How to Set a Defensive Lineup in Baseball

Defense is just as important as offense in baseball. Putting the right players in the right positions will make the team you're coaching as good as it can be. The key is knowing how to determine which players should be playing where on defense.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A baseball team and equipment (bag of balls and a bat)
• Notebook to write down notes and comments

1. Evaluate your team. In the first few practices, run your team through a series of drills involving fielding ground balls, catching fly balls, and throwing from the infield and the outfield. Note the arm strength, agility, lateral movement, and overall athletic ability. Have them run from home to second as if they just hit a double, and see who on the team has outstanding speed.

2. Ask the players interested in catching or pitching to get on the mound or behind the plate and show you their talent. Look for pitchers who can locate their fastball, and simply throw it for strikes. Judge your catchers on their ease in the crouching position, and ability to keep the ball in front of them.

3. Determine the outfielders based on the results of the throwing, fielding and agility drills. Your center fielder should possess good speed and needs to have a quicker reaction to the ball in the air than either the left or right fielder. Your center fielder should be the best athlete of the outfielders. Your left fielder needs to be able to judge fly balls more than possess a good arm, which is the opposite of the right fielder. The right fielder should have a strong arm above everything else, since he will have a longer throw.

4. Choose your shortstop and second baseman as if you are selecting them in units and not individual players. The middle infielders are crucial to the defensive success of your team. Look for your quickest players moving side-to-side (agility tests) and their ability to get a glove on the ball and make the throw.

5. Look for an infielder with an excellent arm to play third base. You can get away with someone who doesn't move all that well side-to-side, but has a strong throwing arm and can throw laterally.

6. Select a first baseman on size and flexibility. Your first baseman should be able to cover up throwing mistakes by your other infielders by being able to bend and stretch down low to scoop up a low throw, and extend his body up high to grab high throws.

Tips & Warnings

• Have several players try pitching. It's the most important position on the field, and over the course of a year, you will need a lot of different people to pitch.
• Mix the positions up enough to give everyone a chance. Don't assume that the defensive lineup you use in the first game will be the best that you have.
• Pay strict attention to the drills as you run them. Playing a player at a position at which his abilities aren't a good fit could damage that player's confidence and cost your team a game.