Thanks for watching, we hope you enjoyed! Please like, share & subscribe to support the channel. Other ways to support the channel: Donate to the channel via PayPal (PayPal account not needed) - www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=BZRANMGGL9Q9Q Join our Discord, meet the community, submit requests, be included in channel and content polls - discord.gg/cAkQwUuPN8 Find Great Baseball Products on Amazon - Our Affiliate Links are - amzn.to/3Mcl9G0 (Shirts) or amzn.to/3MdkYdB (Balls)
on average most ground balls will be hit into the zone where the short stop is. Plus, if there is a runner for the other team on first base, the shortstop is tasked with turning a possible double play. Plus, often the coaches give the shortstop the authority to adjust where the other infielders are standing (the diagram at the beginning is the basic setup, but the players can move around some before each batter comes up)
You don’t bring long relievers in the “save the day” but they give there teams way higher chances to win the next two days because the manager doesn’t have to get all of his relief pitchers tired.. hope that makes sense love the channel!
Shortstop is the primary infield position because, with the vast majority of batters being righthanded, the left hand side of the infield is where the ball gets hit most of the time. Also, once someone is on first or second, someone needs to take charge of stopping those runners advancing/scoring. SS, being the extra man, is in the best position to orchestrate.
"vast majority of batters being righthanded, the left hand side of the infield is where the ball gets hit most of the time" My sophomore year I had one ball hit to me all season playing second base. ONE. 😭
Also, the Shortstop has the longest throw to first, especially on ground balls fielded to his right... The 2nd baseman does NOT stand on 2nd base, except for extreme shifts, although he would have to move to 2nd base on balls hit to the SS or 3B, or to cover the base for steals.
@@DNReacts to be clear the third baseman needs as good an arm as shortstop. Also he needs a quick reaction time. 3rd base is known as the “hot corner” of the diamond because the third basemen sets up closer to the plate and ground balls can be screaming at you.
And the shortstop/second baseman will also have the runner trying to slide into them to break up a double play when whichever one is covering second base.
You guys have done well to recognize the value of getting on base. It’s the central tenet of the modern advanced statistics revolution. It’s also a bit of a meme from the excellent baseball movie “Moneyball.” The film tells the story of the 2002 Oakland A’s and general manager Billy Beane who was tasked with rebuilding the team with a very limited budget. Obviously you guys can’t just sit here and watch movies for this channel but I think it would be a blast if you guys had a series where you watched some of the most popular movies of these new sports and gave your thoughts on them. Another great video guys, keep it up!
@@DNReacts one of my favorite movies in general, it's great for people new to baseball as well and the experienced fans. Has some good comedic moments too.
I learned how to do it by being the scorekeeper when my boys were playing! But it's hard because the game moves so fast and you can miss something so easily!
Yeah, the people who know how to do it, tend to have learned doing it as a kid. It's sort of how it's easier to learn a language when your young. For some odd dam reason, my dad had note books of games he scored from the radio or tv. He never looked at them again after he scored it but that was his thing. I learned how to do it from watching him and asking a few questions. I am 62 now and I would say the majority of male baseball fans my age know how to do it. But I think that starts to fall off shortly after my age group. Mainly because Football passed Baseball as the number one sport in the 80's. But if your on some sort of organized team, don't ever tell anyone you know how to do it or it will quickly become your job. The bad part of that is, now you have to pay attention instead of goofing off with your friends during the game and less time for drinking. LOL.
@@boki1693 sometimes there's just miscommunication about whether plays are errors or hits and how to score rundowns and stuff it can get pretty complex
@@boki1693 You're so right! I am your age and when my boys were playing, I always got tagged as Team Mom and then scorekeeper. The coach's wife taught me how to do it because she wanted to have fun! And believe me, there was more than one occasion when the game was stopped because we scorekeepers needed to check each other! p.s. I STILL have all my score books and my one son who was a pitcher and SS loves to go through it and especially likes to count up his K's!
Shortstop is the most demanding position because most batters are right handed, they’re going to tend to hit fast grounders to center left. And if there’s a runner on first they have to quickly throw to 2nd to get a double play. They also cover 2nd base if the ball is hit to the 2nd baseman
One thing that wasn't touched on is how a particular position may dictate which hand a player throws with. For example.....3B, SS, 2B and C are basically always right handed throwers. This is due to the geometry of the throws they have to make and this has been consistent throughout the history of the game. Typically a 1B can be either, but it's more advantageous if the 1B throws left handed, since having the glove on the right hand makes the tag quicker when a pitcher throws to 1B in an attempt to pick off a base runner. Also, a left handed throwing 1B has the advantage of an easier throw to 2B when he fields a ground ball and throws to 2B in an attempt to get out a runner trying to advance from first base to second base. As far as the outfield, it doesn't really matter as much. One other thing is, infielders LOVE a large first baseman because they have a bigger target to throw to, plus a larger person obviously has greater static range to receive throws.....especially throws that might be off target, while still being able to keep his foot on first base to record the out. Add in the fact that a taller first baseman has a longer stretch to go out and get throws, basically shortening the length of the throw from an infielder. In a very close play, this could be the difference between a safe, or out call.
@DNReacts this is a really good catch. To expand on it, one thing the video didn't really touch on was throwing arm strength. The first- and second-basemen don't often need to make long throws, but the shortstops and third-basemen do several times each game. It's important for the catchers and center fielders to be able to throw well. But one quirk you might not expect is that being able to make long and accurate throws is far more important for the right fielder than the left fielder. The reason is that they rarely have to make throws to first base, but often do to third - either to catch a batter trying to take an extra base (stretch a single into a double, or a double into a triple), or to stop a runner from attempting it. That's why Ichiro, who's small for a ballplayer and relied heavily on his speed, played most of his career in right rather than center - his throwing arm was incredible. It's also why you'll generally find guys who are poor defensive players and primarily on the team for their hitting to be playing left field (hopefully they'll at least have good foot speed here) or first base. A lot of great hitters who are no longer able to play their natural field positions well will end their careers playing first base. Ironically, though the first-baseman doesn't have to have the range and arm strength as the other positions, he will be handling the ball on around half the plays (unlike any of the other defenders), so there is something to be said for having a premium defender like John Olerud at the position.
Long relievers are there specifically so you dont give up on a game that gets away from you early. If its 7-1 after 3 innings, you obviously aren't expecting to win, but often one of the differences between good and great teams are the ones that can come back to win those. And good long relief pitching is the key to do it.
We're being a little unfair. The Long Reliever is valuable any time the Starter has to leave the game early. The Starter may get blown out, but he might also be injured, raise a blister on his pitching hand, or even get kicked out for swearing at the umpire. Ideally, a Long Reliever has the same skillset as a Starter, particularly the ability to pitch to both sides of the plate. In practice they are less skilled because if they were stronger, they'd BE the Starters.
@@scottbilger9294 Agree with this. High quality long relief is mandatory so you can assure that your short relievers are not over used. Since those guys usually only go an inning or two, and generally don't pitch more than two days in a row, a long reliever who can eat innings will save your bullpen from overuse and save those guys for the high leverage situations where they are most valuable. A long reliever is also used when a starter is on limited pitch counts for one reason or another. Throw your starter for 3-4 innings or maybe 60 pitches and then bring in your long relief guy for 3-4 and turn it over to a 1 inning bullpen guy to close it out. Super valuable in a situation like the Texas Rangers with Jacob deGrom, who is on pitch count restrictions for a while. Keep your starters overall workload down early in the season, so they are better rested for the end of the season when the grind really starts wearing on them.
Teams rarely come back from a big early deficit. The main value of a long reliever is to save the team's bullpen (the other relief pitchers) for the next game.
Scoring is just another hobby level of baseball enjoyment. I love going to games and seeing the old guy listening to game on the radio while being there taking pride in his score card.
As an American born in the 60"s, I have always loved baseball as far back I can remember. Seeing people new to game attempt a serious effort to learn about the game. Great channel.
I think you two should watch some videos from pitching ninja. He makes really good content that breaks down pitches and shows why certain pitches are really effective/impressive. The angle of the camera in a lot of stadiums can somewhat obscure the movement some pitches make so he provides extra context
1:41 Yes, the picture is setup to be symmetrical. Players don't line up in those exact positions (except the pitcher and catcher.) They will shift around depending on who's at bat and the baserunning situation. Prior to 2023, you would even see situations where the third basemen would move to the other side of the field between the second and first basemen against some left-handed hitters. This was outlawed in 2023 and now two infielders must be on either side second base to start play.
This setup at the start of the video is basically how it is in actual games, though players often adjust their positioning on the field when it's well known that a certain hitter has certain tendencies when hitting the ball, such as pulling the ball in a certain direction. This kind of adjustment of players on the field is known as a "shift," and one of the new rules put in place this year limits teams from doing extreme shifts where, for example, three out of four infielders are on one side of the diamond (e.g., first baseman at first base, second baseman midway between first and second, shortstop right behind second base or even slightly to the right of it, and third baseman midway between second and third). Also, here's a fun fact: a lot of pitchers played shortstop at some point early on as kids. Why? Because both types of players have to have amazing arms.
I'm loving seeing everything click for you guys! I'm also super impressed by how often you intuit things about the game, you're really picking up on it quickly
Keep in mind that batting position is also important, based on the strengths of each hitter. As you mention, not every hitter is going to get up there and hit a home run, or have home run potential. But the game was originally designed for "small ball," with men getting on base and the batters after them pushing them one base at a time until they score (that's oversimplified, but it's the basic idea of the game). Each base is a station along the way, getting 90 feet closer to scoring a run. So while it's nice to have a couple of power hitters on a team, it's also important to have reliable hitters who get on base, even if they're just hitting a lot of singles and doubles.
Long Reliever could also be "spot starters" sometimes they start games if the usual starter in the rotation can't play, either due to injury, or rest, and the Starting option in the Farm System isn't ready to be called up yet.
The chart is roughly how the positions set up. There can be a heavy shift to one side or the other. Also many players may move in much closer depending on the hitter or the game situations. One reason to track hitters to follow if they hit consistently to the left or right. They would want to have the defensive player move that way. Some players have a problem hitting with any power (or they are in a slump) so everyone moves in closer. Most times the shift is a good idea. Other times it can be a disaster. The vast majority of inside the park homeruns are due to a misplayed shift.
Regarding Bin 2 - surprised they didn't mention that left-handed players almost never play third-base in the modern game because the extra fraction of a second it takes to turn your body from that angle when throwing with your left hand could be the difference between a runner being safe and out at first base. They might bat lefty, but they almost universally throw right-handed.
You are correct about the positioning of infielders changing during the game and it all depends on the batter, the pitch positioning, and if there are runners on base. This is why scouting other teams players is important as you find out where opposing batters naturally put the ball in play (this also depends on the type and positioning of pitches). Baseball has always been called ‘a thinking man’s game’.
I love that you guys say Base 1, Base 2, etc. We say 1st base, 2nd base, 3rd base. You're not wrong. Just different. Well done gents. Another great reaction.
A pitching role that I'm surprised wasn't made is the "Closer". Maybe that's because they are a specialized short reliever - but I still think it's a role that deserves its own special mention at this point in the pitcher breakdown. The Closer is king of the short relievers lol. They typically come into the game in the last inning (as the moniker would suggest) when your team is ahead by by three runs or fewer. They need to work well under extreme pressure and be able to "finish" batters off in order to secure your team's win. I find these pitchers are quite often a special ilk of their own and sometimes even *require* that heightened sense of "game-on-the-line" pressure to achieve their best work. They are awarded a "Save" if they successfully keep the team ahead for the win. Regarding the long reliever; they aren't necessarily a throw away pitcher meant to eat up innings when things have gone so terribly wrong that there's little hope of regaining a lead (although that is a role they may have to play). If a starter gets into a jam, he may see his pitch count elevated to the point where injury may be more likely, you may have to bring in a short reliever to "put out the fire", say in a situations where a few runs have scored while the bases remain loaded. Once the short reliever(s) have (hopefully) minimized the damage, you'll then need someone reliable to give your team the best chance of catching back up to the opposition. In any case, this was a great recommended video to get an overall picture of the positions - it's been terrific to see you guys learn about the game, and even correctly surmise different aspects of it before they've even been explained to you. Very cool! I think you are having much more success than if I were to venture into the finer points and inner workings of Cricket!!
The Shortstop Position covers the most area as an infielder and that's why it's the most important. However, having played 3rd Base in high school, I personally feel that position is way more important because they need to have agility and arm strength, accuracy.
Hard disagree, the SS is just as if not farther from 1B for throws, especially on deep shifts, and has a lot more area to cover. Not to mention getting about half of double play balls.
Actually not even hard disagree, I'm going harder, that's just flat out wrong. Fangraphs even put a number on it, 3B +2.5 runs, SS at +7.5, an average SS is worth 5 runs more than an average 3B on defense, over a season.
@@alexisborden3191 No one said it was easier to play SS. Most people enjoy playing the 3B position. I loved it because of the majority of pull line drives from right handed hitters go there. Much harder when you see those plays in action in POV as opposed to covering and running after a grounder up the middle, still hard, but I'd say a screaming 100+ MPH hit coming at your head a much harder experience to witness.
First bin would be Outfield, Short stop snd second base, Second bin would be third base and Catcher. Third bin would be First Base and Designated Hitter.
The order in which players bat is also very important and calculated. It’s based on their batting skill and if they are power hitters or contact hitters, etc
Shortstops also need to have the best arm on the infield as their throws to first are often the longest out of any position if they have to range to their right (towards the 3rd base hole). It's a REALLY hard position to play
SS needs good arms strength coupled with agility and range. Third base needs the stronger throwing arm, since they're often making throws from the foul line and beyond over to first.
