To the Baseball heads! (Questions about the sport)

1) First base is probably the easiest position to play defensively, while it always helps to have a great defender at any position, first generally will be played by the big, less agile, power hitters. For example, Prince Fielder for the Detroit Tigers is a huge guy who can't move too much but his hitting makes up for his lack of defensive ability. A guy like Fielder would never played short stop(which requires to most talent).

2) I addressed some of your second question is number 1, but as far as talent required by a baseball players there are several things. For batters, not pitchers... The most important thing is hitting. You can be slow, and a weak defender, but if you're hitting over 30 homers a season, it's worth it. Hitting is a skill, the most difficult thing to do in all of sports is get a hit off a major league pitcher. Some people can do it, some people can't, it's as simple as that. There are guys who hit for a high average, and guys who hit for high power. Then there's a few guys who an do it all, Miguel Cabrera for instance, this season he got the first triple crown since 1967, which is the highest batting average, most RBIs and most home runs. Now that, is an amazing feat. Generally, scouts looks for "5 tools" in a player. Hitting for average, hitting for power, a strong throwing arm, speed(running), and fielding(defense).

3)The pitcher is definitely the most important, technically a pitcher could strike out every batters and never even need the other players to field, except the catcher I suppose. But a pitcher only pitches one every five games, so a good hitter is usually more valuable, since he influences the game every day. Even with that though, the pitcher gives the team a chance to win, if your pitcher is terrible and gives up 5 or 6 runs every time he pitches, you're almost always going to lose.

4)I'm not sure what the most difficult pitch is, a fastball is the most important pitch. A pitcher relys on his fastball to set everything else up. It takes time watching baseball but eventually you will be able to tell what pitch a pitcher throws when your watch. Anything that's not a fastball will be considerable slower and depending on how the ball breaks you can tell. A slider will be about 10mph slower than the fastball and will break away from the pitcher's throwing arm(a righty's slider will break to the left). A two seam fastball will be a few mph slower than the 4 seam, the difference is that a two seam fastball will break horizontally, and it will break the opposite direction of a slider(a righty's two seam fastball will break right). A curveball will be the slowest pitch and will break either straight down or down and the right or left. A curveball is easy to see and even when watching in person you can tell, it's actually pretty fascinating. There are other pitches but i'm not going to get into all of them.

5)There is a bit of luck involved in baseball, like any sport, but maybe a little more in baseball. Sometimes a batter makes a great hit on a ball, hits it hard and sharp but it goes right to the 2nd baseman, happens all the time. Sometimes the wind blows what would have been a routine fly ball out of the park, sometimes the wind works against the ball and prevents a home run. Sometimes a pitcher just doesn't have his "stuff" that day, but the opposing batters don't have theirs either so the pitcher makes it out unscathed. Obviously you can't measure luck but it does play a part.


6)There are what seems to be millions of stats in baseball, sabermetrics has really taken off, you can check out www.beyondtheboxscore.com, its a really fascinating website but will blows your mind. This is the kind of stuff Moneyball was about. For a batter, thhe most important (basic)stats in my opinion are average, home runs, and RBI's. For a pitcher ERA(earned run average per 9 innings) is the most important stat for sure, wins and losses for pitchers are a pretty irrelevant stat and shouldn't be taken too seriously.

7)Yes the two leagues are on the same level, the reason there are two is because back in the day they were completely separate leagues, eventually they decided to have a championship at the end of the season called the World Series to determine who was the best in the world. The AL is a bit different because they have something called the DH(Designated Hitter), so in the AL pitchers don't bat. This is a big difference because in the NL there is a lot of strategy involved when dealing with the pitcher batting(pitchers are terrible hitters). They don't play eachother very often(although this upcoming season there will be more interleague play than in the past) but when they do the home team determines whether they will be using NL or AL rules(If the NL team is home then the AL team's pitcher will have to hit and vice versa).

