How to Make Your Own Baseball Roster

An effective baseball roster needs to be comprehensive to include each player's ability to bunt, run, catch, throw, hit for average and hit for power. Each defensive position has its own unique skill set and the proper athlete is needed to fill that position. Start building the roster with the battery -- the pitcher and catcher -- and keep building around the most important defensive positions. A team's hitting will go into slumps, but defensive never slumps; defense wins games.

Instructions

    • 1

      Find starting pitchers. A starting pitcher is an athlete who can throw three different pitches for strikes two-thirds of the time and can do so for 100 in-game pitches (ideally six or seven innings). Starting pitchers should pitch only once every five days, so find the appropriate number of starting pitchers for your league's schedule and set up a rotation.

    • 2

      Get swing-and-miss relief pitching. Late-inning relief pitchers should throw strikes with at least two good pitches and throw with high velocity to induce strike-outs. Relief pitchers throw one or two innings at a time, giving it their all, and are able to pitch three days in a row. Find the appropriate number of pitchers to fill your relief core.

    • 3

      Complete the battery by finding a solid defensive catcher. The catcher should be able to frame the strike zone, block pitches in the dirt and have a "pop" time of around 1 second. A pop time is the time it takes for the catcher to catch a pitch and throw to second base between the pops of the gloves.

    • 4

      Find an athletic shortstop with quick feet and a strong right throwing arm. The shortstop has the longest throw to first on the infield. The shortstop is the captain of the infield defense, so look for leadership qualities.

    • 5

      Have your outfielders run a 60-yard dash and time them. Designate your fastest outfielder as the centerfielder. Centerfield has the most ground to cover.

    • 6

      Put and athletic right-hand thrower at second base. Make sure the second baseman has quick feet in order to turn the double play. Second base has the shortest throw to first so throwing arm strength is not a concern.

    • 7

      Place your most fearless defender at third base, commonly known as the "Hot Corner." Third base fields the hardest hit balls so the player needs quick hands. Third base has the second longest routine throw to first; a strong right throwing arm is needed.

    • 8

      Designate your corner outfielders — left field and right field. The defensive needs of these positions are not great so feel free to sacrifice a little bit of defensive strength for hitting ability. Your rightfielder should have an above-average throwing arm.

    • 9

      Put a big hitter at first base. First base does not require a lot of athletic ability and is the only infield position that can be played by a left-hand thrower. A large, slow-footed power hitter can play first.

    • 10

      Assemble your bench players. You should have at least one backup catcher and one utility player. The utility player should be athletic and familiar with playing all infield and outfield positions.

    • 11

      Construct your lineup. The first and second hitter should have speed and not strike out much. The best overall hitter hits third while the best power hitter bats fourth. Fifth through eighth can be in any order while the ninth hitter should also have speed in anticipation of the lineup turning over.