Captain (baseball)

Jason Varitek of the Boston Red Sox with a captain insignia on his chest

In baseball, a captain is an honorary title sometimes given to a member of the team to acknowledge his leadership. In the early days of baseball, a captain was a player who was responsible for many of the functions now assumed by managers and coaches, such as preparing lineups, making decisions about strategy, and encouraging teamwork.[1] In amateur or youth baseball, a manager or coach may appoint a team captain to assist in communicating with the players and to encourage teamwork and improvement.[2]

The official rules of Major League Baseball (MLB) only briefly mention the position of team captain. Official Baseball Rule 4.03 Comment (formerly Rule 4.01 Comment), which discusses the submission of a team's lineup card to the umpire, notes that obvious errors in the lineup should be brought to the attention of the team's manager or captain.[3]

Only a few major league teams have had captains in recent years, two examples being Adrián Beltré of the Texas Rangers and David Wright of the New York Mets, both of whom served in the role from 2013 through 2018. As of the 2023 season, the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals are the only teams with captains; Aaron Judge was given the honor on December 21, 2022 and Salvador Pérez who was given the honor on March 30, 2023. Jerry Remy, who was named as captain of the California Angels in 1977 at age 24, explains that in today's modern age of baseball, "there's probably no need for a captain on a major league team. I think there are guys who lead by example. You could name the best player on your team as captain, but he may not be the guy other players will talk to or who will quietly go to other players and give them a prod."[4]

Baseball captains in MLB generally do not wear an NHL-style "C" on their jersey. Mike Sweeney, captain of the Kansas City Royals from 2003 to 2007, wore the "C" patch, as did John Franco and Keith Hernandez of the Mets, Barry Larkin of the Cincinnati Reds and Jason Varitek of the Boston Red Sox. Brandon Belt of the San Francisco Giants wore an unofficial "C" patch (made from electrical tape) in a game on September 10, 2021, as a joke.[5] Of the current captains in MLB, only Salvador Pérez wears the "C" patch.

  1. ^ Dickson, Paul (1999). The New Dickson Baseball Dictionary. Mariner Books. p. 101. ISBN 0-15-600580-8.
  2. ^ ASEP (2005). Coaching Baseball: Technical and Tactical Skills. Human Kinetics. p. 240. ISBN 0-7360-4703-4.
  3. ^ Official Baseball Rules (PDF), Major League Baseball, 1949–2010, p. 32
  4. ^ Remy, Jerry; Corey Sandler (2006). Watching Baseball: Discovering the Game Within the Game. Globe Pequot. p. 218.
  5. ^ Shultz, Alex (September 10, 2021). "Why Giants' Brandon Belt anointed himself team captain with a taped-on 'C' vs. Cubs". SFGate. Retrieved September 11, 2021.