An outfielder is a baseball or softball player whose position is in the grassy area beyond the infield, called the outfield. While infielders guard the bases and the area around home plate, outfielders patrol the large open space farther from the batter, ready to catch fly balls or chase down hits that make it past the infield.

There are three outfield positions: left field, center field, and right field. The center fielder usually covers the most ground and needs to be fast, while the right fielder often has the strongest throwing arm for making long throws back to the infield. Outfielders need good judgment to predict where a ball will land, speed to run it down, and strong arms to throw runners out.

Playing outfield looks easy until you try it yourself. You're standing far from the action, then suddenly a ball rockets into the sky and you have to sprint to exactly the right spot, keep your eye on the ball against the sun or stadium lights, and make the catch while running at full speed. Great outfielders like Willie Mays made spectacular catches look routine, but each one required split-second decisions and tremendous athleticism.