Chapter 4 - Building A Team

In building a team, the pioneers of modern baseball discovered patterns which are essential to success on the field. John McGraw always wanted strength down the middle when he managed championship teams for the New York Giants. He wanted topnotch defensive players in center field, at shortstop and second base, and behind the bat. In checking the strength of the Chicago White Sox, 1959 American League champions, you will find it in those positions—Landis in center field, Fox at second base, Aparicio at shortstop, and Lollar doing the catching.

In the top teams of recent years you will find the same pattern. As examples, take the Dodgers with Snider in center field, Reese at shortstop, Robinson at second base, and Campanella behind the bat; and the Yankees with Dickey catching, Rizzuto and Gordon as the second-base combination, and DiMaggio in center field.

Connie Mack concluded that pitching provided 70 per cent of the strength of a club and proved it by winning pennants for the Athletics with such stellar mounds men as Bob Grove, George Earnshaw, Ed Rommel, Chief Bender, Eddie Plank, and Jack Coombs.

Add to this Branch Rickey's conclusion that it takes five championship players plus pitching to win a pennant under normal circumstances and you have a formula for building a team. By championship players, Mr. Rickey means players who can run, throw, field, hit with power, and have a desire to play the game to the best of their ability.

INFIELDERS AND OUTFIELDERS. Starting from scratch as manager, coach, or captain of a squad of players, who do you want to be your shortstop? You want the player with the strongest arm if he has the other attributes required of an infielder. He should have good running speed and agility and quick hands. Since the shortstop gets more fielding chances than any other player, he should have "glue in his glove"; he should be such a sure fielder that he will rarely fumble the ball.

It is desirable to have a second baseman with strong forearms and wrists which permit him to make quick snap throws. He must be able to get rid of the ball in a hurry without throwing with a big sweeping motion of the arm. The second baseman also has a wide territory to cover and should have good running speed, agility, and good hands.
Particularly in Little League and other junior baseball it is helpful to have a tall first baseman because beginners often make throws which aren't true to the mark. Of course, it is essential that he have flexible hands which do not fumble balls thrown to him. Agility also is desirable since a good first baseman should be able to leap for high throws, dig low throws out of the dirt, and leave the base to spear wide throws.

A strong arm is important to a third baseman. Balls are hit so hard in his direction that he can frequently knock them down with his glove and still throw out the runner. In fact, some players have gained a reputation for blocking the ball with their bodies, retrieving it and retiring the runner. Observers would comment about Pepper Martin, the St. Louis Cardinals' star: "He'll be a great third baseman as long as his chest holds out."

The catcher should be rugged but still have good enough mobility to field bunts and foul flies and to back up the bases. He should be able to throw quickly and with power and have leadership qualifications since he directs the play on the field.

In the outfield, the player with the best range should be assigned to center field. He directs traffic in the outfield and in most instances has the right-of-way to catch every ball he can reach. He should have a strong and accurate arm.

If there is a difference in the strength and accuracy of throwing arms of the other fielders, the one with the weakest arm should play left field. A weaker arm can be tolerated there because the throw is much shorter to third base from left field than from right field, and one of the key defensive plays in baseball is to keep base-runners on first base from going to third on hits to the outfield. Thus, a strong arm in right field is very valuable because players like Carl Furillo, Rocky Colavito, Mel Ott, and Al Kaline can throw out many runners advancing from first to third on singles hit to right field.

In amateur baseball it is not always possible to have enough skillful players to fill all the positions. Some managers and coaches use the same kind of tactics Paul Richards has used with success in the major leagues—shifting a good outfielder with a strong arm from right to left field if the batter is a right-handed pull hitter who is very likely to hit to left field in a crucial situation, and then switching the fielders back to their normal positions against a batter who hits more often to right field or sprays his hits to all fields. However, you can go overboard in your strategy and make so many shifts that you confuse your players or break down their confidence.

PITCHING REQUIREMENTS. As to pitchers, it is assumed that every manager wants a player who can throw with speed and control. But speed isn't enough. He should have a "live" fast ball. If a fast ball doesn't spin rapidly enough to "blur" as it approaches the batter, it is the kind of pitch good hitters like to hit. Add to the strong arm the ability to learn to throw other kinds of pitches, enough agility to be able to field his position, and the intelligence to study the batters and figure out their weaknesses, and you have a potential pitching star.

Not all successful pitchers have been able to throw with unusual speed, but those who lack strong arms must possess exceptional aptitude for throwing "freak" pitches. Examples are Hoyt Wilhelm with the knuckle ball, Carl Hubbell with the screwball, and Sal Maglie and Eddie Lopat with their variety of curves.

If you have a player who throws the ball with great velocity, yet fails to make the grade at some position, don't give up on him as a player until you have given him an opportunity to pitch. Some of the finest pitchers in baseball have started at other positions. Bob Lemon, Bucky Walters, and Sol Rogovan all started as third-basemen, but failed to make the grade because of low batting averages. Each became a major league pitcher, and Lemon and Walters were key factors in their teams' winning pennants. Rocky Colavito and Carl Furillo proved that they could pitch in the majors, but their managers believed they were more valuable playing every day in right field. Hal Jeffcoat did switch from the outfield to pitching with the Chicago Cubs.

Likewise, managers have shifted outstanding pitchers to other positions to take advantage of their batting ability every day. Ed Barrow did it with Babe Ruth after Ruth had been a winning pitcher in World Series play, and Branch Rickey did it with George Sisler after Sisler had proved that he could pitch on a par with Walter Johnson. Both became all-time stars at their new positions.

SPEED AND VERSATILITY. While it is true that every manager looks for good hitters and that no player except a pitcher can expect to advance far in the game without being able to hit close to .300, we often overlook the other attributes of excellent players.

For instance, how many people have commented on the great running speed of the Brooklyn Dodgers' infield when it comprised Billy Cox at third base, Peewee Reese at shortstop, Jackie Robinson at second base, and Gil Hodges at first base? Cox, Reese, and Robinson were outstanding runners, and in his prime Hodges was almost as fast despite his size. Even Roy Campanella, the catcher, ran with deceptive speed. In their prime, Cam-panella and Yogi Berra were very quick starters and could run the bases as fast as most infielders and outfielders.
 
As to arms, Cox, Reese, Hodges, and Campanella had great arms and sure hands, and Robinson had a quick arm and could make snap throws required of a second baseman. All the Dodger infielders could shift to other positions and play them with skill, and Hodges also was a first-rate catcher and outfielder.

On the subject of outfielders, the Dodgers of the late 1940's probably had the greatest collection of arms ever seen in one outfield with Carl Furillo, Duke Snider, and Andy Pafko doing the throwing. All three could cover enough ground to be acceptable center fielders, too.

If you have the privilege of working with players of that kind of ability, you won't have many problems.

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