FIELD POSITIONS.
1. The Catcher.
The duty of this player is to catch or stop all balls pitched or thrown to the home base. To fill this position properly, requires no small measure of dexterity and skill, always on the alert to secure foul bounds and tips, with a vigilant eye to the bases, together with precision and power in throwing to them, the catcher’s position is so important that he is generally chosen captain of the nine.
After a striker has made his first base, the catcher should advance toward the pitcher and stand directly behind the bat so as to take the balls before they bound and by throwing swiftly at the second base cut off a player from making that base. When a ball is batted high to long field and several fielders run to catch it, he should distinctly call the fielder by name whom he thinks surest to take it, when the others should pause, and strive only to take it on the bound, should it be missed on the fly.
————
2. The Pitcher.
The position of the player is behind a line four yards in length, drawn at right angles from the home to second base, at a distance of 45 feet from the former base. Four feet in the rear of this line, in another parallel to it and in the space between these two must the pitcher stand, immediately before, and while delivering the ball. Both feet must be firmly planted on the ground while he is pitching, and he should be careful not to jerk or throw the ball, but deliver it directly over the home base and for the striker. The pitcher is frequently called upon to supply the places of basemen while they are fielding, and it is of great importance that he should be a ready catcher and good fielder. A ball pitched at a high rate of speed, and at the same time containing a bias or “twist” will prove the most effective. As this position calls for a great amount of physical labor, some person who is not easily fatigued should be selected to fill it.
————
3. The Short Stop.