To me, the infield is like a living computer. Think of the players as the hardware. Their skills are like software. It’s a machine and it functions with remarkable effectiveness as long as each component plays its part.
On a computer, you hit a key and you get a specific response and it involves many different components. The infield is like that.
It’s not just “ground ball, throw him out.” That’s what the fans are watching. But a ball on the ground to the right of second causes specific reactions from several players. The first baseman goes to the bag to catch a throw. The catcher comes up the line to back him up. The second baseman fields the ball and pegs to first, at the same time the shortstop moves to cover second, in case the play at first goes wrong.
Every action is backed up, protected. There’s always a second-level reaction that most people don’t see or aren’t aware of. We call it teamwork. Computer people talk about redundant systems. Same thing, really.
We do this ‘cause baseball is so fast. On the infield, even if you do everything perfectly, there’s barely enough time to get a fast runner at first.
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