8)This is a judgement call made by the defender, usually teams will make the safe play unless the game is really on the line. For a fielder to field a ball and then throw it home in time to get the runner out takes some luck and a lot of skill. If the runner on 3rd base is known for being a speedy guy the defender will be more likely to take the safe out at first and sacrifice the run but if the runner is a slow guy(Prince Fielder for instance), the defender may try to out him at home.

Baseball is a great sport, my favorite for sure. Most people think baseball is boring but the more you watch and the more you know about the game it becomes more exciting. Also it helps to get to know the players, knowing the player's history, personality, skills and deficiencies will make the game more interesting. Good luck and have fun!

In terms of athleticism, I would rank NHL and NFL players way above NBA or baseball players.

In hockey, try hitting (or getting hit) at full speed on 2 blades on ice while lugging 10 or 20 pounds of equipment ... I've played the game all my life and let me tell you, it's tough and it requires a ton of cardio. The pros play 2 or 3 games a week (82 games a season).

Football is another sport that requires extreme physical toughness, these guys are tough as nail. It's more specialized though ... you have the thick guys on the line and the lighter receivers. Linebackers eat babies for breakfast. While they only play 16 games in a year, the brutality of the sport dictates that any more games would probably result in fatalities.

While specific skills are definitely needed, there is nothing extreme about NBA or MLB players. These sports prohibits body contacts.

1. Good first basemen require good footwork and soft hands to dig out those balls that are thrown in the dirt. Generally, 1st basemen are your big, tall power hitters. The bigger the target your infielders have to throw at, the better. I'd say 1st base requires the least amount of athleticism to play but by no means is it easy.

2. The skills required to be successful at baseball allows for some players to be fat. Look at Miguel Cabrerra and Prince Fielder. Those guys put up big offensive numbers. They aren't fast, or the best defensive players but their offensive numbers more than make up for that. As a giants fan, believe me weight matters. When Pablo Sandoval is hitting well, no one talks about his weight. When he's struggling all I hear is he needs to lose weight.

3. THE position in baseball is the pitcher. He's involved in every single play and pitching is extremely taxing on the human body.

4. I'd say the most difficult pitch to throw would be a screw ball. You don't really see pitchers throw that anymore. It's too destructive on your arm. I'd say the most difficult pitch to hit is a changeup. It's really deceptive because the pitcher throws it with the same exact arm speed as a fastball so the hitter is thinking a fastball is coming when all of a sudden the pitch is much slower and has downward movement. Yes, I'm able to tell the difference from every pitch with how they move and their velocity and being familiar with what that pitcher can throw. Most commentators can identify what the pitcher has just thrown.

5. Majority of professional hitters can hit the ball to all sides of the field. You generally see the hitter with the most bat control bat second in the lineup. They do that because the lead off hitter generally has a high .OBP so you want a hitter hitting right behind him that can hit the ball to the right side through the infield to advance that runner to third.

6. Stats to look at with hitters. Batting average, on base percentage, home runs, runs batted in. There's a lot more but those are the basics. Stats to look at for pitchers are earned run average, wins, losses and WHIP.

7. The american league has a DH (designated hitter). That means their pitchers never bat unless they are playing an away game in a national league park. National league has no DH. These two leagues now play against each other throughout the entire season. It use to be a specific time in the schedule when interleague play would happen but that has now changed.

8. I don't remember that scene but I can give you a scenario where they wouldn't throw home. If the defensive player has to make a unusual play that would force him to make a awkward throw to home, they'll throw to first instead for the for sure out. Especially if the game isn't close. The play at home isn't a force out so they throw would have to be on the money so the catcher can make the tag on the incoming base runner.

Just my two bits:

1. Some players may look out of shape compared to the others, but I can guarantee you that they are much more athletic than you think. I'm in reasonable shape, but I'll bet I couldn't beat Prince Fielder or Pablo Sandoval in a race around the bases.

As others noted, speed is very helpful, but not an absolute necessity. Then again, it IS possible to be so slow that it erodes the value of your other contributions.

