Baseball Positions Need to Fit Like a Glove

When I was a Little League baseball player, I used to wonder what it would be like to play a position other than first base. I suppose at that age and in that sport, it is only natural to wonder about the various baseball positions and what they’re all about, so I asked my coach if I could try out different places during practice, and he agreed.

The first position I was moved to was shortstop. While I loved to play there because there was so much action, being a bigger kid, I did not have the kind of range to cover the amount of ground that some of my smaller and quicker teammates did, so I quickly abandoned that idea.

I next moved to catcher, and I quickly discovered that, while some baseball positions were more difficult than others, playing catcher was the hardest of all. Having to call the pitches, enduring foul balls smacking into your face mask, and running after every wild pitch – and at the Little League level, there are many of them – I was completely exhausted.

I tried playing in the outfield, but once again my lack of speed became an issue, and I had difficulty judging the distance on fly balls, which led to many embarrassing scenes.

My next stop was pitcher, where I was actually pretty good. I threw the ball hard and good aim, but the problem there was that when I pitched, one of our pitchers was moved to first base, and he did not have nearly as good a glove as I had.

My coach had always told me that baseball positions were very particular things. While some positions could be played almost interchangeably, he told me, many were more suited to a certain body type, or level of strength, speed or stamina.

He explained to me that first base was a good position for me because I was a big guy with a good glove. He added that he did not want me to get too tired out in the field because he “needed my stick.”

I don’t how much of that was just to placate me, but I did bat cleanup for our team, and it did make me feel good to hear him praise my batting.

Now that I have my own son and have had the opportunity to coach a Little League team of my own, I understand even better what my coach was saying about baseball positions. I have kids on my team who have asked to pitch or catch or play some other position that they really have no business playing.

I usually just take a moment and remember my youth and my own experiences with the various baseball positions – and decide to let them go and give them a try.

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