5-Man Infield
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Re: 5-Man Infield
[ Author: Guest: John Brooks | Posted: Mar 29, 2006 10:02 AM
]
- This, in effect, creates a 5-man infield, making it a lot more difficult for ground balls to get past the infield (although a lot more likely for a popup to drop into the outfield).
Usually the 5-man infield is played on a player who hits the ball to one side, or the 4-man infield that is slightly moved to the right, like the third baseman is at the shortstop, second baseman and shortstop are on the right side of the infield, and the first baseman in shallow right field. Many managers usually do this against power hitting left handed batters that hit a lot of balls to the right side.
Usually the 5-man infield is played on a player who hits the ball to one side, or the 4-man infield that is slightly moved to the right, like the third baseman is at the shortstop, second baseman and shortstop are on the right side of the infield, and the first baseman in shallow right field. Many managers usually do this against power hitting left handed batters that hit a lot of balls to the right side.
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I know Japan has won, and everything is over, but I just began to think about something that Ok-kantoku could have done to possibly prevent that run from scoring when A-Rod singled home the winning run.
I've seen if before several times in the majors used by Mike Scochia (with the Angels) and Joe Torre (with the Yankees), bringing in an outfielder to play defense in the infield when letting in 1 run is not an option. This, in effect, creates a 5-man infield, making it a lot more difficult for ground balls to get past the infield (although a lot more likely for a popup to drop into the outfield).
I've been watching Japanese baseball for 15 years, and I cannot recall the 5-man infield EVER being used.
Now, my question is this: would this have been a good situation for Oh-kantoku to call in an outfielder to play defense in the infield (or substited an outfielder for an infielder) to decrease the chances of a ground ball getting past the infield. An outfielder like Ichiro, and the speedy Aoki (or even Kinjoh) could likely cover a lot of ground, decreasing the chances of a popup falling in.
I'm assuming a lot of this has to do with the groundball/flyball tendencies of the pitcher. Regardless, it didn't seem like the Americans were really making good contact with Fujikawa, so I'm thinking such a move might have paid off. We do know that the ball was hit right up the middle, and again, I was just wondering if the exact situation were to repeat itself, but this time with a 5th infielder, would Japan and USA have been playing in extra innings?