@@sector986 Only if you use SS to cover all the 3B/SS hole. If you play infielders to have maximum coverage with their gloved hand, and you don't have a LH first baseman, then your 3B is played short of the grass and just NOT guarding the line if he has the arm to make the throw. He covers the deep hole, SS covers the short hole and extends beyond 2B. This allows lower level teams without a LH firstbaseman to play pretty tight.
@@jamesoliver6625 if the throw from 3b is near the foul line sure it’s farther. But if the SS fields the ball in normal SS territory then SS is farther.
With respect to placement on the field, it's true players will shift slightly on the field in whole or in part of the team depending on the circumstances. For example if a left-handed batter is up, because they are more likely to hit the ball to the left side of the field, the outfielders and maybe the shortstop and 2nd baseman might move several feet to their right, which is towards the left side of the field. Likewise, and at the professional level this is less pronounced, but some batters are known with a reputation of NOT having a lot of power when batting, so the outfielders and the infielders may move forward several feet anticipating that the ball won't be going as far if hit. This latter example happens more often at non-professional levels of the game. In fact if a batter is well known for not being a good hitter, you may hear the fielders yell, "easy out", and everyone shifts forward expecting that if the player managers to actually hit the pitch, it's not likely to go very far into the field which means by shifting forward the ball is caught by someone sooner (especially a ground ball as opposed to a fly ball) and can therefore be thrown to first base more quickly to get the batter out. Here's a one-minute example of the latter scenario done humorously. th-cam.com/video/0tpbNAbJIyw/w-d-xo.html
Shortstop is so demanding because,like he said it used to be a shallow out field position, the Short stop covers shallow infield between Second and Third, and shallow outfield between Left and Center.
Bill James, who was one of the first statistical analysts to focus on baseball, observed that difficulty of positions tended to run SS-2B-CF-3B-Lf-RF-1B. Catchers were coounsidered a specialist position outside this pattern. Also, in recent years, there has been a tendency to have middle relievers, who would specialize in preserving a lead or keeping a game close in later innings before the closing specialist would pitch the last inning or two.
One of the beauties of baseball is just that… it’s a long season… but spring isn’t spring without opening day… long summer nights with the radio in the background and then the pennant races checking the stats and the standings in the paper in the morning… boys it’s more than just the game
I'd personally say that Shortstop is the 3rd most demanding position behind catcher which is far and away the most demanding, and center field especially due to the toll it's taken on guys like Ken Griffey Jr. and Byron Buxton.
Shortstop is the most demanding infield defensive position (apart from maybe catcher) because it’s like 2nd base in that you have to cover a lot of ground in every direction because you aren’t near a foul line on one side, plus it’s like 3rd base in there being a long throw to first base where a significant number of putouts must occur.
Next part is understanding how the line up works traditionally. 1st Batter also Leadoff batter- they are great at contact and speedster. High on base percentage don't need a lot of power. 2nd Batter is generally your best on base guy doesn't need to have a ton of power, they can move that first Batter to scoring position aka second base. 3rd Batter is your second most powerful Batter their job is to move the base runners. 4th Batter or the Clean up Batter. They have the most powerful bat on the team. This player can hit the ball consistently and can hit Homer's. The rest of the batters are generally in order of power where 8 and 9 batters are your worst batters. Generally your line up should try to alternate between left and right handed batters. Making it harder for the pitcher. Depending on the schedule a team may have more of righty or lefty batters depending on rest and opponents starting pitching. When subs are put in late in a game they may switch righty or lefty to try to get an advantage. The manager in baseball is like general that will try to figure the best ways to get runs or prevent runs. Could go on for days
As a Bigger player with a Strong Arm my "Skilled" position was Catcher but I also played 1st Base and Right field. You guys have really started to catch on to American sports!!
Coach Dan has other basic videos that you might wish to take the time to view. His on gripping the ball for all the pitches is very good. Up the middle fielders must have range so they need to be speedy. Corner infielders need quick reactions more than speed because the ball gets to them faster. Corner outfielders need strong arms like all outfielders, but they do not need to be quick or fast. The graphic used is the basic fielding position for batters that spray the ball in all directions. If a batter hits the ball to the right or left most of the time, the fielders will shift their positioning to match the batter. If the batter has no power, the outfielders will play in. If the batter has power, the outfielders will play further out. If the game is really close and there is a runner on third base with less than two outs, do not be surprised to see both infielders and outfielder play in so they have a chance to throw the runner heading home out at home plate. Another common positioning change is if there is a runner at first base with less than two outs, the second baseman and shortstop will play in just a little so they can make a double play easier to perform by positioning themselves closer to second base. So besides the batter’s tendencies, conditional situations can affect the fielders positioning.
The long reliever's primary role is to save the elite arms of the pitching staff for as long as possible - we here in America would call them a "journeyman" - innings grinders, that have the stuff to keep the team in play for many innings, but generally lacks the elite stuff that crushes the other team's batters. IF a starter has a poor start, and gets pulled 2 or 3 innings in, you don't want to dip into your starters or elite relievers to fill in, because it's too early in the game to do that. So your long-relievers are the "filler," so to speak. If they hold up well and keep the opponent from scoring too much more, and their team bats their way back into a competitive game, then the manager will go to the short-relievers to try to shut down any more offense for the opponent. If they DO manage to catch up and pull ahead, the manager will go to the most elite of the short-relievers, the CLOSER. This short-reliever will almost always be a shut-down pitcher, sometimes referred to as the "Stopper," who has elite stuff on par with - sometimes BETTER than - the starters, but lacks the endurance to pitch 5-7 innings (the typical outing of a starter). The more you guys watch baseball, you will find that many of the league's top closers are former starters who've lost their endurance for long outings. They still have some of their nastiest stuff, but they tire out faster as they've aged, and so convert to closing so the team can still take advantage of their best work as long as possible. The closer is so important to a team, that they are the highest paid relievers, and often make the same - or very close to the same - money as the starters. If the closer pitches an inning or two with a lead, and finishing the game with a win, and doesn't allow the opponent to take over the lead, he is credited with a SAVE. You will hear announcers talk about the number of "saves" a closer has, when they talk about how good or bad that particular closer has been that season, or comparing their current seasons with previous ones. SAVES are a crucial number for elite closers who want to be considered for the Hall of Fame, much like WINS are what matters most for starters. The numbers of saves per season also plays into how much money elite closers can command. A team is "buying" saves when they sign an elite closer, as much as they are "buying" wins when they sign a starter. The biggest difference between a starter and a closer is this: a starter generally plays once every five games. Teams usually have 4-5 starters, and they rotate. So each starter gets at least 4-5 days of rest in between starts. The closer pitches every game that there's a lead in the 8th or 9th inning. So if the starting rotation is successful for three weeks straight, the closer has likely played every single game, for an inning or two. If the closer shows signs of tiring, the team may rest him for a day or two, and then the best short reliever will be held back and serve as the closer for the duration. The ideal situation for a team is to only need the closer for the 9th inning. The starter pitches 7 innings - UNLESS the starter is pitching a NO HITTER, and isn't too high in his pitch count, in which case they'll leave him in to see if he can close out his own game. This is a respect thing - teams will never pull a pitcher throwing a potential no hitter or perfect game (side note: NO-HITTER = no hits by the opponent, but getting on base with walks, errors, or batters hit by pitch may happen; PERFECT GAME = NO ONE on opposing team gets on base - NO hits, NO walks, NO errors, NO batters hit by pitch, NO ONE gets on base) unless the pitcher has long passed a pitch count threshold, or his pitches are starting to slow or lose movement from tiring out. He can still get a no-hitter if the relievers and/or closer finishes the game out with no hits given up, it's typically referred to as a "combined no-hitter." After the starter pitches his 5-7 innings, short-relievers come in to pitch 2-3 innings, try to get to the 9th inning. If the bullpen is struggling, the closer may be called in to close out the game for a couple of innings, but they try to not have to do that. They usually need their closer for every win, so they try to have him only pitch the 9th inning to close out a win, so his arm is as fresh as possible the next day. Sometimes, they may even leave in a short-reliever who's pitching really well, to give the closer an extra day of rest. If they don't HAVE to use him, they'll let him rest. But on a team with a lot of wins, the closer has pitched almost all of the winning games, often making them close to the most used pitcher in total innings pitched in a season, even more than some of the starters.
Baseball seasons are a marathon. You usually have 5 starting pitchers who rotate each game. And baseball games during a season are played just about every single day. If a pitcher has a bad start and gets pulled from the game by the manager, you don't want to use your reliable relief pitchers and tire their arms out more than necessary. So the long reliever will come in and eat up innings to save good arms in the bullpen. Same thing in a series in the playoffs. In the playoffs, each matchup is a best of 7 series. Over the course of a 7 game series, you don't want your pitchers to get worn out. Worn out pitchers and tired arms tend to perform way worse, and hitters will start crushing them. You need to save your best arms for crucial moments if at all possible.
1:46 Most of the time the second baseman will be playing as it is showed in the picture, the only time you are really gonna see the second baseman stand on second base is if there is a runner on second base with a right handed hitter in the box, thanks for learning our sport boys 🙏🙏
if you’re gonna be watching baseball games, these videos will help with some of the terminology the announcers will say - like a “6-4-3 double play” is a super common thing and they say that a lot one thing he didn’t mention was the term “closer” which i guess would be a short reliever, the closer is the guy that comes in at the end of the game to just shut the batters down and end the game and strike everybody out
Yeah, don't worry about the scoring stuff at this time :). I score internationally, was the scorer for gold medal match in Tokyo in 2021 between Japan and USA, but even today something came up that I had to think about and work through. It's very complex and complicated... But so much fun :)
Team makeup thoughts: Pitchers and catchers have to spend lots of time on their defensive roles (strategizing, watching video on getting the other teams' batters out) to the point that they aren't as good fielding balls or hitting. If a catcher can mentally control a game, communicate to other fielders, call the correct pitches from the pitchers, block balls in the dirt and can throw a ball down to 2B in 2.00 seconds or less (POP time: from when it hits his glove to when it hits the fielder's glove at 2B), then any hit by them in a game is a bonus. SS and 2B similarly have to be very good at their positions to the point that a team will pick a person who is better defensively than they are a hitter. 3B/1B/LF/RF are usually better hitters b/c the defensive demands at those positions are less than P/C/SS/2B. A team is willing to have a more mediocre fielder at these positions if they can hit well/hard. 3B still has to be quick since the hardest ground balls are hit his way and he's closer than most defenders to the hitter, and has to throw the ball 120'-140' across the diamond to first base quickly. It helps if a 1B is tall (bigger reach/target to throw at) as well. CF needs to hit well and be fast; like he said, catch everything. RF needs to have one of the strongest arms since a good amount of balls hit to the outfield need to be thrown to 3rd base, w/ right field being the furthest from that spot. And like he said, a team will not hesitate and pay more for a player who is good both defensively and as a hitter. Examples, Ichiro Suzuki can hit for contact and had one of the best outfielder arms ever. Jose Altuve and Dustin Pedroia played 2B and could hit for power. Shohei Otani can hit and pitch. Greg Maddux could pitch and defend very well. Jorge Posada could catch and hit.
The best experience of watching baseball is if you get to know one team and it's players. Then you start to see and understand all the strategy involved.
The shortstop is the most demanding for a few reasons. First, he needs to be athletic and fast to get to ground balls and needs a strong arm to make the throw to first and do so quickly. Also he is in charge of covering second base on balls hit to the second baseman’s side especially if hit into the outfield and the hitter tries to get a double. If there is a left handed hitter batting and a runner on first he is in charge of covering second if the runner attempts to steal second. The second baseman will cover when there is a right handed hitter. That is because hitters will pull the ball more frequently than hitting it to the opposite field. For a right handed hitter “pulling the ball” means hitting it to the third baseman/shortstop side and “hitting it to opposite field” means hitting it to the first baseman’s/second baseman’s side. Hope this helps
Since you guys picked your teams to root for this year, you should watch highlights for each of them! For the Cubs that would be highlights of the World Series in 2016 (or Game 7 on it’s own) and for the Padres it would be the 2022 NLDS against the Dodgers. Both amazing series’, Hope you check them out! Love the vids, keep it up!
On pitchers and their roles, Starting Pitchers are generally expected to pitch at least 5 innings, some up to 8 or 9 ie the whole game. A team has 13 pitchers in total, and can divide them between starters and relievers however they like, most typically 5 starters and 8 relievers. Thus with 5 starters they rotate through thus a teams starting pitchers are called a Rotation. Starters over the course of a year will typically throw between 130 or 140 on the low side, to 200 or 220 on the high side. Relievers are more sprinters as mentioned, long relievers will usually go between 2 and up to 4 or 5 innings. Often times long relievers are either prospects and the team wants to kind of just try them out and see how they do, or they're a 'failed' starter and simply don't have the skills for the team to want them pitching a majority of the game. A long reliever is typically going to throw anywhere from 30 or 40 to 100 innings. Meanwhile a short reliever is someone who is only expected to go 1 inning, some can go 2. Generally have the highest strikeout rate but also highest walk rate as mentioned. Usually will throw around 60 innings over a year. Short relievers can also be broken down into further subsets, the Closer is typically the best reliever on the team, traditionally the Closer has been so named to close out the game, old wisdom being that the 9th inning when you're ahead is the situation you want to use you're best pitcher. Modern wisdom is that you want to use your best pitcher when the best hitters are up in a tied or 1 run game, however we generally still call the best reliever the Closer. You also have the Setup or sometimes Fireman, usually the second best reliever, named for 'setting up' in the 8th inning for the Closer to then pitch the 9th. Or the Fireman name which comes from the role of coming in in a critical situation to 'put out a fire' however smart managers will pitch the Closer in this situation. A lot of pitching strategy is managing which pitchers in which situations, and when to make pitching changes.
