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How about 2nd is base is your #2 1st baseman with the fielding abilities of a short stop?
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Here are my thoughts....for the really young girls, the one who can catch goes to first, the one who can throw far foes to 3rd, the really bad ones go to the outfield, the one who fits into the gear catches, and the others go to middle infield. As they get older, the better of the middle infielders move to shortstop because it's perceived as more important. That leaves 2nd base empty. Think about it...who really wants to play 2nd? It's extremely important but it's not as 'cool' as the other positions and gets close to no recognition, so nobody really wants to work at it to become great at it.
That's just what I think...and I agree that most 2nd basemen are not up to par with the rest of the infield..
That's just what I think...and I agree that most 2nd basemen are not up to par with the rest of the infield..
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I've been trying to talk my older DD into 2nd base for over a year. She has really good range and charges the ball as hard as anyone I've seen, almost too hard for ss which is the position she plays when not in cf. Her real weakness at ss is she doesn't have that (cannon arm) that you see with all the best ones. I feel 2nd base would be a perfect fit other than she is only 5'2". I see alot of girls at 2nd not charging the ball. Thats the biggest thing I notice.
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For a long time I would hide a kid at second to get her a chance in the infield. They have a little time to bobble the gall and still make the play, most hit to left side. The last couple years I have seen the value of a good second base. Just like any other position, a good one is hard to replace. They may make an error or two, but they also make the plays that will make the highlight reel.
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Your above statement is the way many coaches think and adhere to, but think about this:
Most pitchers are right handed.
Most hitters are right handed.
Most pitches are called to be thrown to the outside edge of the strike zone, especially the change, drop, curve, and fastball.
Most hitters are taught to go with the pitch.
Our 2B had the most attempts and put-outs on our team.......by a wide margin. Our 2B, even though she had more attempts than anyone else, had the fewest errors in the infield, and she probably played 99% of the innings. A good 2B is so important and often overlooked.
Len
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All I know is we have a gem at 2nd, when she isn't pitching. Can't imagine hiding a player there.
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Mine to!! But I did see on several occasions this year that teams do try to put their worse fielder at 2nd....Not a wise move. My 2b probably gets 4-5 grounders a game a highfly or two and has to cover first 5 -6 times a game for bunts. Which I think is one of the hardest plays for the 2b spot.
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My 1 dd's team had a girl play 2nd that had more errors then the whole rest of the team in the 1st 3 tournies this year. Coach stuck with her while 3 other good ball players sat the bench . She did get somewhat better , but still .....wayyyy to many errors. Was a very painful season. Anyone looking for a 2nd baseman next season ? lol
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well as much as people say 2b players have less arm strength they ought to be about the same as the ss. I mean the throw from ss to 1 is about the same as 2b to 3, but the throw to 3 has the batter leading off and if there has to be a throw to 3 that tends to be a little more nerve wracking then a throw to 1. Both also have the same distance to home as well as cutoff duties. I think it just depends on who you look at. I play 2b and love the position BECAUSE I get to dive and cover for bunts and have more room to charge.
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DD was kind of bummed that high school coach put her at second this year. She quickly changed her mind after the amount of plays she had to make at second. I know our 2nd on our travel team has made a ton of game changing plays this year. Love to look out there and see her at second.
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Our second baseman had zero errors in 38 games on the season in 131 chances. And she saved us many times with good plays on bad throws to first on bunts and on great running catches into shallow right field.
A great second baseman will save a ton of runs. We had one girl at Thomas Worthington when I was there and we had to decide going into her sophomore year whether to put her at second base or center field. We chose second base and it saved us many, many runs. She was in on far more plays at second base than she would have been in center field and the difference between her and someone else at 2B was far greater than the difference between her and an average CF, even though she was a great CF.
To the extent someone has to be hidden, I would go with either left or right field first, followed by third base, center field, then first base (assuming it's a level at which the first baseman is going to catch almost all routine throws from the infield), then maybe second base.
A great second baseman will save a ton of runs. We had one girl at Thomas Worthington when I was there and we had to decide going into her sophomore year whether to put her at second base or center field. We chose second base and it saved us many, many runs. She was in on far more plays at second base than she would have been in center field and the difference between her and someone else at 2B was far greater than the difference between her and an average CF, even though she was a great CF.
To the extent someone has to be hidden, I would go with either left or right field first, followed by third base, center field, then first base (assuming it's a level at which the first baseman is going to catch almost all routine throws from the infield), then maybe second base.
