In this article, we’ll go over the most difficult positions to play defensively in baseball.
Although every position is difficult to play, there are different factors to keep in mind for each position that may make one more or less difficult than another.
Taken into consideration here are the frequency of involvement and degree of difficulty/responsibility over the course of the game.
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Hardest Baseball Positions
Here is a breakdown of what we think is the hardest baseball positions in order and why:
Pitcher
This position is easily the most difficult to play. Mostly because the entire game starts and ends with how the pitcher performs.
You have to throw the ball in a specific area (called the strike zone) in hopes that you will throw three strikes before you throw four balls, or the batter gets a hit.
Along with delivering the ball into the strike zone, there are specific rules the pitcher must follow in this process depending on whether there are runners on base or not as well as be able to throw multiple types of pitches for strikes.
This is the ultimate mono e mono in sports, pitcher vs hitter, who’s better?
You’re the center of attention, all eyes are on you, and your next move has serious implications if things go wrong. The pressure is maybe the biggest factor here, on top of everything else.
Catcher
The catcher is one of the most technical positions in baseball. It’s important for a good game flow for the pitcher and catcher to be on the same page, which often takes time.
Also, the catcher is responsible for giving signs to the pitcher to signify what pitch and location he expects.
Not only does the catcher do this without the other team knowing, he must position himself in relation to the hitter so he’s close enough to catch pitches for the umpire to see them in the zone effectively, but not so close that the hitter makes contact with him.
The catcher is also responsible for keeping an eye on the runners on base, throwing them out if they try to steal or venture too far off the bag, as well as blocking any pitches in the dirt (not an easy task to say the least!).
Shortstop
As a shortstop, I can say without a shout of a doubt that outside of the pitcher and catcher this is easily the most important position on the field.
The shortstop is responsible for knowing what is going on at all times, and making sure everyone else knows what’s going on.
He is responsible for constantly communicating with everyone and making sure they know what their responsibility is.
It’s no wonder so many professional baseball players were once shortstops and have been converted to another position.
Generally, this is one of the most athletic if not the most athletic player on the team.
The shortstop is involved in nearly every play, either as insurance, the main character, or as support.
The shortstop position gets the most ground balls, generally covers the largest area in the infield and is involved in more plays than any of the other eight position players.
A good shortstop will coordinate different ways to find outs on the baseball field on top of all of this (the art of being a good shortstop).
Third Base
Third base is known as the hot corner for a reason. You’re the closest to the hitter, and oftentimes balls that are hit down the line are hit quite hard.
Third base may be the most difficult position to play outside of pitcher and catcher, but comes after shortstop because it isn’t nearly as involved.
It’s definitely more challenging to field balls at third base, as well as make the throw all the way across the diamond, which is 127 feet from base to base (generally the player is a bit behind third base, sometimes even moving away from the direction the throw needs to be made.
The third baseman is also responsible in most cases for fielding bunts and making the throw for a put out which can be a challenge if it’s a good bunt.
Center Field
Center Field is the hardest outfield position as you have to cover the most ground as well as communicate effectively with the other outfielders.
Center is often the fastest player on the team with a strong arm.
On top of that, the center fielder needs to be very skilled at reading the ball off the bat, tracking balls that go over their head, and making accurate throws to the bases or cutoff man in an attempt to throw out baserunners.
The center fielder is often yelling to the left and right fielder “back”, or “in” depending on where the ball is hit.
They also have priority over all other players on the field if they can catch the ball. When the center fielder calls “ball” you get out of the way.
Second Base
Second base, at higher levels, is where the shortstop with less range and not as strong of an arm plays.
At lower levels, you can often hide a less skilled player here and not pay the price too bad.
The throw from second to first is the easiest throw in baseball (unless you’re Chuck Knoblauch in the later stages of his career).
The second baseman yields to the shortstop for most things happening around the field, unless of course the ball is hit to the third baseman or shortstop in a double play situation.
He is then required to make a quick transfer, avoid the baserunners slide and successfully complete the throw to first base.
He also has some responsibilities during double play, steal, and potential pickoff situations at second base. Again, this is usually communicated by the shortstop so his responsibility is often falling in line.
First Base
First base is usually one of the biggest players on your team. This is because having a big target to catch balls at first is important.
However, catching the ball is one of the easiest things to do in baseball and it doesn’t get too complicated around first base in fielding the ball and simply touching your base for an out or tossing the ball underhand to the pitcher who is sprinting over to cover the bag.
The first baseman is responsible for taking cuts from right and center field on a throw home, as well as potentially needing to crash to field a bunt and make the corresponding play.
Left Field
At the bottom of the list are the corner outfield spots because catching a fly ball is generally an easier task than fielding a ground ball.
Additionally, the ball is hit to the outfield in situations of consequence much less frequently than anywhere else on the field.
With a ground ball, you almost always need to field and throw the ball in a fairly short amount of time.
Fly balls, so long as they’re caught, can leisurely be thrown back into the infield quite often.
There are times when the ball needs to be fielded and as quickly as possible returned back to the infield, but it happens less often than the former situation.
Right Field
Last but not least is the right fielder. I say not least because it’s important to field all nine positions proficiently even if the ball is hit the least, and with the least amount of consequence, to right field.
At the higher levels, the right fielder often has the strongest arm in the outfield.
This is because the throw from right field to third is the farthest throw in baseball.
However, since the ball is hit less to right than anywhere else, at lower levels (and even higher in some cases) you can put your worst defensive player in right field and get away with him being there without it being a detriment to the team.
Final Word
Some positions are going to be harder than others for people to play because no two people are build exactly the same.
As a taller guy, I didn’t have the lateral quickness to play the middle infield positions like shortstop and second base but I was good at fielding ground balls so I alternated between first and third.
The key thing to do is try and experiment at multiple positions that best suit your athletic skill set and get feedback from coaches on where they see the most upside for your talents!