Right- #4 moves to cover second base if a play needs to be made there- otherwise, he fills the gap on the right side of the infield . The pitcher acts as the defender for any= ball hit "up the middle" (meaning directly toward 2nd base...). Since most batters hit "right handed" (with their right hand lower than their left hand on the handle of the bat), the majority of hit balls head for the left side of the "diamond, " so the "shortstop" is involved in a large number of ground ball plays. You guys are very sharp and very quick studies- nice to see you picking up the admittedly arcane nuances of this wonderful game as quickly as you do! Kudos, and enjoy the baseball season!
Alot of old classic games from the 70s and 80s will teach you alot of good stuff. The announcers back than seem to be more intune and with the fans and games and tell stories. You can find these games on TH-cam and honestly it's great to see baseball my dad grew up watching. You should check them out.
Yes, a long reliever is basically a middle of the pack pitcher who punches out a few innings to save the other arms for another day. Many times they're younger potchers trying to figure out their role on the team, or guys towards the end of there career, but still can still baseball pretty well.
About the shortstop, he usually acts as a captain when on defense. It is his job to organize the infield and communicate with all the other players (infield and outfield) about what they should anticipate or prepare for. Also most hitters are right handed and tend to hit the ball to their strong side more often then away from them. This means the shortstops side of the infield is generally busier than the second basemans side. Of course this changes game to game but generally it seems to be true. It's awesome to see you guys start to understand the strategy behind the game. Getting on base is the most important aspect of offense. Homeruns are amazing but a well timed single or double can be just as important. One aspect that wasn't covered was the batting order. Its pretty universal that the first 2 hitters are pure contact and speed guys. Their job is to get on base any way they can and to steal bases once they get on. Batters 3-5 are the premier power hitters. These are the stars of the team. The guys who hit for the best average and most power. These are the homerun hitters. after them is usually ordered based on who is the best remaining hitter in the lineup.
The SS and 2B share the duties of covering second base. The general rule of thumb is if there’s a right handed batter the 2B covers second base. If there’s a left handed batter the SS covers second base.
Some excellent questions here! But I have to disagree with the coach. In early baseball--in the 19th and turn of the 20th century--the shortstop played far CLOSER in, on the grass near the pitcher. A baseball field's grass wasn't as well tended or mowed as modern-day infields are, so ground balls off the hitter's bat would often come to a premature rest in the relatively long grass. The shortstop's job was to get to those grounders that "stopped short." But as baseball parks became better tended and balls regularly bounced through the infield grass, the shortstop became better deployed as part of a defensive tandem in the middle infield between the bases (along with the second baseman).
1st Question: Short stop and 2nd baseman both cover the 2nd base bag, depending on the play. The short stop covers when its hit near the 2nd baseman, and the 2ndbaseman covers when it is hit to the shortstop. (another way of thinking about this is that first and third base only need one fielder on one side of the base because everything it on the other side of that base is a foul ball, but second base is in the middle of the field) 2nd Question: Short stop is the most demanding infield position because as a middle infielder (short stop/second baseman), you must cover the most ground to pick up ground balls. But, the short stop has to make a longer throw than the second baseman to get the ball to first base on a ground ball.
Shortstop is most demanding because players are primarily right handed and because of the fact that the shortstop is far from first base. The most common way to hit a ball is to have the bat swing slightly past home plate to meet the ball. The extra distance of the bat swing allows the batter to accelerate the bat to higher speeds and hit the ball harder. This results in the bat hitting the ball at an angle that pulls the ball towards the side of the field the batter is standing on. The majority of batters are right handed which means they hit from the left side of the plate. This results in a larger porpotion of strongly hit balls being hit directly towards the shortstop's area of responsibility. It requires incredible reflexes to get to the ball while it's still in the infield, and it also requires a very accurate and powerful throwing arm to then be able to throw out the batter trying to make it to first base when the shortstop is throwing from the opposite side of the infield. The 2nd baseman has similar responsibilities when facing left handed hitters, but even after he fields the ball he normally has a much easier throw to first base for the out.
another thing, baseball relies a lot on percentages, it's a very strategized game, things like sacrafice fly, bunts, stealing bases, intentional walks , etc are all called into play by the team manager to runners, batters by hand signals (some that mean something and some that don't) based on the strategy of advancing the base runners with the highest percentage of success , say, a bunt for instance . Most intentional walks by the pitcher are done to increase the chances of making a double play, to get out of a bad inning, etc , etc. The idea is to get as many guys on base to hopefully string a few hits together to get hopefully a big run scoring inning. A lot of strategizing goes on that the typical fan watching is unaware of, unless the TV commentator explains them to us watching on TV, That's how we learn mainly.
I love many sports but baseball is my favorite because its never over until after the last out. Great teams have good long relievers. A bad day from a starter gives the other team momentum. Pulling your starter and replacing him with a solid long reliever can settle the game and kill the opposition's momentum. This gives your offense a chance to catch up and still win the game. Their pitchers are just as susceptible to giving up just as many or more runs as your starter did in 1 or 2 innings, so you always play to win. A good performance from an LR doesn't require strikeouts and might allow hits, but those balls put in play often allow the defense to field them for outs. This is far better than watching your starter's doughnuts get rocketed into the outfield or launched repeatedly over the wall..
This is a good example of the value of reaction videos. I watch baseball videos all the time but have never until just now seen this one. Great fundamental introduction to the field positions, and fun watching you blokes react to it.
Going over the bin stuff is quite interesting. I was a left fielder when I played, and it's a pretty accurate description. Big guy, can throw the long ball with pinpoint accuracy, not the quickest but fast enough, and a power hitter.
Shortstop is the most demanding infield position because right handed hitters (which are most hitters) tend to hit the ball hard in his area of the field a lot, so a shortstop needs a good arm, a lot of range, and quick reactions
You're right, there _was_ one 6-4-3 DP in the World Baseball Classic Final - Top 7th, 1 out, Jeff McNeil on 2nd, Mookie Betts on 1st; Paul Goldschmidt hits an 0-2 splitter from Taisei Ota hard on the ground to the shortstop Sosuke Genda, who throws to second baseman Tetsuto Yamada to force out Betts, and Yamada throws to Kazuma Okamoto to force out Goldschmidt. (play-by-play from MLB Gameday) You have good memory, half the time I can't even remember who bats next for the team I'm rooting for
You’ll need to learn about “the shift” which Major League Baseball outlawed this year. The positions are actually numbered this way for score keeping. You’ll hear a double play from short to second to first called a 6-4-3.
Baseball has two unique characteristics compared with all other sports I'm aware of. 1. Each stadium is somewhat unique from the others. There are things that are uniform in all stadiums: the dimensions of the diamond are always the same. First base is always 90 feet from home plate, Second base is 90 feet from first, etc. The three bases, home plate, and the Pitcher's mound, things like the size of the coaching boxes along the baselines, the batter's box, etc., all these things are the same in all stadiums, at least in MLB. Those things all being the same, the outfield wall isn't uniform at all. The foul lines have a minimum distance they must be from Home Plate, and what they call Straightaway Center must also be a minimum distance, but even those dimensions have exceptions. The big one is that the rules were written recently enough that there are still two ballparks (Chicago's Wrigley Field and Boston's Fenway Park) that only sort of comply (or in Wrigley's case just ignore them). They are what are called "grandfathered in" in that no one can build a new stadium with Wrigley's dimensions, but Wrigley itself is fine. 2. The players participate in the game in two ways. Each player fields his position when the other team is batting, then is part of the batting order when the other team is fielding. The batting order is fixed to start the game. Each player on the fielding team, save the Pitcher, has a place in the batting order. In the first inning, the hitting team sends up their first batter (he's called the "leadoff" hitter) and then the second, the third, and so on. The Pitcher in this instance is replaced by someone called a "Designated Hitter" who doesn't field. Until each batter has batted once, no player can bat a second time, and the order must be maintained. Each batter who comes up to bat either scores (typically via a home run) gets on base, or is out. Three players getting out ends that team's chance to bat in that inning. The trick is this: the batting order is as I said fixed. The team typically has 27 players on their roster. 9 of them will be in the batting order to start. If the manager (what baseball calls a head coach) decides to take one of the players in the batting order out of the game, he can substitute one of his other players who isn't currently in the game, but the player taken out of the batting order can go to the showers; he can't participate in the game for the rest of the day. This adds a whole level of strategy to the game, from the manager's perspective. Baseball is a complex game, and there are tons of nuance and technicalities. Trust me, you won't completely understand what's going on for a while, but it's still fun to watch.
The shortstop is the most demanding infield position because he has a lot of ground to cover, and his throw to first base is long. A second baseman has considerable ground to cover, but his throw is short. Shortstops and 2nd baseman tend to be more agile, and often smaller, than 3rd baseman and 1st baseman, who have to defend much less ground. In the outfield the centerfielder is almost always a fast runner with a good arm as he is responsible for defending a large area and his throws are fairly long. The right fielder tends to have a stronger arm (long throws to 3rd base) than the left fielder (short throws to 3rd base).
I used to watch a bunch of different reaction channels, but you guys are so damn good I get disappointed at every other one. I've been here since 2k and I wish you all the best on your way up.
Shortstop is the most demanding simply because there are more right handed batters and the ball pulls to that side more often, so over millions of games we've seen that the shortstop position tends to field the most balls as a result.
You are correct in saying, depending on the situation, either the Shortstop or the second baseman has to cover second. If a right handed batter is up, usually it's the second baseman. If it's a lefty, usually the short stop. And we won't even go into double plays, stealing, bunts, the "cut off man" on throws from the outfield and such. Shortstop is most demanding because he has to cover the most ground and he has the longest throw to first base. So not only does he need to be quick and fast but he needs a cannon for an arm. Catcher is physically demanding. Especially on the knees. And mentally demanding for calling the pitches which he shares doing with the pitcher. Centerfield is like the SS of the outfield. But the arm strength is a little less important.
Shortstop as defensive position number 6 actually stems from when the position was called "rover" in the late 19th century. In the earlier codes of the game, the rover was not anchored to a specific position, and was free to move about the field, usually stationed in what is now foul territory.
If you enjoy what we do and want to show further support then you are welcome to donate using our PayPal link, you DO NOT need a PayPal account. If not, a simple like and sub would be amazing, thanks for all the support so far ❤️ www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=BZRANMGGL9Q9Q
Idea for future content... I live in Canton, OH where the Pro Football HOF is, I'm actually walking distance from it. I also play in an amateur baseball league. Some time in the future you could come out and see the hall of fame parade, induction ceremony and preseason game and also play in an actual baseball game against former college and pro baseball players all in the span of a week. Just something to think about.
Replying here so it has a better chance of being seen. Not sure what the major phone companies are across the pond, but if either of your, friends, loved ones, pets, etc have T-Mobile then you are eligible to receive free MLBtv. This would allow you to watch every game whenever you’d like and would normally cost more than 150 USD. Only is available through tomorrow so have to act fast, but it might help you both naturally get into the game.
The defending players position themselves ideally based on the situation of the game and the scouting report of the batter. If they think he might bunt (the batter just sticks the bat out and dinks the ball forward making the defenders run for it so baserunners can advance) then the 1st and 3rd basement might creep up closer to the plate. If they want to try to get a double play to stop a rally from the other team, then they' play at the ideal "double play depth." If they are up a bunch of runs late in the game, they might have their outfielders play farther back so that it's easier to hit a single but harder to hit for a double or triple, that is called "No doubles defense." If they know a batter likes to hit to one side of the field a lot (a "pull hitter") The defense might move everyone much more to that side (called a "shift'). If you are in a bases loaded situation late in the game and it's a close game and you don't want to let the team have any run. You might bring your entire infield in closer to the plate to throw the runner out at home plate. Those are most of the scenarios, also the pitcher is responsible for covering 1st base and home plate should the catcher or 1st baseman can't be their.
Good video. Only thing I'd add is that 3B (and to a lesser extent 1B) probably has the best reaction times on the field. A 3B typically sees line drives that are hit sharply down the line and due to the short distance between their position and the batter, it happens in the blink of an eye. These guys need superhuman reaction skills to grab that ball. Also, 3B and SS usually has a strong throwing arm, while 2B has great accuracy and coordination skills to be able to take a feed from another player in a double play.
This is why third base is called the "hot corner" - you're closer to the batter from there than from shortstop or second base, and the balls hit there are going to be going faster because it's the pull zone for righthanded hitters.
Shortstop is the most difficult position because it requires the greatest combination of speed, fielding ability, arm strength/accuracy and awareness while also receiving more balls hit in that direction. Compared to third base for example, which is almost an identical position except for the fact that the third baseman plays along the foul line, which means they don’t have to cover nearly as much ground as shortstop since almost all the entire area to their right is foul territory. Second base is similar to shortstop but it’s closer to first base so you don’t need to have as strong of an arm and (I’m not sure if this is actually true but I assume it is) since it’s on the right side of the field, they don’t get as many balls hit to them because most hitters are right-handed, and right-handed hitters mostly pull the ball to the left side of the field when they hit. Outfield isn’t easy and requires it’s own set of skills, but it’s a much less specialized skill set which is why teams often put their weaker defensive players out there. At lower levels, you’ll often see teams put their best players at pitcher and shortstop because those are the two most impactful positions. I wouldn’t worry about understanding how the scorecard works in baseball because most fans these days don’t, I reckon.
Most batters tend to hit the ball primarily to their "pull side" meaning that a right handed batter will tend to hit the ball to left field more often than he hits it to right field. Because of that, the shortstop will shade a bit more to the 3rd base side of his "normal" position, while the second baseman will shade closer to 2nd base. In the event of a play at 2nd base (for example an intended steal of 2nd by the runner on 1st base) it will be handled by the 2nd baseman because the shortstop is much further from the 2nd base "bag". The opposite would be true for a left handed hitter who hits the ball primarily to right field, a shortstop would most likely cover 2nd base.
