The defense of a baseball team consists of 9 players, each assigned the task of fielding a hit baseball by the opposing team’s batter. If there are runners on base, not only do they have to field the ball by catching it as a fly or a grounder, players need to quickly throw the ball to another field position and stay ahead of the runner. Each defensive position is necessary, but there are degrees to which positions are the most challenging to play and those that are easiest.
So, which baseball position is the easiest? Based on statistics and the position’s active involvement in the game, it’s believed that right field is the easiest baseball position to play. This is the case because of the number of balls hit to right field compared to other positions on the field.
However, the right fielder needs to have the same skill set and be as good as the center field player and the left fielder. There are several reasons why.
Why Is The Right Field Position The Easiest?
Outside of baseball, in the human population, 90% of people are right-handed, leaving only 10% percent who use their left hand. However, in the major leagues, 75% of hitters are right-handed, and a full one-quarter of hitters are left-handed.
Also, many players practice to become switch hitters. When a right-handed pitcher is on the mound, switch-hitting batters try to gain an advantage over the pitcher by batting left-handed. The opposite is also true: left-handed pitcher, batter switches to right handed hitting.
This means that on average, three out of four hits to the outfield will be to left field or left-center field because most hitters pull the ball. This means that the right fielder is involved in a small percentage of plays in a typical nine-inning game compared to any other defensive player.
However, every player must be very skilled to be able to play any outfield position. Even though they field fewer hits, when a ball is hit to the right fielder he must be as able as the left and right fielder in catching the ball and throwing it with power and accuracy to the infield, or to home plate in some cases.
How Is Each Position Rated In Terms Of Difficulty?
The 9 players who go up to bat each have a defensive position to play. A baseball field is shaped like a diamond. The narrowest part or “tip” of the diamond is home plate. The widest part is in the outfield. Outfielders need to be able to react and run quickly and cover a lot of ground when a baseball is hit outside the infield.
The catcher is situated behind home plate, making calls to the pitcher on the pitcher’s mound, which is 60 feet away in the center of the infield. The diamond shape of the field widens from home plate, its shape curving out to the first base and third base lines.
First Baseman
The first baseman’s main job is to catch baseballs thrown by other infield players. A first baseman is usually left-handed and must be able to stretch long distances while keeping his right foot on the first base bag because many of the balls tossed to him take a bounce on the infield dirt before landing in his glove.
The first base bag is placed along the right field line. His position cannot be considered easy since he is constantly involved in infield plays; he will occasionally catch balls thrown from the outfield in an attempt to tag a runner out who has taken too big a lead off the base.
Second Baseman
The 2nd base position is also located on the right side of the baseball diamond. The second baseman does not field as many ground balls as the shortstop or the 3rd baseman on the right side of the infield, but his position is also challenging.
Batters hit to the second baseman often when there is a runner at 2nd base; they do this so that the runner can advance to third. It is called a “sacrifice ground ball” and does not count as an at-bat for the batter if the sacrifice is successful.
The 2nd baseman is involved in every double play from second base to first base. When there is a runner at first and a ball is hit to the shortstop, the 2nd baseman must run to the 3rd base bag to force the runner out, then throw to first base quickly and accurately to complete a double play. His throws are off balance and sometimes thrown in midair to avoid the runner from first base sliding into him.
Shortstop
The shortstop position is on the right side of the infield diamond. It is one of the most challenging positions in the infield because the majority of infield ground balls are hit to the shortstop.Shortstops are often elected to be team captain.
Shortstops must be adept at fielding grounders that take unusual bounces and move very fast and unpredictably over the infield grass and infield dirt. He usually tells the outfielders who to throw to in the infield to force a runner out when there are runners on base.
The shortstop needs to have a great arm since he throws the ball in all directions: to 2nd base for a double play, to third base to pick off a runner, to home plate, and to first base after fielding a routine ground ball. His position is one of the most challenging on the field.
Third Base
The third baseman fields the balls hit by right-handed batters who pull the ball. Baseballs hit to the 3rd baseman come at incredible speeds, often over 120 miles an hour.
Third basemen need to have incredibly quick reflexes to field rocket grounders coming at him from home plate. Once the ball is in his glove, he must throw the ball hard to the first baseman to get runners out in time. Many runners score infield singles when they hit to third because the ball isn’t thrown to first accurately or fast enough to get him out.
The 3rd baseman’s job is not easy, either, because he must throw with great power and accuracy every time he fields a ground ball. He must have lightning reflexes to get in front of a fast grounder.
Pitcher
The pitcher plays one of the most challenging positions on the field. He is responsible for ensuring batters don’t hit home runs over the outfield fence or get any other kinds of hits. He must always try and stay ahead in the pitch count and strike out as many batters as possible.
A pitcher’s arm can grow tired after throwing 100 baseballs to the plate, and he can sustain shoulder and elbow injuries from overusing his arm, even though he must throw a good curveball and fastball, both of which tax his arm.
Besides throwing a good game, the pitcher fields bunts, and balls hit directly to him, and he needs to know which base to throw the ball if there are runners on the bases. The pitcher must be an exceptional thrower as well as an excellent fielder.
Catcher
Many players and fans agree that the position of catcher is the most difficult to play. There is a great deal of preparation involved to play catcher, and he must wear knee pads, shoulder pads, a chest protector and a face mask throughout the game.
He also must be able to block balls, prevent balls from going past his body, and prevent wild pitches from getting past him. When balls go behind the catcher, runners can easily advance to the next base.
But there’s much more of the duties and responsibilities of playing catcher. He must know something about the hitting habits of every batter that comes to the plate; he communicates to the pitcher what kind of pitch to throw to each batter (fastball, on the inside or outside of the plate, high or low at the knees), and using hand signals. He must possess a remarkable throwing arm to throw a runner out trying to steal second base.
He is the most alert player on the team. He always knows the score of the game and knows how many outs there are in every inning. He works along with the pitcher to get each hitter out. The catcher is involved in every play in the game while fielders wait for batters to hit the ball before they react.
Catchers must physically block and tag runners out hurtling down third base and sliding into home plate and tag them out without dropping the baseball. He must be able to catch foul fly balls, hit high and throw his mask off every time he drops the ball to make sure runners don’t advance.
Left Field
The left-field position is the most active in the outfield. This is because the majority of hitters are right-handed, and they tend to pull the ball towards left field.
The job of playing left field is the hardest in the outfield to play. Often balls are hit over the fielder’s head and he must be able to run and retrieve it. Like all outfielders, he has to keep track of balls hit high in the air into bright sunlight.
Because his position is on the left side of the baseball diamond, he needs to have a powerful arm to throw directly to home plate accurately. He often throws all the way home instead of to a cutoff man in the infield.
Center Field
The center fielder must cover the most outfield territory when a fly ball is hit, more than the left fielder or the right fielder. Center field is, on paper, the same size area as both left and right field, but during a game, the center fielder will navigate into right field and left field territory to retrieve a fly ball. He must also run to catch baseballs hit over his head.
Right Field
This position is thought to be the easiest to play on the defense of a baseball team. The right fielder will catch fly balls hit mostly by left-handed hitters, who comprise 25% of major league hitters.
There are occasions when switch-hitting batters will hit to the opposite field intentionally when he sees the outfield players have assumed he will pull the ball to center field or left field.
The right fielder will need to have a great arm, as all outfielders do, and must be able to throw accurately to an infield cutoff man to beat a runner back to the base, or for the cutoff man to throw to home for the catcher to tag out at the plate.
