Editing First baseman (section)

== First-baseman's mitt ==
{{unreferenced section|date=June 2017}}
The first baseman's [[baseball glove|mitt]] is similar to a catcher's mitt in that it has extra padding and has no individual fingers. (In shape, it is closer to a mitten than a glove.) It is much larger than the other infielders' gloves; it is wide, very deep, and it is crescent-shaped at its edges, allowing the first-baseman to use the mitt like a scoop in catching errant throws from other players on the infield.

Since many throws to first base are made in great haste, the first baseman must be prepared to catch balls that are either high or low, as well as balls thrown quite a distance to either side, all while maintaining contact with the base (using one foot or the other). This requires a fair amount of agility and physical coordination. Among the most difficult plays a first baseman is normally required to make are the "short hop" and the "[[tag play]]", both of which are far easier to execute when the fielder is wearing the first-baseman's mitt rather than another type of glove.

===Short hop===
[[File:Hank Greenberg 1937 cropped.jpg|thumb|180px|[[Hank Greenberg]], Hall of Fame first baseman and 2-time MVP]]

Every ground ball hit to an infielder becomes a race between the batter-runner and the team in the field; the fielder must catch the batted ball and throw it to first before the batter can reach the base. Consequently, part of the first baseman's job is to step toward the incoming ball and stretch their body so that their catching hand makes contact with it as soon as physically possible. Compared to catching the ball while standing passively on the base, this shaves a fraction of a second from the time the runner has to reach base. When it is thrown too low and bounces before reaching the first baseman, catching the ball is difficult, especially while he is in a "stretch position". A throw caught shortly after its bounce, that is, while the baseball's path, rebounding from the turf, is sharply ''upward'', is called a "short hop". Since a ball that strikes the ground is always subject to the possibility of encountering a pebble or a rut or a spike-mark that sends it in a radically new direction, it is best that the first baseman catch the ball on the short hop by swiping or scooping the ball as close to the ground surface as possible. This technique also minimizes the amount of time required to make the [[putout]].

===Tag play===
The second-most-difficult play for a first baseman is the "[[tag play]]". Whenever an infielder's throw is so far off the mark that the first baseman must abandon their base to catch it, the first baseman is left with only two options. To put the runner out, he must either lunge back to the base before the runner reaches it, ''or'' he must [[tag out|tag]] the runner before the runner reaches the base.  A [[tag out|tag]] involves touching the runner with the ball (or with the gloved hand holding the ball) before the runner reaches the base.  At first base, the typical tag play occurs when the infielder's throw is ''high and to the left'' of the first baseman, causing him to jump and stretch their long mitt to catch the ball before it sails into the [[dugout (baseball)|dugout]] or the [[grandstand]].  The tag is made, after the catch, by swiping the mitt downward, toward the in-coming runner's head or shoulder, often in one fluid motion that is integrated with the act of catching the ball. Performed properly, the tag play can be spectacular to see.