4 & 6 (2nd baseman & shortstop) are both responsible for covering 2nd base, depending on where the ball is hit. Shortstop is where a team's best fielder tends to play because most batters are right handed, and right handed batters tend to "pull" the ball to the left side of the infield. The shortstop will see more ground balls hit to them than any other position.
Most people are righthanded (88% to 90%) and righthanded hitters tend to hit the ball to left field most often. A shortstop is positioned between the batter and left field, so he will have a larger percentage of balls hit to him than the first baseman or the second baseman. Because the foul line limits the amount of ground the third baseman must defend, this leaves the shortstop as the infielder who will handle the largest amount of batted balls. In addition, the shortstop must sometimes be the defender who stays close to a runner on second base to keep him from getting too much of a head start (called a lead in baseball) off second base. This, and a large number of mental responsibilities are some of the reasons why shortstop is one of the most demanding positions on the field.
The long relievers can be called to starts sometimes. A lot times the long reliever will also be "the 6th starter", someone who will be called on to start in the case of an injury or otherwise necessary.
Re. nobody covering second base: Shortstop and second baseman nowadays trade off responsibilities fielding hit balls, relaying throws from the outfield, and covering second base depending on where the ball is hit and where the runners are. Re. shortstop as most demanding position: Basically it's that shortstop is more demanding than third base because the shortstop has to cover second base on any ball hit to the right side, while also fielding any ball hit tot he left side, so they've got more thinking to do than a third baseman -- but also, on ground balls, they have to throw the ball to first base from farther away than a second baseman, so you need quick thinking, good speed at fielding, and a good arm too. I do think you learn a lot from playing baseball video games, but there's some things that I've only learned from having played as a teenager. A lot of people think that if the ball is stopped by an infielder that the outfielders can basically take the play off. Often that's true, but sometimes it's not, especially with runners on base. There might be a runner caught between bases, with the ball being thrown back and forth trying to tag him out -- the outfielders can help out a lot here if they get in position to field any errant throws. When I played right field, I knew that any ball hit to third base I'd better rush in towards first -- because our third baseman had a cannon of an arm, but it was a loose cannon, and I'd be trying to play the carom off the fence in foul territory to try and prevent the runner from advancing to second if the first baseman couldn't handle the throw. Another thing that some of the best fielders can do is watch the at-bat and guess where the ball is going to go, and position themselves accordingly. In MLB this is less valuable because there's all sorts of data on batters that is prepared in advance, but it's still useful to watch for trends -- once in youth ball I was in left field, and the shortstop was holding the runner on at second, and the third baseman was playing close to the base, and so that left a big gap between third base and short. From watching the batter's swings, I saw that -- while they hadn't made contact yet -- they were swinging with timing that, if they did hit it, would hit it straight towards me, and also they were missing the ball high, meaning if they did hit the ball it'd be more likely a ground ball. I therefore moved inwards to field any ground ball hit between shortstop and third. (As a side note -- my coach was actually telling me to move back, which I did until he stopped looking and then moved in.) It paid off, the ball was hit right to me, and while I didn't have a shot at getting the runner out at first, I was able to throw the ball to second base and hold him to a single.
It is a pretty recent thing for 2nd basemen and the short stops to be able to hit for power on a regular basis across teams. Even in the 90s it was pretty rare and didn't really start to change till Alex Rodriguez rose to prominence. Guys like Ozzie Guillen or Rafiel Belliard so rarely hit home runs that when they did it was often the highlight/lowlight of the game, depending on what side you were on. Whereas you had 1st baseman like Jon Olerud who wasn't a power hitter but hit for contact, which was also unusual for his position.
In the 60's and 70's shortstop Mark Belanger of the Baltimore Orioles often had an average below .200 and rarely homered. However, he was such a good fielder that he was still a regular starter. Into the 80's, 90's and beyond, shortstops in MLB have been much better hitters. In the 60's and early 70's pitchers dominated the game more so. In the 70's the rules were tweaked to help improve offence.
Probably the Best Power Hitter who played 2nd Base was Ryan Sandberg of the Cubs in the 1980s and 90s. He was great defensively and hit for both Average and Power. Robin Yount of the Brewers was like that at Shortstop, in the 1970s and 80s. Yount was moved to Centerfield later in his career after he hurt his arm, where he won his 2nd MVP ( won his 1st playing Shortstop) Probably Why the Both are in The Hall of Fame..😅
Not new at all - Honus Wagner was an excellent power hitter at SS, Ernie Banks hit 50 HR at SS early in his career. But it has been uncommon to have the whole package, and Banks himself ended up at 1B after some injuries.
Short stops generally have the most balls hit to them of all the infielders, and they often have to make the hardest plays. Many times when making a play they are moving in a direction other than the direction they need to throw the ball, which requires them to reorient their bodies in a split second in order to make the play. Short stops usually have the best throwing arms of the infielders (excluding the pitcher and catcher) because of the difficulty of the throws they need to make. Watch a highlight reel of Ozzie Smith, considered by many to be the greatest defensive short stop of all time, to get an idea of some of the difficult plays that short stops are called on to make.
I was a shortstop/pitcher. My first year playing baseball (7 years old), I was a platoon 3rd baseman. I moved to SS the next year and played there for the next 10 years. I started pitching when I was 11 and pitched through high school. I liked pitching, but I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED being the shortstop. I positioned both the infield and outfield. I also knew SS was the glamor position. One of the best compliments I ever got was from my brother. He was a year older than me, but we started school the same year. He played centerfield while I was at short. I heard him during an interview after a game and he was asked what he liked about playing centerfield (a position our oldest brother played and set school records in 1982 that still stand today). During his answer he said one of his favorite things in center was playing behind me and watch me make backhanded plays in deep short. He still doesn't know I heard him say that, but it is one of my favorite compliments I ever got...38 years later.
You guys should look at some of O’Neil Cruz’s highlights. He’s on the Pittsburgh Pirates, right now he’s out 4 months with an ankle fracture, but he’s a 6’7 shortstop, crazy strong arm. He has the fastest throw in the stat cast era
Another part of the reason that the shortstop's position is the most demanding is that he's kind of there as a utility guy and has to do a whole lot of different things. If a ground ball goes up the middle and the second baseman is the one that can get it, it becomes the shortstop's job to cover second base. If the third baseman has to field a ball, the shortstop may need to cover third base. A lot of time the pitchers aren't good fielders as they spend so much time working on their actual pitching and even if they are, a lot of times they'll still be a little off balance after throwing the pitch so they won't be able to cover the middle of the infield. So guess who often winds up getting the pitcher's back. They also might need to cover shallower parts of the outfield if the normal outfielders are playing deep. They just need to do a lot of different things and that's why the position is so demanding. They're kind of the plug-and-play, USB drives of baseball. Expected to do a whole lot of thing, just plug the dude in, and hope he can do what needs to be done.
2:55: " ... the most demanding position on the field" is probably catcher. Those guys tend to take a beating. So much so that catcher's equipment is sometimes referred to as "the tools of ignorance." 😄
Baseball is a rabbit hole of strategies within strategies. It also seems like they are relaxing between plays, but players are like sprinters; they go from 0-100 within seconds.
Shortstop is the toughest because it has the least amount of room for error . You can never bobble or misplay a ball and still throw the runner out. The third baseman or second baseman has some margin for error normally. Second has the shortest throw and third base the ball gets to them the quickest.
Completely right about long relievers. If the starter gets kicked around and gives up a big lead, you still have to play nine innings and you don't want to wear our the rest of your pitchers, so the long reliever comes in. And if he shuts down the opponent's hitters and his teammates score some runs and get back into the game, that's a bonus. If a long reliever excels, he gets promoted to starter or short reliever. A short reliever is the "closer" if he only pitches the final, ninth inning to wrap up a win. Coach Blewett didn't get into the mental attributes much, except that short relievers have a "bulldog," gunfighter mentality. So here goes: Pitchers are crazy. There is so much pressure on them, and perfection is demanded. If a hitter fails at the plate, it's almost expected, a star player still only gets a hit 30% of the time. Pitchers lose games on just one bad pitch. All the time. Pitchers deal with the pressure in various ways: Some are 100% coldblooded machines. Some are are merry pranksters; they're the reason pranks in the middle of games are a baseball institution. Some are total meatheads; they don't feel pressure because they're too dumb to grasp what's at stake -- No lie! And some are just nuts. You've heard of Pat Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs' superstar quarterback. His father was an MLB pitcher, Patrick Sr, who came up to the majors in 1992 with my team, the Minnesota Twins. He was a *terrific* athlete, but he couldn't handle pressure and he just folded in intense situations. The Twins gave up on him in 1996, he went through a succession of teams, basically one a year, year after year, until he bowed out of baseball in 2003. I was so glad when his son came on the scene and had the success his dad never had. Catchers are often geniuses. They call the every pitch in the game -- though the pitcher always has final say and will nod No, "shaking off" a pitch he doesn't want. They also have to be psychologists, knowing how to handle each pitcher's quirks -- Good luck with that! -- knowing exactly what to say, when to keep his mouth shut, and how to push a pitcher's buttons. He also sets up the defense, shifting fielders around in anticipation of each pitch. Retired catchers often become coaches and managers. Shortstops and second baseman are also smart as hell. Setting up the defense between pitches is rocket science, and they know what they're going to do before each pitch, and then have to make the right decision in an instant when the unexpected happens. There are no dummies among "middle infielders," and they too become coaches and managers. The other players can be of any intelligence or psychology. Center fielders and right fielders can be flat-out dumb: see ball, catch ball, throw ball. The outfielders in general are often there as hitters, not for their defensive abilities. Third basemen and first basemen are also often primarily hitters, though third basemen must have great reflexes and arms. First basemen are often older players, in their mid- to late-thirties, who no longer have the foot speed to play any position that requires running. Some are practically cripples, like Albert Pujols, and Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers, who is playing his final year this year. They may have tons of experience and be very smart, but they're relegated to the least physically demanding position.
Back in early baseball when pitchers were expected to complete games, the team's ace starter would often also be the closer and pitch that critical last inning. As pitchers had an increasing need to throw harder all the time the closer became a specialist pitcher. A role that isn't done so much now that was common in the past was a "Sunday pitcher" - back then with longer travel times there were more double headers and older pitchers who needed more rest than the normal 4 man rotation of starters could be stuck in to pitch spot starts when DHers piled up.
Score Cards. If you can keep score of a baseball game, you can pick up a very old score card and relive the whole game. Baseball had its first season in 1876 if memory serves correct, and if reading an old pitch by pitch, out by out score card you can envision a baseball game that took place before radio and TV were a thing. Score cards are still cool.
I'm this video broke down player body types. This translates to hitting as well. Usually the best OBP (On-Base Percentage) guys will bat 1st or 2nd. These guys draw walks and are typically good base stealers and get into scoring position easily. They are also very fast and can score from 1st if the ball is hit well enough. The big guys usually hit 3rd or 4th. The best play hits 3rd because it ensures up to 1-2 player can be on base for his 1st at-bat. The 4th spot is often called clean up. Basically they backup the 3rd hitter. Often one of these guys is a DH (Designated Hitter); they hit, but do not field a position. DHs have replaced pitchers for hitting. 5-7 kind of just depends on what you need. In general, across the whole lineup, fast players aren't placed behind slow players. Runner can't overlap the runner in front of them (that would be an out). 8th is usually your worst hitter. 9th is sometimes used as a secondary leadoff spot. Their job is to turn the lineup over and get the bats back to the big guys (3-4). Pitchers used to hit 9th because they were often very bad hitter. But they've gotten so bad recently, that the league just outlawed pitchers hitting for themselves. With one exception: Shohei Ohtani He's a pitcher, but also a power hitter. And he's fast too. He's a good hitter, so they let him hit. So he's the Angels' #1 Starter (or Ace), he sometimes bats 1st, or sometime he bats 3rd. That's why he's considered the best player of today's game.
Thanks for watching, we hope you enjoyed! Please like, share & subscribe to support the channel.
Other ways to support the channel:
Donate to the channel via PayPal (PayPal account not needed) - www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=BZRANMGGL9Q9Q
Join our Discord, meet the community, submit requests, be included in channel and content polls - discord.gg/cAkQwUuPN8
Find Great Baseball Products on Amazon - Our Affiliate Links are - amzn.to/3Mcl9G0 (Shirts) or amzn.to/3MdkYdB (Balls)
on average most ground balls will be hit into the zone where the short stop is. Plus, if there is a runner for the other team on first base, the shortstop is tasked with turning a possible double play. Plus, often the coaches give the shortstop the authority to adjust where the other infielders are standing (the diagram at the beginning is the basic setup, but the players can move around some before each batter comes up)
You don’t bring long relievers in the “save the day” but they give there teams way higher chances to win the next two days because the manager doesn’t have to get all of his relief pitchers tired.. hope that makes sense love the channel!
Stats play a huge role in this game (and of course help for Fantasy Baseball).
See videos of Javier Baez for some great shortstop videos.
Shortstop is the primary infield position because, with the vast majority of batters being righthanded, the left hand side of the infield is where the ball gets hit most of the time. Also, once someone is on first or second, someone needs to take charge of stopping those runners advancing/scoring. SS, being the extra man, is in the best position to orchestrate.
"vast majority of batters being righthanded, the left hand side of the infield is where the ball gets hit most of the time"
My sophomore year I had one ball hit to me all season playing second base. ONE. 😭
Also, the Shortstop has the longest throw to first, especially on ground balls fielded to his right... The 2nd baseman does NOT stand on 2nd base, except for extreme shifts, although he would have to move to 2nd base on balls hit to the SS or 3B, or to cover the base for steals.
