Center field is an iconic spot on a baseball field, a position played by legends such as Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays.

When they come out of the factory, leather baseball gloves are stiff and difficult to use. You can soften your glove and help develop a good pocket for the ball with a wide variety of oils, conditioners and softeners. These substances penetrate the surface of the leather and make it more supple.

Though the entire body is engaged when throwing a baseball, the shoulder, arms, back and core are responsible for the majority of the movements.

In 2004, 6.5 million athletes and 800,000 coaches in the United States participated in interscholastic sports, according to the National Federation of High School Association. Before coaching high school sports, however, coaches must fulfill certain requirements.

As a measure of a hitter’s power, bat speed can provide a youth baseball player with a competitive edge. If a player boosts his bat speed by two miles per hour, he can hit the ball another 20 to 25 feet, according to former coach Dennis Tessicini of Taft High School on HittingWorld.

The amount of skill displayed between the high school and college levels of baseball may be vastly different, but the field on which the sport is played has few differences. Consistency in the field size and layout helps prepare young baseball players if they decide to transition from high school to college athletics.

If you repeatedly perform overhead throws at high speeds, it can put tremendous pressure on your elbow. In addition, tight forearm muscles compound the stress on your elbow because your elbow has to compensate for a restricted range of motion.

Compared to high impact sports like football, baseball seems relatively safe and injury free. Yet many players don't realize the strain that throwing puts on the body. Whipping your arm around to sling a baseball at high speeds puts significant wear on your joints, muscles and tendons, particularly at the elbow.

The successful recruiting of high school baseball players is an integral part of the process for colleges to field competitive teams. The NCAA has strict rules in effect to govern the recruitment process, and college coaches are limited in how often and when they can contact a high school baseball player.

Left-handed players are often at a premium in baseball. A manager or coach wants high-quality left-handed pitchers and power hitters, yet there are relatively few positions for left-handed players to occupy on the field.

Little League Baseball is a national organization encompassing many baseball and even softball leagues. Little League Baseball has a standard set of rules which specify the dimensions of the field, including the distance from the pitcher's mound to home plate.

The Cal Ripken Baseball leagues are youth baseball organizations named for former Baltimore Orioles star Cal Ripken, a Hall of Fame player who set a major league record by playing in 2,632 consecutive games. The Ripken leagues adopt most standard baseball rules, but they make a few changes to serve the youth community.