number 3, at number 4 there would be the second baseman, the third baseman is placed at number 5, 6 is reserved for a shortstop, left fielder for 7, the center fielder is at 8 and at last right fielder is placed at 9th position in the game.

There are other roles also in the game and it is not just limited to 9 positions. Some of such other roles include: designated hitter, pinch hitter and pinch runner etc. Mainly there are nine players in the defensive team and their main role is to obstruct and stop the other team for making the scores. There is liberty in the game to move and shift the players in the ground under various circumstances like depending on the batter, the style adopted by the pitcher and the situation in the game. The two locations are defined by the rules in the game.

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