Thanks for the context, appreciate it!
@@DNReacts to be clear the third baseman needs as good an arm as shortstop. Also he needs a quick reaction time. 3rd base is known as the “hot corner” of the diamond because the third basemen sets up closer to the plate and ground balls can be screaming at you.
And the shortstop/second baseman will also have the runner trying to slide into them to break up a double play when whichever one is covering second base.
You guys have done well to recognize the value of getting on base. It’s the central tenet of the modern advanced statistics revolution. It’s also a bit of a meme from the excellent baseball movie “Moneyball.” The film tells the story of the 2002 Oakland A’s and general manager Billy Beane who was tasked with rebuilding the team with a very limited budget.
Obviously you guys can’t just sit here and watch movies for this channel but I think it would be a blast if you guys had a series where you watched some of the most popular movies of these new sports and gave your thoughts on them. Another great video guys, keep it up!
“👉” “Because he gets on base”
I'd watch a reaction to Field of Dreams for sure.
Thanks Roger, appreciate the comment, will add this to our list, sounds like a great idea!
@@downrighttt “So he walks a lot.”
@@DNReacts one of my favorite movies in general, it's great for people new to baseball as well and the experienced fans. Has some good comedic moments too.
Scorecard scoring stuff is very complex it's completely OK if you don't get it bc most ppl don't
I learned how to do it by being the scorekeeper when my boys were playing! But it's hard because the game moves so fast and you can miss something so easily!
Yeah, the people who know how to do it, tend to have learned doing it as a kid. It's sort of how it's easier to learn a language when your young. For some odd dam reason, my dad had note books of games he scored from the radio or tv. He never looked at them again after he scored it but that was his thing. I learned how to do it from watching him and asking a few questions. I am 62 now and I would say the majority of male baseball fans my age know how to do it. But I think that starts to fall off shortly after my age group. Mainly because Football passed Baseball as the number one sport in the 80's. But if your on some sort of organized team, don't ever tell anyone you know how to do it or it will quickly become your job. The bad part of that is, now you have to pay attention instead of goofing off with your friends during the game and less time for drinking. LOL.
@@boki1693 sometimes there's just miscommunication about whether plays are errors or hits and how to score rundowns and stuff it can get pretty complex
@@boki1693 You're so right! I am your age and when my boys were playing, I always got tagged as Team Mom and then scorekeeper. The coach's wife taught me how to do it because she wanted to have fun! And believe me, there was more than one occasion when the game was stopped because we scorekeepers needed to check each other! p.s. I STILL have all my score books and my one son who was a pitcher and SS loves to go through it and especially likes to count up his K's!
No. It isn't. Well maybe it is for you. Sad
6-4-3 is the most common double play in baseball. It was immortalized in "Baseball's Sad Lexicon" aka "Tinker to Evers to Chance"
Shortstop is the most demanding position because most batters are right handed, they’re going to tend to hit fast grounders to center left. And if there’s a runner on first they have to quickly throw to 2nd to get a double play. They also cover 2nd base if the ball is hit to the 2nd baseman
One thing that wasn't touched on is how a particular position may dictate which hand a player throws with. For example.....3B, SS, 2B and C are basically always right handed throwers. This is due to the geometry of the throws they have to make and this has been consistent throughout the history of the game. Typically a 1B can be either, but it's more advantageous if the 1B throws left handed, since having the glove on the right hand makes the tag quicker when a pitcher throws to 1B in an attempt to pick off a base runner. Also, a left handed throwing 1B has the advantage of an easier throw to 2B when he fields a ground ball and throws to 2B in an attempt to get out a runner trying to advance from first base to second base. As far as the outfield, it doesn't really matter as much.
One other thing is, infielders LOVE a large first baseman because they have a bigger target to throw to, plus a larger person obviously has greater static range to receive throws.....especially throws that might be off target, while still being able to keep his foot on first base to record the out. Add in the fact that a taller first baseman has a longer stretch to go out and get throws, basically shortening the length of the throw from an infielder. In a very close play, this could be the difference between a safe, or out call.
@DNReacts this is a really good catch.
To expand on it, one thing the video didn't really touch on was throwing arm strength. The first- and second-basemen don't often need to make long throws, but the shortstops and third-basemen do several times each game. It's important for the catchers and center fielders to be able to throw well. But one quirk you might not expect is that being able to make long and accurate throws is far more important for the right fielder than the left fielder. The reason is that they rarely have to make throws to first base, but often do to third - either to catch a batter trying to take an extra base (stretch a single into a double, or a double into a triple), or to stop a runner from attempting it.
That's why Ichiro, who's small for a ballplayer and relied heavily on his speed, played most of his career in right rather than center - his throwing arm was incredible.
It's also why you'll generally find guys who are poor defensive players and primarily on the team for their hitting to be playing left field (hopefully they'll at least have good foot speed here) or first base. A lot of great hitters who are no longer able to play their natural field positions well will end their careers playing first base. Ironically, though the first-baseman doesn't have to have the range and arm strength as the other positions, he will be handling the ball on around half the plays (unlike any of the other defenders), so there is something to be said for having a premium defender like John Olerud at the position.
Long relievers are there specifically so you dont give up on a game that gets away from you early. If its 7-1 after 3 innings, you obviously aren't expecting to win, but often one of the differences between good and great teams are the ones that can come back to win those. And good long relief pitching is the key to do it.
It's also where a veteran is damned useful, because they have to be so mentally composed.
Thanks Deano, appreciate this context!
We're being a little unfair. The Long Reliever is valuable any time the Starter has to leave the game early. The Starter may get blown out, but he might also be injured, raise a blister on his pitching hand, or even get kicked out for swearing at the umpire. Ideally, a Long Reliever has the same skillset as a Starter, particularly the ability to pitch to both sides of the plate. In practice they are less skilled because if they were stronger, they'd BE the Starters.
@@scottbilger9294 Agree with this. High quality long relief is mandatory so you can assure that your short relievers are not over used. Since those guys usually only go an inning or two, and generally don't pitch more than two days in a row, a long reliever who can eat innings will save your bullpen from overuse and save those guys for the high leverage situations where they are most valuable.
A long reliever is also used when a starter is on limited pitch counts for one reason or another. Throw your starter for 3-4 innings or maybe 60 pitches and then bring in your long relief guy for 3-4 and turn it over to a 1 inning bullpen guy to close it out. Super valuable in a situation like the Texas Rangers with Jacob deGrom, who is on pitch count restrictions for a while. Keep your starters overall workload down early in the season, so they are better rested for the end of the season when the grind really starts wearing on them.
Teams rarely come back from a big early deficit. The main value of a long reliever is to save the team's bullpen (the other relief pitchers) for the next game.
Scoring is just another hobby level of baseball enjoyment. I love going to games and seeing the old guy listening to game on the radio while being there taking pride in his score card.
As an American born in the 60"s, I have always loved baseball as far back I can remember. Seeing people new to game attempt a serious effort to learn about the game. Great channel.
Thank you Jack, really appreciate the comment! We’ve been really enjoying the journey to understand how great Baseball is
I think you two should watch some videos from pitching ninja. He makes really good content that breaks down pitches and shows why certain pitches are really effective/impressive. The angle of the camera in a lot of stadiums can somewhat obscure the movement some pitches make so he provides extra context
I second this recommendation
1:41 Yes, the picture is setup to be symmetrical. Players don't line up in those exact positions (except the pitcher and catcher.) They will shift around depending on who's at bat and the baserunning situation. Prior to 2023, you would even see situations where the third basemen would move to the other side of the field between the second and first basemen against some left-handed hitters. This was outlawed in 2023 and now two infielders must be on either side second base to start play.
This setup at the start of the video is basically how it is in actual games, though players often adjust their positioning on the field when it's well known that a certain hitter has certain tendencies when hitting the ball, such as pulling the ball in a certain direction. This kind of adjustment of players on the field is known as a "shift," and one of the new rules put in place this year limits teams from doing extreme shifts where, for example, three out of four infielders are on one side of the diamond (e.g., first baseman at first base, second baseman midway between first and second, shortstop right behind second base or even slightly to the right of it, and third baseman midway between second and third). Also, here's a fun fact: a lot of pitchers played shortstop at some point early on as kids. Why? Because both types of players have to have amazing arms.
I'm loving seeing everything click for you guys! I'm also super impressed by how often you intuit things about the game, you're really picking up on it quickly
Thank you Alex, really appreciate the comment!
Keep in mind that batting position is also important, based on the strengths of each hitter. As you mention, not every hitter is going to get up there and hit a home run, or have home run potential. But the game was originally designed for "small ball," with men getting on base and the batters after them pushing them one base at a time until they score (that's oversimplified, but it's the basic idea of the game). Each base is a station along the way, getting 90 feet closer to scoring a run. So while it's nice to have a couple of power hitters on a team, it's also important to have reliable hitters who get on base, even if they're just hitting a lot of singles and doubles.
Long Reliever could also be "spot starters" sometimes they start games if the usual starter in the rotation can't play, either due to injury, or rest, and the Starting option in the Farm System isn't ready to be called up yet.
The chart is roughly how the positions set up. There can be a heavy shift to one side or the other. Also many players may move in much closer depending on the hitter or the game situations. One reason to track hitters to follow if they hit consistently to the left or right. They would want to have the defensive player move that way. Some players have a problem hitting with any power (or they are in a slump) so everyone moves in closer. Most times the shift is a good idea. Other times it can be a disaster. The vast majority of inside the park homeruns are due to a misplayed shift.
Loving the MLB stuff on here! You guys should check out the most spectacular double plays of all time, mind-blowing plays.
Regarding Bin 2 - surprised they didn't mention that left-handed players almost never play third-base in the modern game because the extra fraction of a second it takes to turn your body from that angle when throwing with your left hand could be the difference between a runner being safe and out at first base. They might bat lefty, but they almost universally throw right-handed.
You are correct about the positioning of infielders changing during the game and it all depends on the batter, the pitch positioning, and if there are runners on base. This is why scouting other teams players is important as you find out where opposing batters naturally put the ball in play (this also depends on the type and positioning of pitches). Baseball has always been called ‘a thinking man’s game’.
I love that you guys say Base 1, Base 2, etc. We say 1st base, 2nd base, 3rd base. You're not wrong. Just different. Well done gents. Another great reaction.
😅 Thank you Jamison, appreciate the comment!
A pitching role that I'm surprised wasn't made is the "Closer". Maybe that's because they are a specialized short reliever - but I still think it's a role that deserves its own special mention at this point in the pitcher breakdown. The Closer is king of the short relievers lol. They typically come into the game in the last inning (as the moniker would suggest) when your team is ahead by by three runs or fewer. They need to work well under extreme pressure and be able to "finish" batters off in order to secure your team's win. I find these pitchers are quite often a special ilk of their own and sometimes even *require* that heightened sense of "game-on-the-line" pressure to achieve their best work. They are awarded a "Save" if they successfully keep the team ahead for the win.
Regarding the long reliever; they aren't necessarily a throw away pitcher meant to eat up innings when things have gone so terribly wrong that there's little hope of regaining a lead (although that is a role they may have to play). If a starter gets into a jam, he may see his pitch count elevated to the point where injury may be more likely, you may have to bring in a short reliever to "put out the fire", say in a situations where a few runs have scored while the bases remain loaded. Once the short reliever(s) have (hopefully) minimized the damage, you'll then need someone reliable to give your team the best chance of catching back up to the opposition.
In any case, this was a great recommended video to get an overall picture of the positions - it's been terrific to see you guys learn about the game, and even correctly surmise different aspects of it before they've even been explained to you. Very cool! I think you are having much more success than if I were to venture into the finer points and inner workings of Cricket!!
The Shortstop Position covers the most area as an infielder and that's why it's the most important. However, having played 3rd Base in high school, I personally feel that position is way more important because they need to have agility and arm strength, accuracy.
I loved playing 3rd base but I didn't like pull back bunts when I charged in. I had some near death experiences with balls flying by my head.
Hard disagree, the SS is just as if not farther from 1B for throws, especially on deep shifts, and has a lot more area to cover. Not to mention getting about half of double play balls.
Actually not even hard disagree, I'm going harder, that's just flat out wrong. Fangraphs even put a number on it, 3B +2.5 runs, SS at +7.5, an average SS is worth 5 runs more than an average 3B on defense, over a season.
@@alexisborden3191 No one said it was easier to play SS. Most people enjoy playing the 3B position. I loved it because of the majority of pull line drives from right handed hitters go there. Much harder when you see those plays in action in POV as opposed to covering and running after a grounder up the middle, still hard, but I'd say a screaming 100+ MPH hit coming at your head a much harder experience to witness.
I covered way more ground as a 2nd baseman than any of our Shortstops. Ss and 2nd basemen cover the same amount of area on the foeld.
First bin would be Outfield, Short stop snd second base, Second bin would be third base and Catcher. Third bin would be First Base and Designated Hitter.
The order in which players bat is also very important and calculated. It’s based on their batting skill and if they are power hitters or contact hitters, etc
Shortstops also need to have the best arm on the infield as their throws to first are often the longest out of any position if they have to range to their right (towards the 3rd base hole). It's a REALLY hard position to play
3B IMO
SS needs good arms strength coupled with agility and range. Third base needs the stronger throwing arm, since they're often making throws from the foul line and beyond over to first.
@@jamesoliver6625nope. SS has the longest throw to 1st
@@sector986 Only if you use SS to cover all the 3B/SS hole. If you play infielders to have maximum coverage with their gloved hand, and you don't have a LH first baseman, then your 3B is played short of the grass and just NOT guarding the line if he has the arm to make the throw. He covers the deep hole, SS covers the short hole and extends beyond 2B. This allows lower level teams without a LH firstbaseman to play pretty tight.