2. NBA players are in much better condition than most football players. Many NFL players are simply obese, no other way to put it. And a football player exerts himself for maybe 4-5 seconds at a time, 40-50 times in a 3-hour span, with multiple breaks to rest.

3. The most important statistics in baseball for hitters are on-base percentage and slugging. They are often added to together for a quick and dirty measure called OPS.

Batting average is a relatively poor measure of a hitter mostly because it says little about the kind of hits the batter makes. Are they singles or home runs?

RBI says very little about hitting ability. It mostly tells you where the hitter bats in the lineup and how many times he comes to plate with men on base. Leadoff men are often very good hitters (which is they have that job), but they will usually have low RBI totals because of where they hit in the lineup.

For pitchers, look at strikeouts and walks per inning and home runs allowed. ERA is a somewhat crude measure, but easily accessed.

4. Baseball has a lot of luck in it. A very famous study published some years ago claimed that with the exception of home runs, every batted ball is either a hit or an out only by random chance. This isn't completely true, but for the most part, that claim turned out to be correct.

But major league teams play 162 games a year with thousands of at-bats and tens of thousands of pitches. Luck tends to even out with such a large sample set and the best teams and players will emerge from the mix.

Also, is baseball more or less "lucky" than other sports? Probably not.





"You didn't come into this life just to sit around on a dugout bench, did ya?" - Morris Buttermaker

Many less-athletic guys play 1B, but they can't help in the field the way the great defensive ones can. A great 1B can pick the short throws, stretch for the off-target throws, cone off the base to make tags. They also can be excellent fielders on ground balls. They have to know how far to go on a ball hit to their right without interfering with the 2B and able to get back to cover first. They have to be able to hold runners and get off the base to cover their area. Then there is the ability to turn a double play. It is probably the easiest to play, buta hard position to master.

On a side note, Don Mattingly and Keith Hernandez were two of the best defensive 1B with borderline offensive Hall of Fame numbers who are not benefitting from their defensive play.

Hi mwbbl,

I played the game until I was about 18, but more importantly, I've watched the game enthusiastically since I was about 7 years old, and I've studied the history of the game all the way back into the 1800s. Hopefully, you'll still refer to this post from time to time, so I'll try to add some helpful input to the discussion.

1. I wouldn't say that first base is exceptionally difficult to play, or easy. It's about in the middle. A first baseman's responsibilities will change depending on the situation. How they position themselves on the field is determined by a lot of different factors: who, if anybody, is on base. The number of outs, the score, the inning, and who is at the plate. A left handed pull hitter is much more likely to hit the ball to the first base side than a right handed hitter. If a man is on first base, the first baseman works with the pitcher to keep the runner close to the base so they can't steal. But they are still responsible for playing their defensive position. The really great defensive first baseman, like the aforementioned Keith Hernandez, would not only play exceptional defense, but they would play their position aggressively, often time rushing towards home plate in a situation where it was believed the batter might try to sacrafice bunt a runner over. Look him up on Youtube. There are some brilliant examples of his play. Typically, a first baseman will be a power hitting run producer, and on average, less athletic than the other players on the field. Hernandez was different in that he wasn't a power hitter. He could hit for great average, but he was more of a balanced player. Another player like him was Rod Carew. Don Mattingly, before his back injuries sapped his power, was one of the best all around first basemen. He was spectacular defensively, he could hit for power and great average.

