Middle infielders: speed vs reaction
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Is there a clear cut winner of which combination of attributes helps cover the most ground defensively, particularly for middle infielders? For example at 2B; POTM Mondessi with his 99 speed and 85 reaction VS Finest Mookie with his 94 reaction and 72 speed - who gets to grounders in the hole better? What about for shallow fly balls - maybe Mondessi for this one as speed may be more of a pure factor?
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In your example, Mondesi. But that's only because Mookie has gotten some real wacky animations at 2nd for me
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Reaction is always most important for middle infielders, because that attribute decides the jump the fielder gets dictated by the game when the batter makes contact with the ball. You can have 99 speed at shortstop, but if your fielder starts off on the wrong foot there's no chance you'll make the play. Speed helps on shallow infield bloops, so you can still run it down and prevent the ball from dropping in the area between the outfielders and middle infielders, but this has become such a rarity that it's not really worth considering. So reaction all the way without a doubt.
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