@@jamesoliver6625 if the throw from 3b is near the foul line sure it’s farther. But if the SS fields the ball in normal SS territory then SS is farther.
Really loving you guys' baseball videos. The season is super long. Hope you don't burn out!
With respect to placement on the field, it's true players will shift slightly on the field in whole or in part of the team depending on the circumstances. For example if a left-handed batter is up, because they are more likely to hit the ball to the left side of the field, the outfielders and maybe the shortstop and 2nd baseman might move several feet to their right, which is towards the left side of the field. Likewise, and at the professional level this is less pronounced, but some batters are known with a reputation of NOT having a lot of power when batting, so the outfielders and the infielders may move forward several feet anticipating that the ball won't be going as far if hit. This latter example happens more often at non-professional levels of the game. In fact if a batter is well known for not being a good hitter, you may hear the fielders yell, "easy out", and everyone shifts forward expecting that if the player managers to actually hit the pitch, it's not likely to go very far into the field which means by shifting forward the ball is caught by someone sooner (especially a ground ball as opposed to a fly ball) and can therefore be thrown to first base more quickly to get the batter out. Here's a one-minute example of the latter scenario done humorously. th-cam.com/video/0tpbNAbJIyw/w-d-xo.html
Shortstop is so demanding because,like he said it used to be a shallow out field position, the Short stop covers shallow infield between Second and Third, and shallow outfield between Left and Center.
2nd basemen cover the exact same amount of field on the right side of the bag. In the infield and outfield. I played 2nd, ss and of.
Also you are wrong on the infield. 3rd basemen take short infield grounders…
Bill James, who was one of the first statistical analysts to focus on baseball, observed that difficulty of positions tended to run SS-2B-CF-3B-Lf-RF-1B. Catchers were coounsidered a specialist position outside this pattern.
Also, in recent years, there has been a tendency to have middle relievers, who would specialize in preserving a lead or keeping a game close in later innings before the closing specialist would pitch the last inning or two.
One of the beauties of baseball is just that… it’s a long season… but spring isn’t spring without opening day… long summer nights with the radio in the background and then the pennant races checking the stats and the standings in the paper in the morning… boys it’s more than just the game
I'd personally say that Shortstop is the 3rd most demanding position behind catcher which is far and away the most demanding, and center field especially due to the toll it's taken on guys like Ken Griffey Jr. and Byron Buxton.
Shortstop is the most demanding infield defensive position (apart from maybe catcher) because it’s like 2nd base in that you have to cover a lot of ground in every direction because you aren’t near a foul line on one side, plus it’s like 3rd base in there being a long throw to first base where a significant number of putouts must occur.
I'm glad you reacted to Coach Dan Blewett. His videos are great and very informative for young players/coaches.
Thanks Michael! We really enjoyed this one
Sometimes I like to sit there and talk to you while you watch it because I find myself answering your questions while I watch the contact with you
Next part is understanding how the line up works traditionally. 1st Batter also Leadoff batter- they are great at contact and speedster. High on base percentage don't need a lot of power. 2nd Batter is generally your best on base guy doesn't need to have a ton of power, they can move that first Batter to scoring position aka second base. 3rd Batter is your second most powerful Batter their job is to move the base runners. 4th Batter or the Clean up Batter. They have the most powerful bat on the team. This player can hit the ball consistently and can hit Homer's. The rest of the batters are generally in order of power where 8 and 9 batters are your worst batters. Generally your line up should try to alternate between left and right handed batters. Making it harder for the pitcher. Depending on the schedule a team may have more of righty or lefty batters depending on rest and opponents starting pitching. When subs are put in late in a game they may switch righty or lefty to try to get an advantage. The manager in baseball is like general that will try to figure the best ways to get runs or prevent runs. Could go on for days
As a Bigger player with a Strong Arm my "Skilled" position was Catcher but I also played 1st Base and Right field. You guys have really started to catch on to American sports!!
Coach Dan has other basic videos that you might wish to take the time to view. His on gripping the ball for all the pitches is very good.
Up the middle fielders must have range so they need to be speedy. Corner infielders need quick reactions more than speed because the ball gets to them faster. Corner outfielders need strong arms like all outfielders, but they do not need to be quick or fast.
The graphic used is the basic fielding position for batters that spray the ball in all directions. If a batter hits the ball to the right or left most of the time, the fielders will shift their positioning to match the batter. If the batter has no power, the outfielders will play in. If the batter has power, the outfielders will play further out. If the game is really close and there is a runner on third base with less than two outs, do not be surprised to see both infielders and outfielder play in so they have a chance to throw the runner heading home out at home plate. Another common positioning change is if there is a runner at first base with less than two outs, the second baseman and shortstop will play in just a little so they can make a double play easier to perform by positioning themselves closer to second base. So besides the batter’s tendencies, conditional situations can affect the fielders positioning.
The long reliever's primary role is to save the elite arms of the pitching staff for as long as possible - we here in America would call them a "journeyman" - innings grinders, that have the stuff to keep the team in play for many innings, but generally lacks the elite stuff that crushes the other team's batters. IF a starter has a poor start, and gets pulled 2 or 3 innings in, you don't want to dip into your starters or elite relievers to fill in, because it's too early in the game to do that. So your long-relievers are the "filler," so to speak. If they hold up well and keep the opponent from scoring too much more, and their team bats their way back into a competitive game, then the manager will go to the short-relievers to try to shut down any more offense for the opponent.
If they DO manage to catch up and pull ahead, the manager will go to the most elite of the short-relievers, the CLOSER. This short-reliever will almost always be a shut-down pitcher, sometimes referred to as the "Stopper," who has elite stuff on par with - sometimes BETTER than - the starters, but lacks the endurance to pitch 5-7 innings (the typical outing of a starter). The more you guys watch baseball, you will find that many of the league's top closers are former starters who've lost their endurance for long outings. They still have some of their nastiest stuff, but they tire out faster as they've aged, and so convert to closing so the team can still take advantage of their best work as long as possible. The closer is so important to a team, that they are the highest paid relievers, and often make the same - or very close to the same - money as the starters. If the closer pitches an inning or two with a lead, and finishing the game with a win, and doesn't allow the opponent to take over the lead, he is credited with a SAVE. You will hear announcers talk about the number of "saves" a closer has, when they talk about how good or bad that particular closer has been that season, or comparing their current seasons with previous ones. SAVES are a crucial number for elite closers who want to be considered for the Hall of Fame, much like WINS are what matters most for starters. The numbers of saves per season also plays into how much money elite closers can command. A team is "buying" saves when they sign an elite closer, as much as they are "buying" wins when they sign a starter.
The biggest difference between a starter and a closer is this: a starter generally plays once every five games. Teams usually have 4-5 starters, and they rotate. So each starter gets at least 4-5 days of rest in between starts. The closer pitches every game that there's a lead in the 8th or 9th inning. So if the starting rotation is successful for three weeks straight, the closer has likely played every single game, for an inning or two. If the closer shows signs of tiring, the team may rest him for a day or two, and then the best short reliever will be held back and serve as the closer for the duration. The ideal situation for a team is to only need the closer for the 9th inning. The starter pitches 7 innings - UNLESS the starter is pitching a NO HITTER, and isn't too high in his pitch count, in which case they'll leave him in to see if he can close out his own game. This is a respect thing - teams will never pull a pitcher throwing a potential no hitter or perfect game
(side note:
NO-HITTER = no hits by the opponent, but getting on base with walks, errors, or batters hit by pitch may happen;
PERFECT GAME = NO ONE on opposing team gets on base - NO hits, NO walks, NO errors, NO batters hit by pitch, NO ONE gets on base)
unless the pitcher has long passed a pitch count threshold, or his pitches are starting to slow or lose movement from tiring out. He can still get a no-hitter if the relievers and/or closer finishes the game out with no hits given up, it's typically referred to as a "combined no-hitter."
After the starter pitches his 5-7 innings, short-relievers come in to pitch 2-3 innings, try to get to the 9th inning. If the bullpen is struggling, the closer may be called in to close out the game for a couple of innings, but they try to not have to do that. They usually need their closer for every win, so they try to have him only pitch the 9th inning to close out a win, so his arm is as fresh as possible the next day. Sometimes, they may even leave in a short-reliever who's pitching really well, to give the closer an extra day of rest. If they don't HAVE to use him, they'll let him rest. But on a team with a lot of wins, the closer has pitched almost all of the winning games, often making them close to the most used pitcher in total innings pitched in a season, even more than some of the starters.
Baseball seasons are a marathon. You usually have 5 starting pitchers who rotate each game. And baseball games during a season are played just about every single day. If a pitcher has a bad start and gets pulled from the game by the manager, you don't want to use your reliable relief pitchers and tire their arms out more than necessary. So the long reliever will come in and eat up innings to save good arms in the bullpen. Same thing in a series in the playoffs. In the playoffs, each matchup is a best of 7 series. Over the course of a 7 game series, you don't want your pitchers to get worn out. Worn out pitchers and tired arms tend to perform way worse, and hitters will start crushing them. You need to save your best arms for crucial moments if at all possible.
1:46
Most of the time the second baseman will be playing as it is showed in the picture, the only time you are really gonna see the second baseman stand on second base is if there is a runner on second base with a right handed hitter in the box, thanks for learning our sport boys 🙏🙏
Long relievers often come on in the 6th or 7th inning to protect a lead. So, having a talented long reliever is important.
if you’re gonna be watching baseball games, these videos will help with some of the terminology the announcers will say - like a “6-4-3 double play” is a super common thing and they say that a lot
one thing he didn’t mention was the term “closer” which i guess would be a short reliever, the closer is the guy that comes in at the end of the game to just shut the batters down and end the game and strike everybody out
Yeah, don't worry about the scoring stuff at this time :). I score internationally, was the scorer for gold medal match in Tokyo in 2021 between Japan and USA, but even today something came up that I had to think about and work through. It's very complex and complicated... But so much fun :)
Team makeup thoughts:
Pitchers and catchers have to spend lots of time on their defensive roles (strategizing, watching video on getting the other teams' batters out) to the point that they aren't as good fielding balls or hitting. If a catcher can mentally control a game, communicate to other fielders, call the correct pitches from the pitchers, block balls in the dirt and can throw a ball down to 2B in 2.00 seconds or less (POP time: from when it hits his glove to when it hits the fielder's glove at 2B), then any hit by them in a game is a bonus.
SS and 2B similarly have to be very good at their positions to the point that a team will pick a person who is better defensively than they are a hitter.
3B/1B/LF/RF are usually better hitters b/c the defensive demands at those positions are less than P/C/SS/2B. A team is willing to have a more mediocre fielder at these positions if they can hit well/hard. 3B still has to be quick since the hardest ground balls are hit his way and he's closer than most defenders to the hitter, and has to throw the ball 120'-140' across the diamond to first base quickly. It helps if a 1B is tall (bigger reach/target to throw at) as well.
CF needs to hit well and be fast; like he said, catch everything.
RF needs to have one of the strongest arms since a good amount of balls hit to the outfield need to be thrown to 3rd base, w/ right field being the furthest from that spot.
And like he said, a team will not hesitate and pay more for a player who is good both defensively and as a hitter. Examples, Ichiro Suzuki can hit for contact and had one of the best outfielder arms ever. Jose Altuve and Dustin Pedroia played 2B and could hit for power. Shohei Otani can hit and pitch. Greg Maddux could pitch and defend very well. Jorge Posada could catch and hit.
i will forever call the shortstop "shortstopper" from now on love it
Throw from shortstop to first is the furthest. Majority of hitters are right handed so in theory most ground balls are hit in that direction.
The best experience of watching baseball is if you get to know one team and it's players. Then you start to see and understand all the strategy involved.
The shortstop is the most demanding for a few reasons. First, he needs to be athletic and fast to get to ground balls and needs a strong arm to make the throw to first and do so quickly. Also he is in charge of covering second base on balls hit to the second baseman’s side especially if hit into the outfield and the hitter tries to get a double. If there is a left handed hitter batting and a runner on first he is in charge of covering second if the runner attempts to steal second. The second baseman will cover when there is a right handed hitter. That is because hitters will pull the ball more frequently than hitting it to the opposite field. For a right handed hitter “pulling the ball” means hitting it to the third baseman/shortstop side and “hitting it to opposite field” means hitting it to the first baseman’s/second baseman’s side. Hope this helps
Since you guys picked your teams to root for this year, you should watch highlights for each of them! For the Cubs that would be highlights of the World Series in 2016 (or Game 7 on it’s own) and for the Padres it would be the 2022 NLDS against the Dodgers. Both amazing series’, Hope you check them out! Love the vids, keep it up!
Thanks Owen, appreciate your support! Thank you for these suggestions too, have added them both to our list, sounds great!
On pitchers and their roles, Starting Pitchers are generally expected to pitch at least 5 innings, some up to 8 or 9 ie the whole game. A team has 13 pitchers in total, and can divide them between starters and relievers however they like, most typically 5 starters and 8 relievers. Thus with 5 starters they rotate through thus a teams starting pitchers are called a Rotation. Starters over the course of a year will typically throw between 130 or 140 on the low side, to 200 or 220 on the high side. Relievers are more sprinters as mentioned, long relievers will usually go between 2 and up to 4 or 5 innings. Often times long relievers are either prospects and the team wants to kind of just try them out and see how they do, or they're a 'failed' starter and simply don't have the skills for the team to want them pitching a majority of the game. A long reliever is typically going to throw anywhere from 30 or 40 to 100 innings. Meanwhile a short reliever is someone who is only expected to go 1 inning, some can go 2. Generally have the highest strikeout rate but also highest walk rate as mentioned. Usually will throw around 60 innings over a year. Short relievers can also be broken down into further subsets, the Closer is typically the best reliever on the team, traditionally the Closer has been so named to close out the game, old wisdom being that the 9th inning when you're ahead is the situation you want to use you're best pitcher. Modern wisdom is that you want to use your best pitcher when the best hitters are up in a tied or 1 run game, however we generally still call the best reliever the Closer. You also have the Setup or sometimes Fireman, usually the second best reliever, named for 'setting up' in the 8th inning for the Closer to then pitch the 9th. Or the Fireman name which comes from the role of coming in in a critical situation to 'put out a fire' however smart managers will pitch the Closer in this situation. A lot of pitching strategy is managing which pitchers in which situations, and when to make pitching changes.