2. You used to have some baseball players who were a little more out of shape, though this has become less prevalent. That's because baseball, while certainly requiring athleticism, demands a unique skill set. The best athlete in the world might flop as a baseball player if they can't hit a curve ball. Yet somebody that can consistently hit, and be productive overall, can still have a good career even without elite athleticism. One player that comes to mind is John Kruk, a hitter with the Phillies and Padres. Krukkie was never a well conditioned athlete, but he could hit .300, and so he was always going to find a roster spot. Other players start out in great shape, but they let themselves go somewhat. Tony Gwynn is an example. When he started out, Gwynn was in amazing shape. He was fast, stealing 56 bases, and that speed helped him to hit for high average (he hit .370 that year). When he put on some weight, and his speed lessened, his batting average dipped somewhat, until he had a discussion with Ted Williams at a Major League All Star Game. He changed his approach at the plate somewhat, and regained his peak hitting form. Yet, he never achieved that peak physique again. But, because he could hit .340, he was always going to find a Major League roster spot. You do have some players with less than impressive physiques. Dan Vogelbach, a prospect in the Cubs organization, was downright portly, at least as of last year. The scouting scale had his speed at a 20 on the 20 to 80 scale. That means basically no speed. But he had power, and a plus hit tool, so he was able to move up through their system. He's shed quite a bit of weight this offseason, and gotten in better shape. That can only help his prospects going forward.

3. THE position in baseball is the catcher. Don't be fooled. The pitcher is, of course, vital, to a team's success. But a starting pitcher is only on the mound every four games. The catcher is the closest thing to the quarterback position in baseball. A great catcher, like Yadier Molina on the Cardinals, calls the pitches the pitcher is going to throw. They position the players on the field, calling defensive shifts, and they nearly eliminate the opponent's running game with their great throwing arm (Molina routinely throws out around 40% of would be base stealers). Plus, they still have to provide offense, and savvy on the basepaths. Molina is a guy that can hit .290 to .300, hit 15 home runs a year, have a strong OBP (.350-.360ish), and then play elite defense. Another guy like Milwaukee's Jonathan Lucroy doesn't have Molina's arm, but he's the same offensive force. He racks up a lot of extra base hits, calls a great game, and he gets extra strikes for his pitchers, and extra outs, with his pitch framing (Google that if you're curious). A catcher is the manager's field general on the field. He has to have situational awareness of everything going on at any given time on the diamond. And, he often has to play shrink to the pitcher. He has to massage his ego, watch him to see if he's struggling, so the pitcher doesn't try to go too long, and injur themselves, and he needs to help him calm, and confident. A great catcher wears many hats. If you look at some of the greatest teams in baseball history, they have great catchers: the New York Yankees of the 50s had Yogi Berra. The Brooklyn Dodgers had Roy Campanella. The Big Red Machine, the Cincinatti Reds of the 1970s, had Johnny Bench. And, the San Francisco Giants, who have won three World Series in an era where there really are no more dynasties, have the great Buster Posey behind the plate. One year, they win it all with him behind the plate. The next year, he breaks his leg, and the team falls apart. He comes back the next season, wins the MVP, and the Giants win the World Series again. It's no coincidence. He's an offensive force, and he manages what has been one of the best pitching staffs in baseball to perfection.

4. In order to answer your question about the most difficult pitch, I would need to know the context. Most difficult to throw? To hit? The most difficult pitch to throw is the knuckleball. In fact, only a few pitchers in the history of the game have ever been able to throw it consistently. The knuckle ball, if thrown correctly, has no rotation. Therefore, there is no movement. It just floats through the air, and it is unpredictable, and exceedingly hard to hit. If it's not thrown right, however, it's just a fat pitch, and will get knocked out of the park. Some of the game's great knucklers have been Hoyt Wilhelm, the first pitcher ever to appear in 1,000 games. Hoyt was an eight-time All Star in his twenty year career. Then, you have the Neikro brothers, Phil and Joe. Phil won over 300 games with the Atlanta Braves. Joe won over 200 with the Houston Astros. Recently, you've had Tim Wakefield, who won over 200, and ended his career as the Boston Red Sox all-time winningest pitcherm, and R.A. Dickey, who was initially signed for big money by the Texas Rangers until the team physician noticed a Sports Illustrated cover photo where his arm was held in a weird position. An MRI showed he was missing a ligament in his arm, and Dickey lost the big contract, and was offered a pittance comparatively. He bounced around from one team to another, and was in the minor leagues when the Mets called him in up 2011. Two years later, he won the National League Cy Young Award. From a hitting standpoint, I think the curveball is the most difficult pitch to hit. The curveball has ended a lot of Major League careers prematurely. There are a lot of hitters who can send a little baseball 430 feet into the stands when they see a fastball. But if they can't hit a curveball, they will never make it in the Majors. To quote the movie title, "that's called truble with the curve."

