The requirement to throw at first base is less than at any other position. When I am looking for someone to play first base, glove work is 80% of what I'm looking for. The rest is reserved for how they throw to second on a pickoff and how they throw home after an initial play.

So if I had a kid that was hurt to the point where he couldn't throw from the outfield but not hurt enough to have to sit him (or if I couldn't sit him because of numbers), first is where I'd be looking to play him.

Seriously? You're taking what I said WAY too literally. EVERY ballplayer has to throw the ball. If you will go back and read what I typed, hopefully you'll realize I was talking about odds of having to catch vs. throw when a ball is put into play in order to get the "first out".

Let me ask you this--if you only had 9 players on any particular day, and one of them had a sore arm but insisted on playing anyway, which position would you pick for them? The other guys said 1st base. What position would you pick?

Most of these responsibilities can be covered for by the 2nd baseman or someone else. Frankly, if the kid is injured, and you are still playing him, then whoever else you have would probably still be worse than the injured player.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

So you'd retrain your team while the replacement pitcher was warming up?

He's 11-12. He's injured. Sit him.

I would sit him. Why are we arguing so much about this? What lessons about officiating are being gained from the direction this discussion is headed? I thought this was a hypothetical case where a kid with an injured arm had to play. I obviously missed the point you were going for.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

And if we only had 9 players?

C'mon. Sometimes kids play when they aren't 100%. Nobody's saying that his arm is falling off here. The strain of pitching is obviously more than that of playing first base.

He's 11-12. 65-75 years to go in life. 7-10, maybe more, of baseball if he's good. Not wrecking an arm now.

WAY too many people pushing kids WAY too hard at WAY too young an age.

Read LL 4.17 Game stops. BoD decides what next. Most likely reschedule as it was an injury issue.

Fine--we all agree. Don't play a kid with an injury. Reschedule, forfeit, whatever.

But you're avoiding the question, and everybody sees that. You had no problem scoffing at the multiple 1st base suggestions (even wrote an essay about the duties of a first baseman), but you didn't offer your own suggestion when we asked. SO, one more time, we'd like to hear your answer--if you had 9 relatively equal ballplayers, and one of them was unable to throw a ball properly, which position would you choose for that kid in a Little League game?

What other position can he play?

Can he catch a fly? RF

Can he field? 2B

If not, maybe...DEEP 3rd!:eek:

I worked a 14U game today and The home team had only 9 players. With 2 outs in the 5th inning and with a 3-1 lead and runners on 1st and 2nd, the starting pitcher was pulled and moved to 1st base. The 1st baseman, who had already pitched in an earlier game that day pitched. He struck out the batter to get out of the inning. He then pitched another scoreless inning and was moved back to 1st. The 1st basemen (starting pitcher) had made a fantastic catch in foul territory, reaching over a fence into dead ball territory. So, I asked him why we was bumped to 2nd, especially since he made such a good play. He replied that the other player had a sore arm, and so he could only play 1st!

Its only an anectode, I know. That kid had no idea why I chuckled when he told me though.

I chuckled when I ran across this movie clip yesterday on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyvu1nWjOlI&t=35s