Right- #4 moves to cover second base if a play needs to be made there- otherwise, he fills the gap on the right side of the infield . The pitcher acts as the defender for any= ball hit "up the middle" (meaning directly toward 2nd base...). Since most batters hit "right handed" (with their right hand lower than their left hand on the handle of the bat), the majority of hit balls head for the left side of the "diamond, " so the "shortstop" is involved in a large number of ground ball plays. You guys are very sharp and very quick studies- nice to see you picking up the admittedly arcane nuances of this wonderful game as quickly as you do! Kudos, and enjoy the baseball season!
Alot of old classic games from the 70s and 80s will teach you alot of good stuff. The announcers back than seem to be more intune and with the fans and games and tell stories. You can find these games on TH-cam and honestly it's great to see baseball my dad grew up watching. You should check them out.
Yes, a long reliever is basically a middle of the pack pitcher who punches out a few innings to save the other arms for another day. Many times they're younger potchers trying to figure out their role on the team, or guys towards the end of there career, but still can still baseball pretty well.
Wow I even learned something from that. Thanks guys!!
About the shortstop, he usually acts as a captain when on defense. It is his job to organize the infield and communicate with all the other players (infield and outfield) about what they should anticipate or prepare for. Also most hitters are right handed and tend to hit the ball to their strong side more often then away from them. This means the shortstops side of the infield is generally busier than the second basemans side. Of course this changes game to game but generally it seems to be true.
It's awesome to see you guys start to understand the strategy behind the game. Getting on base is the most important aspect of offense. Homeruns are amazing but a well timed single or double can be just as important. One aspect that wasn't covered was the batting order. Its pretty universal that the first 2 hitters are pure contact and speed guys. Their job is to get on base any way they can and to steal bases once they get on. Batters 3-5 are the premier power hitters. These are the stars of the team. The guys who hit for the best average and most power. These are the homerun hitters. after them is usually ordered based on who is the best remaining hitter in the lineup.
The SS and 2B share the duties of covering second base. The general rule of thumb is if there’s a right handed batter the 2B covers second base. If there’s a left handed batter the SS covers second base.
Some excellent questions here! But I have to disagree with the coach. In early baseball--in the 19th and turn of the 20th century--the shortstop played far CLOSER in, on the grass near the pitcher. A baseball field's grass wasn't as well tended or mowed as modern-day infields are, so ground balls off the hitter's bat would often come to a premature rest in the relatively long grass. The shortstop's job was to get to those grounders that "stopped short." But as baseball parks became better tended and balls regularly bounced through the infield grass, the shortstop became better deployed as part of a defensive tandem in the middle infield between the bases (along with the second baseman).
1st Question: Short stop and 2nd baseman both cover the 2nd base bag, depending on the play. The short stop covers when its hit near the 2nd baseman, and the 2ndbaseman covers when it is hit to the shortstop. (another way of thinking about this is that first and third base only need one fielder on one side of the base because everything it on the other side of that base is a foul ball, but second base is in the middle of the field)
2nd Question: Short stop is the most demanding infield position because as a middle infielder (short stop/second baseman), you must cover the most ground to pick up ground balls. But, the short stop has to make a longer throw than the second baseman to get the ball to first base on a ground ball.
Shortstop is most demanding because players are primarily right handed and because of the fact that the shortstop is far from first base. The most common way to hit a ball is to have the bat swing slightly past home plate to meet the ball. The extra distance of the bat swing allows the batter to accelerate the bat to higher speeds and hit the ball harder. This results in the bat hitting the ball at an angle that pulls the ball towards the side of the field the batter is standing on. The majority of batters are right handed which means they hit from the left side of the plate. This results in a larger porpotion of strongly hit balls being hit directly towards the shortstop's area of responsibility. It requires incredible reflexes to get to the ball while it's still in the infield, and it also requires a very accurate and powerful throwing arm to then be able to throw out the batter trying to make it to first base when the shortstop is throwing from the opposite side of the infield. The 2nd baseman has similar responsibilities when facing left handed hitters, but even after he fields the ball he normally has a much easier throw to first base for the out.
another thing, baseball relies a lot on percentages, it's a very strategized game, things like sacrafice fly, bunts, stealing bases, intentional walks , etc are all called into play by the team manager to runners, batters by hand signals (some that mean something and some that don't) based on the strategy of advancing the base runners with the highest percentage of success , say, a bunt for instance . Most intentional walks by the pitcher are done to increase the chances of making a double play, to get out of a bad inning, etc , etc. The idea is to get as many guys on base to hopefully string a few hits together to get hopefully a big run scoring inning. A lot of strategizing goes on that the typical fan watching is unaware of, unless the TV commentator explains them to us watching on TV, That's how we learn mainly.
I love many sports but baseball is my favorite because its never over until after the last out. Great teams have good long relievers. A bad day from a starter gives the other team momentum. Pulling your starter and replacing him with a solid long reliever can settle the game and kill the opposition's momentum. This gives your offense a chance to catch up and still win the game. Their pitchers are just as susceptible to giving up just as many or more runs as your starter did in 1 or 2 innings, so you always play to win. A good performance from an LR doesn't require strikeouts and might allow hits, but those balls put in play often allow the defense to field them for outs. This is far better than watching your starter's doughnuts get rocketed into the outfield or launched repeatedly over the wall..
Appreciate the comment, great read. Thank you 🙏
This is a good example of the value of reaction videos. I watch baseball videos all the time but have never until just now seen this one. Great fundamental introduction to the field positions, and fun watching you blokes react to it.
Going over the bin stuff is quite interesting. I was a left fielder when I played, and it's a pretty accurate description. Big guy, can throw the long ball with pinpoint accuracy, not the quickest but fast enough, and a power hitter.
Shortstop is the most demanding infield position because right handed hitters (which are most hitters) tend to hit the ball hard in his area of the field a lot, so a shortstop needs a good arm, a lot of range, and quick reactions
You're right, there _was_ one 6-4-3 DP in the World Baseball Classic Final - Top 7th, 1 out, Jeff McNeil on 2nd, Mookie Betts on 1st; Paul Goldschmidt hits an 0-2 splitter from Taisei Ota hard on the ground to the shortstop Sosuke Genda, who throws to second baseman Tetsuto Yamada to force out Betts, and Yamada throws to Kazuma Okamoto to force out Goldschmidt. (play-by-play from MLB Gameday) You have good memory, half the time I can't even remember who bats next for the team I'm rooting for
You’ll need to learn about “the shift” which Major League Baseball outlawed this year.
The positions are actually numbered this way for score keeping. You’ll hear a double play from short to second to first called a 6-4-3.
Baseball has two unique characteristics compared with all other sports I'm aware of.
1. Each stadium is somewhat unique from the others. There are things that are uniform in all stadiums: the dimensions of the diamond are always the same. First base is always 90 feet from home plate, Second base is 90 feet from first, etc. The three bases, home plate, and the Pitcher's mound, things like the size of the coaching boxes along the baselines, the batter's box, etc., all these things are the same in all stadiums, at least in MLB. Those things all being the same, the outfield wall isn't uniform at all. The foul lines have a minimum distance they must be from Home Plate, and what they call Straightaway Center must also be a minimum distance, but even those dimensions have exceptions. The big one is that the rules were written recently enough that there are still two ballparks (Chicago's Wrigley Field and Boston's Fenway Park) that only sort of comply (or in Wrigley's case just ignore them). They are what are called "grandfathered in" in that no one can build a new stadium with Wrigley's dimensions, but Wrigley itself is fine.
2. The players participate in the game in two ways. Each player fields his position when the other team is batting, then is part of the batting order when the other team is fielding. The batting order is fixed to start the game. Each player on the fielding team, save the Pitcher, has a place in the batting order. In the first inning, the hitting team sends up their first batter (he's called the "leadoff" hitter) and then the second, the third, and so on. The Pitcher in this instance is replaced by someone called a "Designated Hitter" who doesn't field. Until each batter has batted once, no player can bat a second time, and the order must be maintained. Each batter who comes up to bat either scores (typically via a home run) gets on base, or is out. Three players getting out ends that team's chance to bat in that inning. The trick is this: the batting order is as I said fixed. The team typically has 27 players on their roster. 9 of them will be in the batting order to start. If the manager (what baseball calls a head coach) decides to take one of the players in the batting order out of the game, he can substitute one of his other players who isn't currently in the game, but the player taken out of the batting order can go to the showers; he can't participate in the game for the rest of the day. This adds a whole level of strategy to the game, from the manager's perspective.
Baseball is a complex game, and there are tons of nuance and technicalities. Trust me, you won't completely understand what's going on for a while, but it's still fun to watch.
The shortstop is the most demanding infield position because he has a lot of ground to cover, and his throw to first base is long. A second baseman has considerable ground to cover, but his throw is short. Shortstops and 2nd baseman tend to be more agile, and often smaller, than 3rd baseman and 1st baseman, who have to defend much less ground. In the outfield the centerfielder is almost always a fast runner with a good arm as he is responsible for defending a large area and his throws are fairly long. The right fielder tends to have a stronger arm (long throws to 3rd base) than the left fielder (short throws to 3rd base).
I used to watch a bunch of different reaction channels, but you guys are so damn good I get disappointed at every other one. I've been here since 2k and I wish you all the best on your way up.
Thank you!! Really appreciate this and your support. We’re just getting started 🤞
Shortstop is the most demanding simply because there are more right handed batters and the ball pulls to that side more often, so over millions of games we've seen that the shortstop position tends to field the most balls as a result.
You are correct in saying, depending on the situation, either the Shortstop or the second baseman has to cover second. If a right handed batter is up, usually it's the second baseman. If it's a lefty, usually the short stop. And we won't even go into double plays, stealing, bunts, the "cut off man" on throws from the outfield and such. Shortstop is most demanding because he has to cover the most ground and he has the longest throw to first base. So not only does he need to be quick and fast but he needs a cannon for an arm. Catcher is physically demanding. Especially on the knees. And mentally demanding for calling the pitches which he shares doing with the pitcher. Centerfield is like the SS of the outfield. But the arm strength is a little less important.
Shortstop as defensive position number 6 actually stems from when the position was called "rover" in the late 19th century. In the earlier codes of the game, the rover was not anchored to a specific position, and was free to move about the field, usually stationed in what is now foul territory.
If you enjoy what we do and want to show further support then you are welcome to donate using our PayPal link, you DO NOT need a PayPal account. If not, a simple like and sub would be amazing, thanks for all the support so far ❤️
www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=BZRANMGGL9Q9Q
Idea for future content... I live in Canton, OH where the Pro Football HOF is, I'm actually walking distance from it. I also play in an amateur baseball league. Some time in the future you could come out and see the hall of fame parade, induction ceremony and preseason game and also play in an actual baseball game against former college and pro baseball players all in the span of a week. Just something to think about.
Replying here so it has a better chance of being seen.
Not sure what the major phone companies are across the pond, but if either of your, friends, loved ones, pets, etc have T-Mobile then you are eligible to receive free MLBtv. This would allow you to watch every game whenever you’d like and would normally cost more than 150 USD. Only is available through tomorrow so have to act fast, but it might help you both naturally get into the game.
The defending players position themselves ideally based on the situation of the game and the scouting report of the batter. If they think he might bunt (the batter just sticks the bat out and dinks the ball forward making the defenders run for it so baserunners can advance) then the 1st and 3rd basement might creep up closer to the plate. If they want to try to get a double play to stop a rally from the other team, then they' play at the ideal "double play depth." If they are up a bunch of runs late in the game, they might have their outfielders play farther back so that it's easier to hit a single but harder to hit for a double or triple, that is called "No doubles defense." If they know a batter likes to hit to one side of the field a lot (a "pull hitter") The defense might move everyone much more to that side (called a "shift'). If you are in a bases loaded situation late in the game and it's a close game and you don't want to let the team have any run. You might bring your entire infield in closer to the plate to throw the runner out at home plate. Those are most of the scenarios, also the pitcher is responsible for covering 1st base and home plate should the catcher or 1st baseman can't be their.
Speaking of shortstops needing to be incredible fielders, the Andrelton Simmons defensive highlight video is unreal
The best way to learn baseball positions is to view the Abbott & Costello skit
The guys who described the positions did a excelent work. You can’t find anything better to understand the game. 100/100
American woman here. Very informative for me! Lol. Didn't know a lot of this stuff.
Glad you could learn along with us 😊
I absolutely LOVE that you guys are so interested in the sport I'm most passionate about...Baseball
Good video. Only thing I'd add is that 3B (and to a lesser extent 1B) probably has the best reaction times on the field. A 3B typically sees line drives that are hit sharply down the line and due to the short distance between their position and the batter, it happens in the blink of an eye. These guys need superhuman reaction skills to grab that ball. Also, 3B and SS usually has a strong throwing arm, while 2B has great accuracy and coordination skills to be able to take a feed from another player in a double play.
This is why third base is called the "hot corner" - you're closer to the batter from there than from shortstop or second base, and the balls hit there are going to be going faster because it's the pull zone for righthanded hitters.
