Baseball Utility Players

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Part of the video series: Baseball Positions & Roles

How to be a Closer in Baseball

Summary: Learn about the utility man who is a player who can play a variety of positions, and is often used in a substitution role with expert tips and advice on baseball positions and roles in this free online baseball video clip.

Views: 539 | Tags: positions, baseball, players, teams, roles, pitchers, catchers, infielders, outfielders, hitters, batters

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About the Expert

Richard Davis Richard Davis has played baseball at various levels for more than fifteen years. He has played at the Amateur Athletics Union and the National Collegiate Athl... read more

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Video Transcript

Baseball Utility Players

So, I'm sitting in the domain of the utility man, the dugout. That doesn't mean the utility man is not important, it just means he's not on the field at all times. The utility man is very important because he is a general backup to just about everyone on the field. The utility man, while he may not specialize in any specific position, he has to be good at a variety of positions. A good utility man, like Wilson Bedemont for the NY Yankees, is able to fill in at third base, he's able to fill in at shortstop, second base, sometimes spell the first baseman. He can a little bit in the outfield, does just about everything except pitch and catch. Those are some very specialized positions and generally, utility men do not play them. However, the utility man has to be ready to come into the game at any time if there's an injury, if there's a defensive replacement necessary. Any number of situations could result in a utility man being called on at any time in the game. Generally, what a utility man is used for is to be put in the later innings of the game after a pinch hitter is being used. Perhaps your best pinch hitter is actually an outfielder but you're going to pinch-hit him for your second baseman because you need the offense to score a run late in the game. So, the utility man will go in and replace that pinch hitter on the field. You really don't want a left fielder playing second base. Utility man has a lot of responsibilities. He has to be able to play any number of positions at any given time. He always has to be ready to go and he's very, very essential to the success of a good team. If you look at your successful baseball teams they all have one common thread. They all have really solid utility men who can fill in at any time.