5. There is always an element of luck to the game. Remember, a hitter only has a fraction of a second from the time a pitcher releases the ball until it sails into the catcher's mitt. They need to decide--and fast--if they want to swing. While they can judge some things about the pitch-directionality, velocity, there is always an element of luck involved as to where the bat hits the ball, if at all. But yes, a very good hitter can absolutely determine where the ball is hit. And yes, a pitcher can absolutely have a huge impact on their success. If you have somebody like a Clayton Kershaw out there, 90% of the time he takes the mound, he is just going to destroy the opposition. If the Dodgers score 3 runs of support for him, he's going to win about 80% of the time. Kershaw has spectacular command on his pitches. And, he has just nasty stuff. As a Brewers fan, it kills me seeing that the Dodgers always get these marvelous pitchers. Look through their history, and it's dotted with names like Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Fernando Valenzuela, Orel Hershiser, Hideo Nomo, and now they've got Kershaw, and Zack Greinke, and Hyun-jin Ryu. The Dodgers, the Braves and the Giants, in the National League, always seem to have this inexhaustable well of pitching. And to a slightly lesser degree, the Cardinals are the same way.

6. Judging players on a team, I typically like to avoid things like RBI, runs scored, and to a lesser degree, batting average, though I tend to think it is still a better metric than most people give it credit for. RBIs are dependent on situation. Driving in a run is great, but if a player has a lower RBI total, it doesn't make them a bad player. They cannot control who gets on base in front of them. I have seen players hit well over 30 home runs on bad teams, and barely crack 90 RBI. For pitchers, wins are overblown, and to a certain extent, so is ERA. Those are dependent on the team, and defense, around you. Nolan Ryan had a season in 1987 that was spectacular. Yet, he only finished fifth in the CY Young voting because his record was 8-16, even though he led the NL in ERA and strikeouts, had the best strikeout to walk ratio, the fewest hits per 9 IP, and the most strikeouts per 9 IP. I felt he should have won the award. But he never won the Cy Young. For pitchers, I like to look at things that a pitcher has more control over. WHIP (walks and hits allowed per inning), FIP (fielding independent pitching), and walk to strikeout ratio. Those things tell me how well a pitcher is in control. A win loss record can be misleading. Look at poor Harvey Haddix. He once threw a perfect game for 12 innings-36 batters up, 36 down, against Lew Burdette of the Milwaukee Braves, who gave up 12 singles, but no runs. Haddix gave up what should have been a three run home run to Joe Adcock, but because he passed the man on the bases in front of him, just the one run scored. So Haddix, even though he threw arguably the best game in the history of baseball, got the loss, because his team couldn't score. His fault? Of course not. He threw a complete game, 12 2/3 innings, gave up one unearned run, one walk and one hit, struck out eight, and lost.

7. The American and National Leagues are on the same level. They are identical, really, except for the designated hitter rule (the NL has their pitcher bat, the AL has a hitter bat for the pitcher). They meet during the season in what's called inter league baseball (this has only existed since 1997. Before then, teams from the two leagues never met until the World Series). So, you could live in Chicago, by Wrigley Field, where the Cubs play, and unless you went north to see a game at Comiskey Park, you'd never see the White Sox. At least, that's how it used to be. I like it, as you see players you wouldn't see otherwise. And, seeing teams adapt to the designated hitter is interesting. There is a strategy. It's also fun to see A.L. pitchers hit.

