Home › Contents › The Second Baseman

The Second Baseman

This position requires its occupant to be a very active fielder indeed, and especially a good judge of fly balls, and a sure catch. He should also be a swift and accurate thrower at short distances. His position, in the beginning of an innings, is at "right short," that is, about twenty or thirty feet back of his position and towards the foul ball line, in fact nearly opposite the short-stop's position on the other side. But he should take his position according to the known peculiarities of the batsman he faces. He should back up the pitcher well, allowing no balls to pass both that player and himself too. When the striker reaches the first base, the second baseman should immediately return to his base and stand prepared to receive the ball from the catcher, and put out his opponent by touching him with the ball, which it is requisite to do on this base as well as on the third and home bases, except in the cases of balls caught on the fly, or foul balls, in both of which instances a player can be put out in returning to the base he has left, in the same manner as when running to the first base, viz. by the ball being held by the baseman, with some part of his person on the base, before the base runner reaches it. When the catcher fails to throw the ball with accuracy to the second baseman, the latter should by all means manage to stop the ball, if he cannot catch it in time to put out his opponent. He should also promptly return the ball to the pitcher. He should be especially on the look-out for a double play when a base runner is on first base, in which case all that the baseman has to do, to put two players out, is to field the ball from the bat sharply, or receive it from short-stop or the third baseman, and first touching second base with ball in hand, to send the ball to first base in time to cut off the player running there. When a base runner, too, is on first base, and a high ball is hit for the second baseman to catch, if he sees the base runner standing near his first base ready to run back on the catch being made, he should manage to let the ball pass through his hands, partly checked in its progress, but not held, in which case the base runner being thereby forced from his first base can be easily captured at second. Should the second baseman, however, see the base runner trying to get to second, he should hold the fly ball, and return it promptly to first base, thereby putting two players out on a double play--one on the catch, and the other on returning to his base on the catch, as base runners have to do in such cases.