Around The Diamond: Third Base

Everyone thinks that 3rd base is one of the easier positions to field, but that's not true it's actually harder than centerfield according to Bill James because 3rd basemen get more balls than centerfielders do. 3rd basemen are a little less athletic and are not as good with the glove than shortstops but hit better than them. SS is the most comparable position to third base mainly because they're on the same side of the infield so they basically have the same throw.

Third basemen are starting to become excellent hitters in the mold of David Wright and Ryan Braun(now in LF). These guys like Evan Longoria, Josh Vitters and Alex Gordon are excellent hitters and tremendous athletes. Most third basemen now are tremendous athletes first, great hitters second and good fielders third. The reason why people like David Wright win Gold Gloves over better fielders like Chipper Jones is because David Wright is so flashy and is a human highlight reel because of his athleticism so even though he makes plenty of errors he's so exciting to watch. Third basemen are very good hitters now and field very well and are probably the best position all around meaning that there are plenty of third basemen that are great fielders, great hitters and have speed(five tool players) like Carlos Guillen.

In the future, a prototypical third basemen will be like David Wright because there are so many guys like him now at the hot corner. These guys will all be great hitters that get on base and are five tool players. Third base will become the new cornerstone position of a franchise.