Monday's Bunts and Boots--Guillen & The Position Switch

The constant shifting of Carlos Guillen from one position to another has raised a few chuckles across the major leagues. After starting the season at a relatively new position, first base, Guillen was then asked to move to third base. And then over the weekend, Tigers skipper Jim Leyland announced that Guillen would now play left field, which he did without incident on Sunday. Counting shortstop, that makes four positions for Guillen over the last two seasons. To his credit, Guillen has handled the shapeshifting without complaint, in contrast to the way that most current major leaguers take umbrage over being asked to even consider a position change.

So what should we make of the latest move involving Guillen? It does make some sense, principally because it enables Brandon Inge, the Tigers' best defensive third baseman, to return to his preferred position of expertise. Guillen also seems to have the athletic ability to make the move. After all, if you can play shortstop in the major leagues, you can probably play the outfield, assuming you have the requisite arm strength. I think Guillen, given his athleticism and attitude, will make a decent adjustment this summer.

Generally speaking, I think it's easier to move from the infield to the outfield than the other way around (excluding switches to first base, the easiest of all the positions). The Cubs' Alfonso Soriano has done fairly well, exchanging his below-average defense at second base for a level of respectable fielding in left field. Pete Rose, originally a second baseman, became an excellent outfielder, with enough of an arm to play right field for the Reds, in addition to left. Former Orioles' switch-hitter Don Buford also made a successful move from second base to left field, just the way that Soriano has. With the Yankees, Bobby Murcer developed into a very good center fielder after flopping at shortstop. In more recent times, Ron Gant become much more acceptable in left field than he was at second base, where he was simply awful. Danny Tartabull, originally a second baseman with the Mariners, made a similar shift to right field. Tartabull never became a particularly skilled outfielder, but he wasn't horrible, and could throw well from his post in the outfield.

Still, there are no guarantees when it comes to switching from the infield to the outfield. Steve Sax and Jorge Orta moved from second base to left field with less than rousing success, but then again they had to be moved somewhere because of their defensive problems on the infield. Sax never adjusted to left field, as he struggled both in terms of getting jumps and taking good routes. Orta probably would have struggled anywhere a glove was required; he had rocklike hands and a below-average throwing arm. Then there are those who tried to switch to center field, the most demanding of the outfield positions. The Mets know all about that. Howard Johnson was a failure in center field after being switched from third base. Juan Samuel, after coming over in the Lenny Dykstra deal, failed to make a smooth transition from second base to center field.

Moving catchers to the outfield can be a recipe for disaster. Manny Sanguillen, Carlton Fisk, and Todd Hundley come immediately to mind. In Sanguillen's case, he tried to replace the late Roberto Clemente in right field, an extremely difficult task given his close friendship with The Great One. Fisk and Hundley each moved to the outfield as part of an effort to make room for other catchers, Joel Skinner and Mike Piazza, respectively. Fisk's age and Hundley's lack of athleticism doomed each of them to failure.

Only two players that I can remember made successful transitions from behind the plate to the outer limits. Former Dodger and Cardinal Joe Ferguson played acceptably in the outfield, mostly because he had a terrific arm from right field. And then there is Dale Murphy, whose throwing problems resulted in a switch to center field, where his instincts and speed helped him become a Gold Glover. A player like Murphy stands as the golden exception to this rule.

So how about the other end of the spectrum, involving outfielders who have made the move to the infield? I can't think of many outfielders who made successful switches to third base or second base, or even tougher, shortstop. Teams too often try to make the outfield-to-third base-switch, but that's only resulted in famous failures like Amos Otis and Hensley Meulens. Perhaps the greatest successful move from the outfield to the infield, as pointed out by an astute reader, involved Hall of Famer Honus Wagner. Originally an outfielder, Wagner became arguably the greatest shortstop in major league history. Wagner didn't take a direct route to shortstop; instead, he played second base, then some third base and second base, before gradually moving to shortstop. He didn't become a fulltime shortstop until 1903--his seventh season in the National League.

On a lesser but still significant note, Mickey Stanley made a pretty good short-term transition to shortstop for the '68 World Series, but then moved back to the outfield the following season. Perhaps the Tigers can hope for a similar scenario in 2008. If they somehow rebound to make the World Series, and Edgar Renteria slumps at the plate, they can always move Guillen back to his old haunt at shortstop.