[外電]Many stars have switched positions
ARLINGTON -- During a conference call on Sunday night to discuss Michael
Young moving to third base, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels pointed out
that a number of outstanding players have switched positions in their career.
Young had a response to that.
"I've done that, too," Young said.
He did in 2004. He was the Rangers' second baseman going into Spring Training
when Alex Rodriguez was traded to the Yankees for second baseman Alfonso
Soriano. That left the Rangers with two second basemen and no shortstop.
Before a controversy bubbled up, Young volunteered to move to shortstop.
He has been there five years and now, at 32, he is being asked to move to
third base to make room for Elvis Andrus.
Daniels is right on one account. A number of star players have switched
positions in their careers. Many simply moved to first base in the later
years of their careers. Here is a look at some others:
Cal Ripken Jr.: He was American League Rookie of the Year in 1982 and Most
Valuable Player in 1983 as a shortstop. He was also 6-foot-4 and by 1985
there was talk that he was too big for the position. By 1988, baseball men
like Joe Morgan and Whitey Herzog were saying he should move to third. The
Orioles considered Juan Bell in 1989 but manager Frank Robinson decided
against the switch.
The talk still remained constant even though Ripken won a Gold Glove in 1991
and 1992. The switch was finally made after the 1996 season. Ripken was 36
and moved to third base when the Orioles acquired Mike Bordick. He spent his
final five seasons there and continued to be selected to the All-Star team
because of his immense popularity and respect.
Craig Biggio: The Astros future Hall of Famer started out as a catcher, then
switched to second base early in his career because of his offensive
potential and became one of the best in the game.
But after the 2002, Astros general manager Gerry Hunsicker announced the club
had signed All-Star second baseman Jeff Kent and Biggio was moving to the
outfield. Biggio privately wasn't happy about it but accepted the move. At
the time he was working on a contract extension, and negotiations became
complicated as the two sides tried to agree on a fair number for someone who
was agreeing to switch positions.
Biggio stayed there two years. Then Hunsicker stepped down, Kent's option
wasn't picked up and Tim Purpura took over as general manager. Biggio
returned to second for the rest of his career and that was his position in
2005 when the Astros went to the World Series.
Robin Yount: He was the Brewers shortstop for 11 years (1974-84) before
undergoing shoulder surgery. Concerned about his arm, the Brewers asked Yount
to move to center so that rookie Ernest Riles could take over as shortstop.
Turns out, Riles wasn't the Brewers answer at shortstop, but Yount stayed in
center field for the remaining nine years of his career. He was the American
League MVP in 1989 and ended up in the Hall of Fame.
Pete Rose: While clearly obsessed with his offensive statistics, Rose never
minded switching defensive positions. He was a regular at five positions --
left, right, third, second and first -- at some point during his career. He
also played some in center.
His most celebrated switch came after the 1974 season. He had played left
field for three years but volunteered to move to third base to make room for
George Foster. Rose had played third base in just 16 games over 12 years but
the switch was the last piece for the Big Red Machine. Foster blossomed into
an All-Star slugger, Rose's offensive numbers remained outstanding and the
Reds won the World Series in 1975-76, going down as one of the greatest teams
ever.
Chipper Jones: He was the Braves third baseman from 1995-2001. Then they
acquired Vinny Castilla, who at the time was one of the premier offensive
third basemen in the game.
Jones willingly switched to left field for two years. Then Castilla left as a
free agent and Mark DeRosa took over at third base in 2004. That lasted a
couple of months before Jones decided he had enough in the outfield. He went
back to third base and has been there since.
Hank Greenberg: One of the premier power hitters in the game, Greenberg
played first base for the Tigers through the 1930s. In 1940, at age 29, he
willingly moved to left so the Tigers could get slugger Rudy York into
lineup. The Tigers won the pennant and Greenberg was the AL MVP, the first
player to win the award at two positions.
Bert Campaneris: In 1968, Oakland manager Bob Kennedy wanted to move
shortstop Campaneris to left field. Campaneris had led the American League in
stolen bases for three straight years and Kennedy envisioned him as an AL
version of Lou Brock. Campaneris hated the idea and the experiment lasted
three games before owner Charlie Finley brought it to an end. Campaneris
remained at shortstop throughout the Athletics dynasty in the 1970s.
Carlton Fisk, Thurman Munson: Both catchers were moved to the outfield late
in their careers: Munson with the Yankees in 1978 and Fisk with the White Sox
in 1986. Both hated it and were moved back behind the plate. Yogi Berra also
stumbled around the outfield in the twilight of his career.
Alex Rodriguez: From 1996-2003, Rodriguez was the best shortstop in baseball.
That included his three years with the Rangers. But he wanted out of Texas so
badly that he was willing to switch to third base to accommodate his trade to
the Yankees. Rodriguez was willing to defer to Derek Jeter to satisfy his
quest for a World Series ring. He is now the best third baseman in baseball
but has yet to play in a World Series.
Alfonso Soriano: When the Rangers acquired him from the Yankees, he made it
clear he had no intentions of switching positions. He took the same position
when the Nationals acquired him.
The Nationals didn't care. Manager Frank Robinson forced Soriano to move to
left because Jose Vidro was at second. Soriano flourished there and after the
season, the Cubs signed him to an eight-year, $136 million contract to keep
playing the outfield.
from:
http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090112&content_id=3740961&vkey=news_tex&fext=.jsp&c_id=tex
舉了一些例子說明為何球團有此舉動～～但沒有打到重點....
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