Yankees Boone: Time to convert one-position players into multi-position players

The New York Yankees can greatly increase the value of their players by seeking to convert particular one-position players into multi-position players.

Baseball fans and analysts marvel how great a hitter and a pitcher Babe Ruth was at the beginning of his career. When he wasn’t pitching, he played left field, center field, and first base with the Boston Red Sox. After he joined the Yankees in 1920, he also played right field. Ruth typically alternated between left field and right field with his new club.

Not since Ruth has there been so much attention paid to a multi-position player as superstar Shohei Ohtani. As a member of the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan, he either played the outfield or was a designated hitter on the days he didn’t throw. He performed so well as a left-handed hitter and a right-handed pitcher (consistently throwing around 100 mph) that he became known as Japan’s Babe Ruth.

Now as a member of the Angels, Ohtani is being used either as a designated hitter or a pitcher. Mike Scioscia, the long-time, conservative manager of the Angels, says that he will not permit him to play the outfield. (Not sure if Ohtani is pleased about that.)

Even though baseball has had accomplished multi-position utility players throughout its history (e.g., in recent years, Sandy Alomar, Jr., Maicer Izturis, Jeff Reboulet, Ronald Torreyes (just sent down), and Ben Zobrist), it has not been willing to risk “tampering with modern rituals of caring for an MLB starting pitcher as if he was a piece of fine crystal,” this according to James Wagner of the NY Times.

Pitchers, in particular, are hardly ever asked to play another position in the field.

The conventional wisdom on the part of baseball executives and managers is that it is too difficult for MLB players to both pitch and play the field and hit at the same time. They also fear that there is a greater likelihood the player will injure himself. They seem to view pitchers and position players as two totally different groups of people.

The perspective that pitchers will never be able to hit and play the field well and position players can’t pitch well is deeply ingrained in the play it safe, risk-averse culture of MLB.

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Yet in local parks and playgrounds, little leagues, high schools, and colleges, this preconception of the differences between pitchers and position players are not apparent. In fact, the most outstanding athletes at these levels tend to be terrific pitchers and also the best hitters.

They also are put in the most challenging positions on the field, like shortstop and center field.
Those who have less mobility because they are very tall or left-handed are often assigned to first base or designated hitter when not pitching.

One rare exception is Brendan McKay, the fourth overall pick by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2017 draft. Out of the University of Louisville, the Rays gave him a $7 million signing bonus. A left-hander, he was 11-3 in his final year in college with a 2.56 ERA and 146 strikeouts.

At the same time, he hit .341 with 18 home runs and 57 RBIs. The Rays believed he was the best position player and the best pitcher on its draft board. This year he pitched, played first base, and filled in as a designated hitter for the Rays’ Class A short-season Hudson Valley Renegades.

Which Yankees could do the same?

In a recent game between the Yanks and the Angels, and with Ohtani participating only in the designated hitter role, right fielder Aaron Judge cut down the Angels’ Kole Calhoun at home plate to end an inning early in the game.

The throw was clocked at an impressive 100.5 mph according to MLB.com’s Statcast, the hardest throw by a position player so far this year. (The second hardest throw this season, at 99.9 mph, was also made by Judge.)

Later in the game Judge threw out Martin Maldonado at second base from deep in the right-field corner. Both throws traveled in a taut line just off the ground and were pinpoint accurate.
Two years ago Aaron Hicks uncorked a throw from center field that traveled 105.5 mph.

Given the strength and accuracy of Hicks’ and Judge’s arms, could they be trained to pitch an inning or two and then resume playing their outfield positions in the same game?

A number of good pitchers have also hit the ball well during their entire careers. For example, Wes Ferrell, Bob Lemon, Red Ruffing, Warren Spahn, and Earl Wilson all hit over 30 home runs during their playing days. Don Drysdale had 29 home runs and Bob Gibson had 24.

In addition to being an outstanding pitcher since 2009, Madison Baumgarner (only 28 years old) began the 2018 season with 17 home runs to lead all active pitchers in both leagues.

More recently, several pitchers have achieved respectable batting averages and WAR scores, including Baumgarner, Zach Greinke, Clayton Kershaw, Mike Leake, and Travis Wood. Yet, these pitchers were not employed in another position on the field, such as first base.

The main point is that baseball executives and managers have not made an effort to utilize their players in the most efficient and effective way possible.

Clearly, there are many more single position players who can play other positions on the field but have not been trained and asked to do so. This would be a good place to start.

Similarly, there are pitchers who can hit and run and, with some instruction, could play other positions when they are not pitching.

Spring training and the offseason provide opportunities for players to broaden their skills, but managers must be willing to encourage and reward them for doing so.

If Yankees manager Aaron Boone openly supported and rewarded such preparation, for example, he could address a righty/lefty matchup during a game by having a starting pitcher play first base for one or two batters while he brings in an appropriate relief pitcher at a critical juncture in the game. The starting pitcher could then switch positions again and continue pitching.

With two players who can hit and play first base well on the team (Tyler Austin and Greg Bird), Boone could deal with certain critical pitcher-batter/righty-lefty matchups in a way that could help the Yankees win games.

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Of course, other examples of expanding the roles of position players and pitchers can be considered as a way to leverage particular strengths of a ballclub. However, this will only occur if traditional managers, like Aaron Boone, are willing to experiment, try new approaches, and encourage and reward current (and future) baseball players to learn to play more than one position well.