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Online now: 3 members: Garner220, kotonk, ricwood69; 10 anonymousDiscussion: DEFENSIVE STRATEGY FOR FIFTH INFIELDER
| Posted | Discussion |
| Sept. 13 hombre Men's 60 240 posts | I'd like to hear a discussion on how best to play the fifth infielder, if there is one best way. Do you keep him close to second and have him field all force plays? Do you play him as a short fielder? Does it depend on who is hitting and the skill set of the other defensive players? What strategy gives you the best chance of being effective? Thanks |
| Sept. 14 Fred S Men's 85 297 posts | As anything else it would depend on the player. I prefer that he play as a rover if he can cover ground and has a strong arm. For an average player I still prefer that he play on the grass and cover the middle of the field. IMO and my experience, with me pitching, he is being wasted playing behind the 2nd base bag. True you may miss some double plays but playing deeper you are still going to get the force at 2nd and you are going to get those loopers that fall in. If he has a strong arm he still has a good chance to get the batter at first, especially with 70' bases. |
| Sept. 14 B94 Men's 50 138 posts | If we are going to play a 5th infielder he is just that an infielder. More often than not we have the 5 man play the batters to pull and then it's up to the pitcher to pitch the batter according to defensive set up. We find we get a lot of double plays this way and are lucky enough to have guys in the MI positions and good OFs that can get to most of the bleeders. This positioning also tends to help protect the pitcher from middle shots when guys are looking for easy base hits between 2nd and short and generates fly ball outs when guys mishit trying to hit the gaps. Most hitters are at their best when they can step in the box and simply swing away however, for whatever reason the 5th infielder tends to take a lot of batters out of their comfort zone and makes them think in the box which more often than not gives the defense an advantage... |
| Sept. 14 DieselDan Men's 75 602 posts | If the person is athletic and can run/throw half way decent, move him around. The number outs, number of base runners, and does the pitcher cover second comes into play usually. Against dead pull hitters, play him between If and OF; use him as a 5th OF; a pull hitter to right, switch him with the usually less skilled RF. |
| Sept. 14 Fred S Men's 85 297 posts | B94 your right. A few years ago when I had my own team I would keep track of outs that the middle fielder made and in a separate column I would mark those as hits and over the two years there was about a 100 points difference in batting averages. |
| Sept. 14 Sisavic 190 posts | I feel so strongly about this that I name the position "middle fielder (MI)" instead of "rover." I choose the best player as MI, someone with range, good hands and a great arm. One way to look at it: When you get up to bat, where do you want the MI to be standing? If he "roves," he has to guess where the batter hits. Then we often have the pitcher cover second base with 2 outs and a man on first base. Then we put the SS, 2Ber, and MI well onto the grass. I hate to bat against this lineup. Of course, if I'm an exclusive pull hitter, I don't want the MI in short field (so I move the MI to short field in those cases). Another point: Using the MI in the middle helps the SS and 2Ber. When the MI shades the right side, the SS can move into the 5-6 hole and flipped around for a lefty. One other point: having the MI hover around second base will get you a few easy double plays which are more important than the rover snagging a line drive or pop-up. Caution: making all this work requires substantial practice and buy-in. Working on where the SS, 2Ber, and MI play on double plays, force-outs, relays etc. is essential. Poor teamwork around second base can destroy a good infield. |
| Sept. 14 hombre Men's 60 240 posts | Thanks fellas. This is some great information. Our team found itself in a situation where we had a fifth infielder and I was it. The first time we turned 6 double plays and run ruled the other team. Another time we weren't on the same page and looked pretty silly. We (I) made mistake after mistake. I think whatever strategy you adopt, the key is "substantial practice and buy-in". |
| Sept. 14 STL0 Men's 60 232 posts | The pitcher plays a big part in the success of how the 5 man infield works as well. He is the one typically "directing traffic". As an example, if a right hander is up to bat and he typically pulls the ball, we have the MI play towards the 3rd base side of 2nd and the pitcher backs up to defend just to the right of 2nd. The 2nd baseman plays his typical hole. This only works though if the pitcher throws the ball correctly. If you are lined up like that and the pitcher stays on the outside corner, the batter just goes to the right side so the 5 man served no useful purpose. I also agree with others that said it has to be the right guy playing MI. If they can't make the play or turn 2 when they have a chance, you're wasting your time. |
| Sept. 14 garyheifner 651 posts | There are a LOT of great middle hitters out there. That 5th guy hanging around second really takes them out of their comfort zone. If you put him in the OF, your pitcher better be good on defense. He will get attacked repeatedly. So don't complain about the other team hitting middle. Since moving up to 70s, my team has turned a bunch of dlb plays with that guy turning the play and we have hit into many ourselves. Yes, teams will go right side more which really increases the importance of a 2nd baseman that is strong at fielding ground balls. |
| Sept. 15 Webbie25 Men's 70 2414 posts | I have also examined this for years and watched teams play both Rovers and middle infielder. There is really no comparison. When you play a rover there is only a small area that he can cover, and almost every ball he makes a play on must be in the air to him. It works possibly on a dead pull hitter, to use him as a as a rover, but most the time all you accomplish is to increase the area the outfielders have to cover, and just put a circle (fielder's range) where a fly ball needs to be hit right near the rover to be an out.Very rarely do you get a ball on the ground to a rover that can be converted into an out.The middle infielder cuts the holes in the infield and is a much better play. |
| Sept. 16 Jawood Men's 50 943 posts | Isn't a 5 man infield (along with a 4 man outfield) the norm after reaching 70? |
| Sept. 16 Fred S Men's 85 297 posts | Right and most of all the leagues in MA and area play with 11 fielders. |
| Sept. 16 Jawood Men's 50 943 posts | I'd like to see 11 fielders start at the 50 level. |
| Sept. 18 Semmy 7 posts | If you don't have a pitcher who can control what side of the plate he is pitching to, playing a strong-side 5-man can be a wasted effort. Hanging an outside pitch to be pushed off-field puts you at a disadvantage as you will normally sacrifice for space on the hitter's weak side. |
