Post by astroannie on Mar 13, 2010 18:01:10 GMT -5
Why I play First Base
I've been playing baseball longer than I've been reading. I started with a big blue and yellow EZ-Tee in my back yard with my father. I remember how it would say "Batter up!" when you put the plastic ball on it and "Home run!" if you hit that ball hard.
Soon came "organized" tee ball where I got to play with a bunch of other four year old boys and girls. We had cool matching "uniforms" that were, in fact, t-shirts with a team logo and name on the front and a number and our first name on the back. I was on the Andy's Hardware Hammers and we wore gray shirts with red on them. They were numbered 1 to fifteen and I was in the middle of the pack size-wise and wore number 9. I still have that t-shirt.
Hitting in tee-ball is fairly straight-forward. You swing the bat at the ball. The ball isn't going anywhere until you hit it. Trouble is, the bat doesn't always end up where you aim it and the ball sometimes doesn't even leave the tee. But when it does, you run. Base to base until they tag you with the ball or you score.
Fielding in tee-ball is even simpler. You get your hands on the ball and run after the hitter and try to catch him or her. If you win, the runner is out. And if you do that three times before they score ten, you get to get in line to hit again.
Once we got to coach pitch, it all changed. As a hitter, you had to learn to hit a moving target. This wasn't easy, even though they guy throwing you the ball wants you to hit it.
Fielding changed as well. If you fielded the ball, unless you had an obvious out, you were supposed to throw it to first base. One way to look at this was that there was only one true fielding position--first base. I wanted to be in the center of the game. I wanted to be the boy on first base who completed all the plays. It meant I had to work a little harder than my teammates but it was rewarding work.
As we grew older and began to interact with the game in different and more subtle ways, first base still remained one of the focal points. My teammates began pitching and opponents began stealing bases. Or trying to. One of my new roles was to help hold runners on base. We also began to coordinate the double play. As part of this, I became adept at catching the ball with a "pop" in my glove to let the umpire hear when I had it so he could focus on whether any part of the runner's body was on the bag at the time. And whether my foot was there..
As part of the infield, I am in the second line of defense. Defense is composed of three parts: the battery, the infield and the outfield. The battery is the first line, attempting to prevent runners from reaching base by using pitchcraft. If the ball is hit on the ground or popped up, the infield is responsible for getting to it and putting the runner out. If there are runners, the infielders help to prevent their advancement around the basepaths. The outfielders are the final line of defense, catching deep flies, and backing up grounders.
The lower the number on the scoresheet, the more central you are to the defense. Pitchers are number one, catchers are number two and first basemen are number three.
My name is Trace Lindhardt and I am First among Basemen.
I've been playing baseball longer than I've been reading. I started with a big blue and yellow EZ-Tee in my back yard with my father. I remember how it would say "Batter up!" when you put the plastic ball on it and "Home run!" if you hit that ball hard.
Soon came "organized" tee ball where I got to play with a bunch of other four year old boys and girls. We had cool matching "uniforms" that were, in fact, t-shirts with a team logo and name on the front and a number and our first name on the back. I was on the Andy's Hardware Hammers and we wore gray shirts with red on them. They were numbered 1 to fifteen and I was in the middle of the pack size-wise and wore number 9. I still have that t-shirt.
Hitting in tee-ball is fairly straight-forward. You swing the bat at the ball. The ball isn't going anywhere until you hit it. Trouble is, the bat doesn't always end up where you aim it and the ball sometimes doesn't even leave the tee. But when it does, you run. Base to base until they tag you with the ball or you score.
Fielding in tee-ball is even simpler. You get your hands on the ball and run after the hitter and try to catch him or her. If you win, the runner is out. And if you do that three times before they score ten, you get to get in line to hit again.
Once we got to coach pitch, it all changed. As a hitter, you had to learn to hit a moving target. This wasn't easy, even though they guy throwing you the ball wants you to hit it.
Fielding changed as well. If you fielded the ball, unless you had an obvious out, you were supposed to throw it to first base. One way to look at this was that there was only one true fielding position--first base. I wanted to be in the center of the game. I wanted to be the boy on first base who completed all the plays. It meant I had to work a little harder than my teammates but it was rewarding work.
As we grew older and began to interact with the game in different and more subtle ways, first base still remained one of the focal points. My teammates began pitching and opponents began stealing bases. Or trying to. One of my new roles was to help hold runners on base. We also began to coordinate the double play. As part of this, I became adept at catching the ball with a "pop" in my glove to let the umpire hear when I had it so he could focus on whether any part of the runner's body was on the bag at the time. And whether my foot was there..
As part of the infield, I am in the second line of defense. Defense is composed of three parts: the battery, the infield and the outfield. The battery is the first line, attempting to prevent runners from reaching base by using pitchcraft. If the ball is hit on the ground or popped up, the infield is responsible for getting to it and putting the runner out. If there are runners, the infielders help to prevent their advancement around the basepaths. The outfielders are the final line of defense, catching deep flies, and backing up grounders.
The lower the number on the scoresheet, the more central you are to the defense. Pitchers are number one, catchers are number two and first basemen are number three.
My name is Trace Lindhardt and I am First among Basemen.