Most Difficult Positions

Pitcher. You have to mentally be in every pitch and the pressure of the whole game is on you.

catcher is the most challenging - physically and mentally - no pitches off and you play every day

A good catcher makes a pitcher better - not certain the reverse is true

There is really no argument here, it is a catcher period, end of story. Remove catcher from the equation and you can have a discussion.

Pitcher, of course.

They don't give wins and losses to any other position.




And, of course, it's the most dangerous position.

(catcher) removed. now can we have a discussion?
I stipulate it's the toughest by far. What I mean is what position is presented with the toughest plays to pull off on a regular basis. Where speed, athletics, arm, glove all have to be top notch.

They dont call 3b the "hot corner" for no reason! Longest infield throw across body. Not likely to "win" this discussion - but very tough to play well.

I would say pitcher. SS makes 1 bad throw and he might get away with it. Pitcher makes 1 bad pitch, ala Tim Lincecum in yesterday's game and the team and the pitcher gets a loss.

No love for LF? Seriously, you face a good team with Left handed hitter who can take it Opposite field, it's a nightmare. The tailing is ALWAYS crazy regardless.

Hands down SS first, CF second and then catcher. My opinion is based on the OP criteria. Speed, athletics, arm and glove. SS needs speed to cover range, strong arm for throws from the hole, good glove and the athletic ability to throw from akward positions and on the run. CF, speed to cover range, good glove, strong arm for throws home and of course the circus catches. I give the SS an edge over the CF because it requires more skills over all to play than CF (ground balls pop ups, turning double plays etc...). Catcher is next, good glove to receive and block pitches, strong arm to throw guys out. Okay all you catcher bring it on.

OP offered several different criteria...

"most difficult position" - catcher.

"most difficult play to pull off" - hard shot straight over LF head, not a "leap at the fence" but the fence is involved. It gets there quicker than it does to other OF spots, sometimes it hooks, sometimes not. How many times do you see good MLB OF's wave at this one and look silly.

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Originally posted by cball:
what position is presented with the toughest plays to pull off on a regular basis. Where speed, athletics, arm, glove all have to be top notch.

OK, this one - SS

quote:

No love for LF?

Nope....wins for easiest position

It's all relative....left fielders are usually known for their bat...Bonds, Ramirez, etc..

I'm not sure that 'most difficult' is the right way to describe it either. Should the discussion be 'Which position requires the most tools'?

most difficult play to pull off (REVISED) - before my previous post, I was going to say something about any play where the ball is in the air and a player has to dive and a fence or wall is involved.
I just checked out ESPN highlights and Orlando Hudson got taken off on a cart after he dove into the wall head first chasing down a pop fly.

Look at the positions where to be a pro you don't have to hit well, just being good defensively is enough to get you a job in the MLB: catcher, pitcher, SS.

I rank catcher first because you have to field, receive, block, throw, lead, call games, and be a psychologist, and you have to do it every day. If you don't have your A game that day, they aren't going to pull you in the 5th and have someone else pick up the slack - you gotta gut it out. And you get hit in places no man likes to talk about.

My son is a catcher, but I am completely objective.

Finally! Someone speaks sensibly. How many players are willing to squat in the dirt for a 9 inning game in the 100+ heat facing a pitcher throwing 95mph all while another fellow is merely inches in front of said catcher trying to hit a ball with a little wooden stick?

When they are young, all the kids want to pitch and none want to catch. There's a reason for that! Many are called, few are chosen.

You guessed it - - my son's a catcher! At 19, his knees hurt almost constantly, he has suffered a concussion from a home plate collision, he has been hit by wild pitches in unmentionable places and much more. He wouldn't change positions for anything and his dad and I are so proud of the mental toughness he has developed!

There seems to be this misconception by some that catchers are just some fat slow kid you stick behind the plate because its a place you can hide him. In order to play this position and play it at a high level you have to be a very good athlete. You have to have tremendous hands. You have to dedicate your entire baseball career to learning this position. You have to be willing to get beat up and still perform to the level that is required of you. You walk off the field after every game spent. You have to play every pitch. You can never take a pitch off. You will have to make a play on every pitch. If you play a great game most people will never even notice. If you make one bad play everyone will. You are expected to do many things outside of simply playing the game. And it is expected of you. You will have to hit and then run the bags after 2 or 3 hours of playing this position when sometimes your legs feel like jelly. Your forearm is screaming from the fastball in the dirt you blocked in the 2nd inning. Your thigh got nicked by a bunt attempt that was fouled off in the 5th. And the list goes on and on.

You take a look at every team huddle after a game. Every single game. Find the guy covered in sweat no matter what the temp is that day. Find the guy covered in dirt no matter how many base runners you had that day. Find the guy spent, exhausted - its the catcher.

The same guy that will be expected to catch the next day and do it at the same level he did the day before. And if its an off day he will be in the bull pen working with the pitchers doing it all over again. He will face numerous pressure situations in every game. Runners on third and the breaking pitches intentionally thrown in the dirt. Fastballs called inside that are thrown outside in the dirt. Making bunt calls, defensive calls, cut calls, calling pitches, and getting drilled by the coach if he makes 100 plays in a row but fails to make the 101st up to standard. And thats in one game.

When these discussions come up there are two positions that need to be left off the list , period. Catcher and Pitcher.

You can play SS an entire game and get one or two balls hit at you. On a busy night 7 or 8. There is no more skill required to play SS than Catcher. Its a different skill set but still a unique skill. When you have watched a catcher that does it right pitch after pitch , game after game and you know what it takes to play this position at a high level then the discussion is over.

If you have ever coached a legit level of baseball or ever actually seen what it takes to play this position at a high level I think you would agree with me. No one invests more than a catcher to get back there and do it at a high level. No one invests more on game day each and every pitch of the game. And the skill it requires to play this position at a high level is very unique.

Ill throw a curve in here and make a separate category for the position that has the highest difference between how difficult people believe it to be, and how hard it actually is to play it. For that odd category, I think first base and third base fit the best. Maybe its because you can see the greatest variation there from just ok players to truly great ones, imo.

I'm not going to argue about catcher being difficult to play. Very physically demanding with upper level skills required. The psychological makeup at catcher and pitcher are more demanding than any other position since they are in on every play. Shortstop ranks third in psychological demands, since you are going to make the most errors of anyone on the team.

Seems to me the hardest position is the one your son plays....

My son is a pitcher and I will say catcher is the hardest. I wont repeat what has been said, but I can see a big difference in the way my son pitches based on who is catching him. Granted, I tell him all the time he has to mentally pitch his game no matter who is back there, but I can see a huge difference both in high school and summer ball based on who is the catcher. A great catcher can make his pitcher a lot better.

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I can see a big difference in the way my son pitches based on who is catching him.

You got that right. A great catcher absolutely makes his pitcher better...he makes his whole team better.

Just an opinion but would say c, then ss, 2b cf