Shortstop is the most difficult position because it requires the greatest combination of speed, fielding ability, arm strength/accuracy and awareness while also receiving more balls hit in that direction. Compared to third base for example, which is almost an identical position except for the fact that the third baseman plays along the foul line, which means they don’t have to cover nearly as much ground as shortstop since almost all the entire area to their right is foul territory. Second base is similar to shortstop but it’s closer to first base so you don’t need to have as strong of an arm and (I’m not sure if this is actually true but I assume it is) since it’s on the right side of the field, they don’t get as many balls hit to them because most hitters are right-handed, and right-handed hitters mostly pull the ball to the left side of the field when they hit.
Outfield isn’t easy and requires it’s own set of skills, but it’s a much less specialized skill set which is why teams often put their weaker defensive players out there. At lower levels, you’ll often see teams put their best players at pitcher and shortstop because those are the two most impactful positions.
I wouldn’t worry about understanding how the scorecard works in baseball because most fans these days don’t, I reckon.
Most batters tend to hit the ball primarily to their "pull side" meaning that a right handed batter will tend to hit the ball to left field more often than he hits it to right field. Because of that, the shortstop will shade a bit more to the 3rd base side of his "normal" position, while the second baseman will shade closer to 2nd base. In the event of a play at 2nd base (for example an intended steal of 2nd by the runner on 1st base) it will be handled by the 2nd baseman because the shortstop is much further from the 2nd base "bag". The opposite would be true for a left handed hitter who hits the ball primarily to right field, a shortstop would most likely cover 2nd base.
4 & 6 (2nd baseman & shortstop) are both responsible for covering 2nd base, depending on where the ball is hit.
Shortstop is where a team's best fielder tends to play because most batters are right handed, and right handed batters tend to "pull" the ball to the left side of the infield. The shortstop will see more ground balls hit to them than any other position.
Most people are righthanded (88% to 90%) and righthanded hitters tend to hit the ball to left field most often. A shortstop is positioned between the batter and left field, so he will have a larger percentage of balls hit to him than the first baseman or the second baseman. Because the foul line limits the amount of ground the third baseman must defend, this leaves the shortstop as the infielder who will handle the largest amount of batted balls. In addition, the shortstop must sometimes be the defender who stays close to a runner on second base to keep him from getting too much of a head start (called a lead in baseball) off second base. This, and a large number of mental responsibilities are some of the reasons why shortstop is one of the most demanding positions on the field.
The long relievers can be called to starts sometimes. A lot times the long reliever will also be "the 6th starter", someone who will be called on to start in the case of an injury or otherwise necessary.
Re. nobody covering second base: Shortstop and second baseman nowadays trade off responsibilities fielding hit balls, relaying throws from the outfield, and covering second base depending on where the ball is hit and where the runners are.
Re. shortstop as most demanding position: Basically it's that shortstop is more demanding than third base because the shortstop has to cover second base on any ball hit to the right side, while also fielding any ball hit tot he left side, so they've got more thinking to do than a third baseman -- but also, on ground balls, they have to throw the ball to first base from farther away than a second baseman, so you need quick thinking, good speed at fielding, and a good arm too.
I do think you learn a lot from playing baseball video games, but there's some things that I've only learned from having played as a teenager. A lot of people think that if the ball is stopped by an infielder that the outfielders can basically take the play off. Often that's true, but sometimes it's not, especially with runners on base. There might be a runner caught between bases, with the ball being thrown back and forth trying to tag him out -- the outfielders can help out a lot here if they get in position to field any errant throws.
When I played right field, I knew that any ball hit to third base I'd better rush in towards first -- because our third baseman had a cannon of an arm, but it was a loose cannon, and I'd be trying to play the carom off the fence in foul territory to try and prevent the runner from advancing to second if the first baseman couldn't handle the throw.
Another thing that some of the best fielders can do is watch the at-bat and guess where the ball is going to go, and position themselves accordingly. In MLB this is less valuable because there's all sorts of data on batters that is prepared in advance, but it's still useful to watch for trends -- once in youth ball I was in left field, and the shortstop was holding the runner on at second, and the third baseman was playing close to the base, and so that left a big gap between third base and short. From watching the batter's swings, I saw that -- while they hadn't made contact yet -- they were swinging with timing that, if they did hit it, would hit it straight towards me, and also they were missing the ball high, meaning if they did hit the ball it'd be more likely a ground ball. I therefore moved inwards to field any ground ball hit between shortstop and third. (As a side note -- my coach was actually telling me to move back, which I did until he stopped looking and then moved in.) It paid off, the ball was hit right to me, and while I didn't have a shot at getting the runner out at first, I was able to throw the ball to second base and hold him to a single.
I'm pretty sure that there was a double play in the 9th inning of the WBC final because Shoei let the first batter get on base
Mookie Betts. That was a 4-6-3.
It is a pretty recent thing for 2nd basemen and the short stops to be able to hit for power on a regular basis across teams. Even in the 90s it was pretty rare and didn't really start to change till Alex Rodriguez rose to prominence. Guys like Ozzie Guillen or Rafiel Belliard so rarely hit home runs that when they did it was often the highlight/lowlight of the game, depending on what side you were on. Whereas you had 1st baseman like Jon Olerud who wasn't a power hitter but hit for contact, which was also unusual for his position.
In the 60's and 70's shortstop Mark Belanger of the Baltimore Orioles often had an average below .200 and rarely homered. However, he was such a good fielder that he was still a regular starter. Into the 80's, 90's and beyond, shortstops in MLB have been much better hitters. In the 60's and early 70's pitchers dominated the game more so. In the 70's the rules were tweaked to help improve offence.
Probably the Best Power Hitter who played 2nd Base was Ryan Sandberg of the Cubs in the 1980s and 90s. He was great defensively and hit for both Average and Power. Robin Yount of the Brewers was like that at Shortstop, in the 1970s and 80s. Yount was moved to Centerfield later in his career after he hurt his arm, where he won his 2nd MVP ( won his 1st playing Shortstop) Probably Why the Both are in The Hall of Fame..😅
Not new at all - Honus Wagner was an excellent power hitter at SS, Ernie Banks hit 50 HR at SS early in his career. But it has been uncommon to have the whole package, and Banks himself ended up at 1B after some injuries.
@@jmweed1861 Joe Morgan in 75 and 76 was better than Sandberg and stole a lot of bases too.
Short stops generally have the most balls hit to them of all the infielders, and they often have to make the hardest plays. Many times when making a play they are moving in a direction other than the direction they need to throw the ball, which requires them to reorient their bodies in a split second in order to make the play. Short stops usually have the best throwing arms of the infielders (excluding the pitcher and catcher) because of the difficulty of the throws they need to make. Watch a highlight reel of Ozzie Smith, considered by many to be the greatest defensive short stop of all time, to get an idea of some of the difficult plays that short stops are called on to make.
I was a shortstop/pitcher. My first year playing baseball (7 years old), I was a platoon 3rd baseman. I moved to SS the next year and played there for the next 10 years. I started pitching when I was 11 and pitched through high school. I liked pitching, but I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED being the shortstop.
I positioned both the infield and outfield. I also knew SS was the glamor position.
One of the best compliments I ever got was from my brother. He was a year older than me, but we started school the same year. He played centerfield while I was at short. I heard him during an interview after a game and he was asked what he liked about playing centerfield (a position our oldest brother played and set school records in 1982 that still stand today). During his answer he said one of his favorite things in center was playing behind me and watch me make backhanded plays in deep short. He still doesn't know I heard him say that, but it is one of my favorite compliments I ever got...38 years later.
You guys should look at some of O’Neil Cruz’s highlights. He’s on the Pittsburgh Pirates, right now he’s out 4 months with an ankle fracture, but he’s a 6’7 shortstop, crazy strong arm. He has the fastest throw in the stat cast era
Another part of the reason that the shortstop's position is the most demanding is that he's kind of there as a utility guy and has to do a whole lot of different things. If a ground ball goes up the middle and the second baseman is the one that can get it, it becomes the shortstop's job to cover second base. If the third baseman has to field a ball, the shortstop may need to cover third base. A lot of time the pitchers aren't good fielders as they spend so much time working on their actual pitching and even if they are, a lot of times they'll still be a little off balance after throwing the pitch so they won't be able to cover the middle of the infield. So guess who often winds up getting the pitcher's back. They also might need to cover shallower parts of the outfield if the normal outfielders are playing deep. They just need to do a lot of different things and that's why the position is so demanding. They're kind of the plug-and-play, USB drives of baseball. Expected to do a whole lot of thing, just plug the dude in, and hope he can do what needs to be done.
2:55: " ... the most demanding position on the field" is probably catcher. Those guys tend to take a beating. So much so that catcher's equipment is sometimes referred to as "the tools of ignorance." 😄
Baseball is a rabbit hole of strategies within strategies. It also seems like they are relaxing between plays, but players are like sprinters; they go from 0-100 within seconds.
Shortstop is the toughest because it has the least amount of room for error . You can never bobble or misplay a ball and still throw the runner out. The third baseman or second baseman has some margin for error normally. Second has the shortest throw and third base the ball gets to them the quickest.
Good points Kyle.
Completely right about long relievers. If the starter gets kicked around and gives up a big lead, you still have to play nine innings and you don't want to wear our the rest of your pitchers, so the long reliever comes in. And if he shuts down the opponent's hitters and his teammates score some runs and get back into the game, that's a bonus. If a long reliever excels, he gets promoted to starter or short reliever. A short reliever is the "closer" if he only pitches the final, ninth inning to wrap up a win.
Coach Blewett didn't get into the mental attributes much, except that short relievers have a "bulldog," gunfighter mentality. So here goes: Pitchers are crazy. There is so much pressure on them, and perfection is demanded. If a hitter fails at the plate, it's almost expected, a star player still only gets a hit 30% of the time. Pitchers lose games on just one bad pitch. All the time. Pitchers deal with the pressure in various ways: Some are 100% coldblooded machines. Some are are merry pranksters; they're the reason pranks in the middle of games are a baseball institution. Some are total meatheads; they don't feel pressure because they're too dumb to grasp what's at stake -- No lie! And some are just nuts.
You've heard of Pat Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs' superstar quarterback. His father was an MLB pitcher, Patrick Sr, who came up to the majors in 1992 with my team, the Minnesota Twins. He was a *terrific* athlete, but he couldn't handle pressure and he just folded in intense situations. The Twins gave up on him in 1996, he went through a succession of teams, basically one a year, year after year, until he bowed out of baseball in 2003. I was so glad when his son came on the scene and had the success his dad never had.
Catchers are often geniuses. They call the every pitch in the game -- though the pitcher always has final say and will nod No, "shaking off" a pitch he doesn't want. They also have to be psychologists, knowing how to handle each pitcher's quirks -- Good luck with that! -- knowing exactly what to say, when to keep his mouth shut, and how to push a pitcher's buttons. He also sets up the defense, shifting fielders around in anticipation of each pitch. Retired catchers often become coaches and managers.
Shortstops and second baseman are also smart as hell. Setting up the defense between pitches is rocket science, and they know what they're going to do before each pitch, and then have to make the right decision in an instant when the unexpected happens. There are no dummies among "middle infielders," and they too become coaches and managers.
The other players can be of any intelligence or psychology. Center fielders and right fielders can be flat-out dumb: see ball, catch ball, throw ball. The outfielders in general are often there as hitters, not for their defensive abilities. Third basemen and first basemen are also often primarily hitters, though third basemen must have great reflexes and arms. First basemen are often older players, in their mid- to late-thirties, who no longer have the foot speed to play any position that requires running. Some are practically cripples, like Albert Pujols, and Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers, who is playing his final year this year. They may have tons of experience and be very smart, but they're relegated to the least physically demanding position.
Back in early baseball when pitchers were expected to complete games, the team's ace starter would often also be the closer and pitch that critical last inning. As pitchers had an increasing need to throw harder all the time the closer became a specialist pitcher. A role that isn't done so much now that was common in the past was a "Sunday pitcher" - back then with longer travel times there were more double headers and older pitchers who needed more rest than the normal 4 man rotation of starters could be stuck in to pitch spot starts when DHers piled up.
"Power at the corners, speed up the middle."
Score Cards. If you can keep score of a baseball game, you can pick up a very old score card and relive the whole game. Baseball had its first season in 1876 if memory serves correct, and if reading an old pitch by pitch, out by out score card you can envision a baseball game that took place before radio and TV were a thing. Score cards are still cool.
I'm this video broke down player body types. This translates to hitting as well. Usually the best OBP (On-Base Percentage) guys will bat 1st or 2nd. These guys draw walks and are typically good base stealers and get into scoring position easily. They are also very fast and can score from 1st if the ball is hit well enough.
The big guys usually hit 3rd or 4th. The best play hits 3rd because it ensures up to 1-2 player can be on base for his 1st at-bat. The 4th spot is often called clean up. Basically they backup the 3rd hitter. Often one of these guys is a DH (Designated Hitter); they hit, but do not field a position. DHs have replaced pitchers for hitting.
5-7 kind of just depends on what you need. In general, across the whole lineup, fast players aren't placed behind slow players. Runner can't overlap the runner in front of them (that would be an out).
8th is usually your worst hitter.
9th is sometimes used as a secondary leadoff spot. Their job is to turn the lineup over and get the bats back to the big guys (3-4). Pitchers used to hit 9th because they were often very bad hitter. But they've gotten so bad recently, that the league just outlawed pitchers hitting for themselves. With one exception:
Shohei Ohtani
He's a pitcher, but also a power hitter. And he's fast too. He's a good hitter, so they let him hit. So he's the Angels' #1 Starter (or Ace), he sometimes bats 1st, or sometime he bats 3rd.
That's why he's considered the best player of today's game.