Editing First baseman (section)

{{Short description|Infield defensive position in baseball and softball}}
{{Redirect|First base}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2017}}
{{more citations needed|date=July 2016}}
[[Image:Baseball 1B.svg|thumb|right|The position of the first baseman.]]

A '''first baseman''', abbreviated '''1B''', is the player on a [[baseball]] or [[softball]] team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majority of plays made at that base. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the first baseman is assigned the number 3.

Also called '''first sacker''' or '''cornerman''', the first baseman is ideally a tall player who throws left-handed and possesses good flexibility and quick reflexes. Flexibility is needed because the first baseman receives throws from the other [[infielder]]s, the [[catcher]] and the [[pitcher]] after they have fielded ground balls. In order for the runner to be called out, the first baseman must be able to ''stretch'' towards the throw and catch it before the runner reaches first base. First base is often referred to as "the other hot corner"—the "hot corner" being [[third baseman|third base]]—and therefore, like the third baseman, he must have quick reflexes to field the hardest hit balls down the foul line, mainly by left-handed [[pull hitter]]s and right-handed hitters hitting to the opposite field.