fielder

A fielder is a player on the defensive side in sports that involve fielding a ball, and whose primary duty is to field or stop balls hit into play. The term is most commonly used in baseball and cricket, where fielders aim to prevent scoring and to record outs by returning the ball quickly and accurately to the appropriate base or central area.

In baseball, any non-pitcher who takes a defensive position can be described as a fielder. The defense uses infielders (first, second, shortstop, and third basemen) and outfielders (left, center, and right field), with the pitcher and catcher also considered fielders in the broad sense. Fielders catch batted balls, field grounders, tag runners, and participate in double plays. Statistics for fielding include fielding percentage, total chances, putouts, assists, and errors. Good fielding requires glove work, footwork, hand–eye coordination, and quick throws to bases.

In cricket, a fielder is any member of the fielding side apart from the bowler and wicketkeeper. Fielders are stationed in various positions such as slips, gully, point, cover, mid-off, mid-on, and on the boundary. Their duties include catching, stopping and returning the ball, saving boundaries, and supporting run-saving efforts. The wicketkeeper is a specialized fielder who stands behind the batsman. Fielding quality in cricket is assessed by catching ability, throwing accuracy, speed, and ground-fielding skills.

Both sports emphasize practice in catching, throwing, communication, and positioning to reduce the opposition’s scoring opportunities and increase the chances of dismissals.