Platoon system
Encyclopedia
The platoon system in baseball
is a method of designating two players to a single defensive position—usually one right-handed and one left-handed. Typically the right-handed half of the platoon is played on days when the opposing pitcher is left-handed and the left-handed player is played otherwise. The theory behind this is that generally players hit better against their opposite-handed counterparts, and that in some cases the difference is extreme enough to warrant complementing the player with one of opposite-handedness.
Platoons can also be organized along other axes, for example, splitting games between home run hitters and speedy contact hitters as the park dictates. In a sense, late-inning defensive replacements are a form of complex platooning.
Managers well known for platooning include Earl Weaver
and Casey Stengel
. The players involved in platoons are typically journeymen
-- players not considered so valuable in any sense that they must be played every day, though if well complemented, they can be very effective. This is a valuable asset to many teams.
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
is a method of designating two players to a single defensive position—usually one right-handed and one left-handed. Typically the right-handed half of the platoon is played on days when the opposing pitcher is left-handed and the left-handed player is played otherwise. The theory behind this is that generally players hit better against their opposite-handed counterparts, and that in some cases the difference is extreme enough to warrant complementing the player with one of opposite-handedness.
Platoons can also be organized along other axes, for example, splitting games between home run hitters and speedy contact hitters as the park dictates. In a sense, late-inning defensive replacements are a form of complex platooning.
Managers well known for platooning include Earl Weaver
Earl Weaver
Earl Sidney Weaver is a former Major League Baseball manager. He spent his entire 17-year managerial career with the Baltimore Orioles . Weaver was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.-Playing career:After playing for Beaumont High School in St...
and Casey Stengel
Casey Stengel
Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel , nicknamed "The Old Perfessor", was an American Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in ....
. The players involved in platoons are typically journeymen
Journeyman (sports)
A journeyman or journeywoman is an athlete or professional sports player who is technically competent, but unable to excel. In certain parts of the world the term has less negative connotations and the inability to excel is not needed for a player to be labelled thus.-Definitions:Alexandra Allred...
-- players not considered so valuable in any sense that they must be played every day, though if well complemented, they can be very effective. This is a valuable asset to many teams.