8. Without reading any of the other responses, it sounds like the fielder that caught the ball, and threw to first base, was conceeding the run. Why? Well, because remember that the runner at third base never has to run, unless there is a player on base behind him that would force him to run. If he is at third, and there are runners on first and second when a ground ball is hit to an infielder, he must run home, because the other base runners must advance to make room for the hitter who is now trying to get to, and occupy, first base. If there is nobody on second base, the man on third base does not have to run, so the fielder who caught the ball is going to take the sure out. His only other option is to force the runner at third to stay, but in doing so, he allows the hitter to reach first base safely, meaning that nobody scores, but no out is made. And now, instead of just a runner on third, there is a runner on first, and a runner on third. In baseball, unless you are in something like a one run game, you always take an out if it is available.

For example, say that I am a player for the home team, and I am on the field in the top of the 9th inning. My team is ahead 3-1. There are no outs, and a runner at third base. If a ground ball is hit to me, I am going to throw it to first base, because my team's primary goal is to get three outs. The runner at third cannot win or tie the game for the other team, so he is somewhat inconsequential. I will trade the one run for one out, because that moves us one step closer to winning the game. Now, there is one out, and the score is 3-2. There is no runner on base, so the worst that can happen in the next at bat is that the hitter can hit a solo home run to tie the game. If I had held the ball, the runner at third would have likely stayed, yes, but the hitter would have reached first base safely. And now, my team is in big trouble, because instead of nobody on, and one out, they have two men on, and no out. A home run now scores 3, and the score goes from 3-1 to 3-4, meaning my team must score a run in the bottom of the 9th inning, or we lose.



I hope this helps ya to understand a little more. Enjoy the game. I love it!

Never for the sake of peace and quiet deny your convictions-Dag Hammarskjold

this is an old post, but caught my interest, so i figured i would throw in my 2 cents as well...

1.) like others have said, a first baseman doesn't have to be the most agile man in the field - but it helps if he can field his position well... it's an important position in that if you have a player there who can't field the ball well or catch the ball well, it's going to be a long day (or season).. typically, almost every play at some point during the game goes through first base - and not every throw to get a runner out is going to be right on target.. so while it's a position that might not require the most nimble of feet, you still need someone who can field well.

2.) no, baseball players don't need to have the physical prowess of say an NFL or NBA player - but even your "fat" players are still pretty good athletes - they just may not look it.... in terms of skill, the most basic skill that i believe any player must possess to be a great baseball player is good hand/eye coordination.

3.) THE position in baseball, IMO, is the Pitcher - followed closely by the catcher... the pitcher is important for the obvious reasons, but the Catcher is the captain of the entire field. Defensive alignments are typically called by the catcher (when he gets the signal from the dugout), so he is responsible for player position on the field (most of the time), and he also is the one who tells the pitcher what pitches to throw.

4.) when you've watched the game enough, you can spot differences easily (also pay attention to pitch speeds, that helps as well)... a 4 seem fastball typically goes straight, whereas a 2 seem when thrown, tails off a bit... a Curveball is a slower pitch that typically has an arc to it when throw - it can be either a sharp arc, or a big one - just depends... Sliders start out looking like a fastball, but end up breaking sharply (almost like a curveball) before crossing the plate... a Changeup is another that looks like fastball, but is thrown much slower - it's deceptive in that the pitcher's arm speed looks like he's throwing a fastball, but the ball itself moves slower - throwing the batter off his rhythm..... batters in the box will usually look for specific rotation on the ball, to tell them what pitch is coming.. that is why, often times the Knuckleball is so hard to hit - because when it's thrown right, the ball has zero rotation, which makes it flutter around on it's way to homeplate.

5.) great pitching will always beat great hitting... good hitters (like Ichiro) have the ability to hit the ball wherever they want - it's all about the way you position your body in the box, the way you swing, and when you swing that determines where the ball goes.

6.) for hitters - their batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.... pitchers - their earned run average, and their strikeout to walk ratio per 9 innings.