Captain (baseball)

Captain (baseball)

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. 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.

Major League Baseball's official rules only briefly mention the position of team captain. Section 4.01, which discusses the submission of a team's lineup to the umpire, notes that obvious errors in the lineup should be brought to the attention of the team's manager or captain.

In Major League Baseball, only a handful of teams now designate a player as captain. Jerry Remy, who was named as captain of the California Angels in 1977 at age 24, explains, "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."

Of the two current team captains in Major League Baseball, neither wears an NHL-style "C" on his jersey. Retired first baseman Mike Sweeney, former captain of the Kansas City Royals from 2003 to 2007, wore a small "C" patch above his right breast. Retired catcher Jason Varitek, former captain of the Boston Red Sox, also wore the "C" patch.

Two Major League Baseball teams currently have captains:

• New York Yankees: Derek Jeter
• Chicago White Sox: Paul Konerko