Second baseman
Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team.[1] A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base.[1] Also called second bagger,[1] the second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must be able to make the pivot on a double play. In addition, second basemen are usually right-handed; only five left-handed throwing players have ever played second base since 1950.[2] Second base is also known as the keystone sack.[1] In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the second baseman is assigned the number 4.
Good second basemen need to have very good range, since they have to field balls closer to the first baseman who is often holding runners on, or moving towards the base to cover. On a batted ball to right field, the second baseman goes out towards the ball for the relay. Due to these requirements, second base is sometimes a primarily defensive position in the modern game, but there are hitting stars as well.
National Baseball Hall of Fame second basemen
The following second basemen have been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum:[3]
- Roberto Alomar
- Rod Carew *
- Eddie Collins
- Bobby Doerr
- Johnny Evers
- Nellie Fox
- Frankie Frisch
- Charlie Gehringer
- Joe Gordon
- Frank Grant
- Billy Herman
- Rogers Hornsby
- Nap Lajoie
- Tony Lazzeri
- Paul Molitor ***
- Bill Mazeroski
- Bid McPhee
- Joe Morgan
- Jackie Robinson **
- Ryne Sandberg
- Red Schoendienst
- * Later played at first base
- ** Started his career at first base, then moved to second base
- *** Played second base in the early portion of his career
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Dickson, Paul (1999). The New Dickson Baseball Dictionary. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 438. ISBN 978-0-15-600580-7.
- ↑ "From 1950 to 2013, Throws LH, Played: 2B". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
- ↑ http://www.baseball-almanac.com/hof/hofst2b.shtml
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