Fielding 4 outfielders

If you have 4 OFs is there a reason that you would not space them out more or less evenly? Distance from lf line to LF, distance from LF to LC, distance from LC to RC, etc. all the same. I can see guarding the line and having a shorter distance between the foul line and the player, then all the outfielders would be spaced evenly. My DD’s Team, and most the other Teams we played, seemed to bunch LC and RC together, which I do not understand.

Do you call the 4th outfielder, rover position?

There's different ways to do it. Rec ball leagues have different rules regarding it. Some will play it as a buck short, basically standing behind second base. Others will space them evenly, and others will play a rover.

There are two philosophies you can use. The first is to "win rec ball", where you place the outfielders where they will be more apt to make the play. This usually includes buck short or a rover that moves depending on the batter. The second is to "teach them" which tries to use outfielders in a way that most resembles what they'll have to do next year when they only have 3.

For the second philosophy, what I find works best is to play 2 center fielders. One shallow, one deep. The shallow CF is not buck short, still on the grass, but playing "in". This CF back's up (is not primary) for throws to 2nd on a steal, and is primary 2b coverage for particular bunting scenarios, no different from having 3 outfielders. The second plays deep CF, and is backup for LF and RF as somewhat of a "rover".

You can call it whatever you want, there's no formal rule or guideline.

-W

Qunicy, are you using 10 players on the field? Where do you play that? I've heard of it in suburban middle school age Catholic league play, but that's about it. You learn something new every day.

I think where you play that fourth outfielder depends on a few factors. If you have a dominating pitcher, you might want to put that person in position to catch the duck snorts and Texas Leaguers if a lot of those are being produced. If there's a runner on base that person might be playing short in CF to cut down on the up the middle hits, or keep a runner from scoring. Evenly spacing them can work too if your opponent hits a lot of fly balls to the outfield -- particularly if your outfield isn't particularly swift.

I've played this a couple different ways. Against a better hitting team I would shift three toward left and have the right fielder cover the traditional right field area. Everyone would be "outfielders".

A lot of people (myself included most of the time), would play the outfield normal (3 outfielders) and a short center. The short center plays shallow, usually behind 2nd base or toward SS if most hits are going that way. My understanding is that most leagues require this 10th defender to stay behind a certain point (I believe the baseline) until the pitcher releases the ball. If my faster pitcher was in the circle I'd have the rover play between 1st and 2nd. You could prob have her play behing 3rd for the pickoff if you wanted as well.

In a lot of rec leagues, this is probably just a way to get more girls into the game and on the field...

We are probably going to be in a 10U Rec. league this year. I looked up the local rule to make sure I did not misunderstand it:

“Ten defensive players are allowed on the field (four outfielders). The four outfielders may be in any alignment providing they are all in the grass at the start of the play.”

So far all the above responses have me thinking, thank you.

The "grass rule" is a good one.. Remember that most rec leagues are aware of their field dimensions and those are static, they're not traveling around to random fields.

I like this rule because it prevents a "buck short", where you have a girl standing behind second, and the SS and 2b never learn how to properly cover their positions.

Our local rec league has 10 players for 7u, 10u, and 12u.

-W

The fall ball league my DD played in allowed 4, 3, or 2 outfielders (10, 9, or 8 players on the field). All of the outfielders must be on the grass at the start of the play. This allowed getting more girls on the field, but also limited the amount of forfits due to lack of players. The coaches always played the outfielders evenly spaced at approximately the same depth. About 60% of the girls playing also were on TB teams, and playing with 2 outfielders happened more than once toward the end of the season. My DD was very tired after playing OF with only one other outfielder.

Our rec league also has 10 on the field up through 10u. I generally spaced the outfield evenly. Having RF closer to the line also makes it easier for her to back up 1B.

The downside to 4 spaced evenly is figuring out backup on throws to 2B. Often at the young ages that 10 players are on the field, center field should be used for 2b coverage, but with a right center and left center, figuring out which position covers may be a challenge, and a higher likelihood that a bad throw to second results in extra bases as the ball rolls into deep center.

-W

Not my intention but with the various answers it has become a philosophical Issue.

Another Team, which I forgot about, plays a “standard” 9 defense then positions their ‘rover’ as close to 2nd as legal. As soon as the pitcher starts their windup, play starting, the rover runs to 2nd. Basically they have a standard defense, with the addition of someone standing on 2nd. I think this is probably the winning strategy; I hate it and will never teach it. I have been going thru all the different possible plays in my head and this strategy inhibits the growth of every position on the Team.

Having a true rover is a little bit more attractive. No one on base, move 2nd baseperson a few feet towards 2nd, have rover between 1st and 2nd then move up at the start of the windup. Basically the entire right side of the infield is shutdown for the opposing Team and the batter will be out at 1st. Same scenario at 3rd with a runner on 1st and 2nd. Umm. Possibilities are endless with a true rover; an adult would have to reposition them, based on the pitcher, batter, game situation, etc. Sounds like fun to me because it is almost like I am on the field. I am not sure how much fun the girls would have me moving them around all the time, probably not much.

I am not sure I like the short and deep CF. I have never tried this but it seems deep CF is going to running around a lot but have limited, or no, opportunity to make a play. It seems like a position I would put a girl I was annoyed at.

Regardless of the spacing of the outfielders, I am thinking that there is little or no, learning curve from LC or RC to a true CF. Yes, the ball is coming off the bat a little different but their responsibilities are the same.

Maybe all the Teams are grouping their CF and rover together because they are trying not to put either player too far out of position. Good thought anyways.