The Little League Coach

Key Position

"Strong up the middle" is one of the oldest adages in baseball . This holds true in Little League , but honestly, second base is a place you can hide one of your weaker arms. The fact is, you rarely get true 6-4-3 double plays in Little League, most often you get 6U, 6-3. Therefore, you can hide a decent fielder w/ a weak arm at second base. This is not preferred, but it can be done.

Your second baseman should be agile and able to cover a lot of ground. They need to be able to pick up the play in the hole behind the first baseman and have the ability to dive and cover up balls up the middle. The hardest play they make is a play to second, so they have to be able to get into proper throwing position quickly. They need to be baseball smart as they have to move more than anyone else on the field other than the shortstop .

Accuracy Counts

Second base should have an fairly accurate but not necessarily strong arm and strong arm. The must be right handed because a lefty cannot make the throw to first w/o rotating.

Key Characteristics

Here are some characteristics of a good second baseman:

Right Handed
Baseball Intelligent
Dedicated
Accurate
Solid throwing fundamentals
Agile

An agile second baseman that can handle the ball up the middle and in the hole behind the first baseman can get a good hard throwing, down and outside pitcher a lot of outs.

Can you think of any other valuable characteristics a second baseman should have? Please share them.