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In the sport of baseball, each of the nine players on a team is assigned a particular fielding position when it is their turn to play defense. Each position conventionally has an associated number, for use in scorekeeping by the official scorer: 1 (), 2 (), 3 (first baseman), 4 (second baseman), 5 (third baseman), 6 (), 7 (left fielder), 8 (center fielder), and 9 (right fielder). [1]
In baseball and softball, while there are nine named fielding positions, players, with the exception of the pitcher and catcher, may move around freely. The positioning for the other seven positions is very flexible, although they all have regular depths—distances from home plate, and sometimes lateral positioning.
The sound of the bat hitting the ball. The term is used in baseball to mean "immediately, without hesitation". For example, a baserunner may start running "on the crack of the bat", as opposed to waiting to see where the ball goes. Outfielders often use the sound of bat-meeting-ball as a clue to how far a ball has been hit.
In the set position, the time of pitch is that instant when the pitcher makes a move toward home plate after coming set. As with the windup, prior to the time of pitch, the pitcher may step toward and throw or feign a throw to a base, subject to the balk rules, or disengage the rubber by stepping back (toward second base) with their pivot foot.
In team sports, a position is the role and placement of an individual player within the arrangement of players on the field of play during a game. Many sports measure performance of individual players based on standards for their specific positions.
Like many original sabermetric concepts, the idea of a defensive spectrum was first introduced by Bill James in his Baseball Abstract series of books during the 1980s. [2] The basic premise of the spectrum is that positions on the right side of the spectrum are more difficult than the positions on the left side.
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The Cubs went on to win the game, 3–0, [21] while Musial won the batting title, .326 vs. .325 for Baumholtz. [22] The first position player to pitch in the MLB postseason was Cliff Pennington in 2015. Several position players have pitched in the context of another baseball anomaly—playing all nine defensive positions in a single game. [23]