Utility (baseball)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

In
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
, a utility player or utility man is a player who has the ability to play more than one position in the field and is primarily used as a substitute. The term super utility player may be used to refer to a player who can play all or most positions, or a player who regularly appears in the starting lineup at different positions.


Description

Utility
infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...
s typically play both
second base In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the infield, between second and first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must ...
and
shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...
, sometimes also
third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...
, and more rarely
first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
. A "fourth outfielder" is likewise an
outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...
who can play all three outfield positions but does not have the hitting skills to be a starting player. Some utility players have the defensive ability to play in both the infield and outfield—recent players in
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
(MLB) fitting this description include
Marwin González Marwin Javier González (born March 14, 1989) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, and New York Yankees, and in Nippon Prof ...
,
Brock Holt Brock Wyatt Holt (born June 11, 1988), nicknamed "The Brock Star", is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Washington Nat ...
, Cory Spangenberg, and
Ben Zobrist Benjamin Thomas Zobrist (; born May 26, 1981) is an American former professional baseball second baseman and outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals, and Chica ...
. Playing time for fourth outfielders has been called "erratic and unpredictable". Often, fourth outfielders are outfield prospects who have not settled on one outfield position when arriving in the major leagues, veteran players seeking additional playing time to extend their careers, or part-time position players who double as
designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...
s. Often, the fourth outfielder can be used in a
platoon system A platoon system in baseball or American football is a method for substituting players in groups (platoons), to keep complementary players together during playing time. In baseball, it is usually used to optimize batting performance against pitch ...
against certain pitchers; for example, one outfielder will play only when the starting pitcher is a right-handed pitcher and the other plays only when the starting pitcher is a left-handed pitcher, if one player's performance is better against certain types of pitchers.


Notable utility players

Within MLB,
César Tovar César Leonardo Tovar (July 3, 1940 – July 14, 1994), nicknamed "Pepito" and "Mr. Versatility", was a Venezuelan professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , most notably as the leadoff hitter fo ...
,
Cookie Rojas Octavio Víctor "Cookie" Rojas Rivas (born March 6, 1939), is a Cuban-American former professional baseball player, coach, manager and current television sports presenter. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman and outfielder fro ...
,
Bert Campaneris Dagoberto Campaneris Blanco (born March 9, 1942), nicknamed "Bert" or "Campy", is a Cuban Americans, Cuban American former professional baseball shortstop, who played Major League Baseball (MLB) for four American League (AL) teams, primarily the ...
,
Shane Halter Shane David Halter (born November 8, 1969) is an American former Major League Baseball utility player. Early life Halter attended Hooks High School in Hooks, Texas and was a letterman in football, basketball, baseball, track, and golf. Halter ...
, Don Kelly,
Jose Oquendo Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. Given name Mishnaic and Talmudic periods *Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean *Jose ben Halafta * ...
Scott Sheldon Scott Patrick Sheldon (born November 28, 1968) is an American former professional baseball third baseman/shortstop and right-handed batter who played for the Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He also played for ...
, and
Andrew Romine Andrew James Romine (born December 24, 1985) is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels, Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, and Chicago Cubs. He ...
all played every position (including
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
) during their respective careers, with Tovar, Campaneris, Halter, Sheldon, and Romine all doing it in one game. In 1991, the
Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...
'
Tony Phillips Keith Anthony Phillips (April 25, 1959 – February 17, 2016) was an American professional baseball utility player who had an 18-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career from 1982 to 1999. He played regularly at second base, but also had signifi ...
was the first player to start 10 games at five different positions in the same season. In 2005,
Chone Figgins Desmond DeChone Figgins (; ; born January 22, 1978), nicknamed "Figgy", is an American former professional baseball third baseman and outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Seattle Mariners, a ...
started 48 games at third, 45 in center field and 36 at second, and finished 17th in
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...
Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...
balloting. Second baseman
Ben Zobrist Benjamin Thomas Zobrist (; born May 26, 1981) is an American former professional baseball second baseman and outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals, and Chica ...
of the
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
has played first base, second base, third base, shortstop and outfield;
José Bautista José Antonio Bautista Santos (born October 19, 1980), nicknamed "Joey Bats", is a Dominican former professional baseball right fielder and third baseman who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the Toronto Blue Jays. ...
of the
Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...
has played first base, second base, third base, and outfield; and
Josh Harrison Joshua Isaiah Harrison (born July 8, 1987) is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox ...
of the
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...
has played second base, shortstop, third base, outfield, and pitcher. All three have been named
All Stars An all-star is an individual with a high level of performance in their field. All-star or All Star may also refer to: Awards * GAA GPA All Stars Awards, annual awards given to practitioners of Gaelic games ** Camogie All Stars Awards ** Ladies' ...
while playing multiple positions in their All-Star seasons. Zobrist and Bautista both finished in the top 10 in MVP voting while starting at least 40 games at two different defensive positions. In 2015,
Brock Holt Brock Wyatt Holt (born June 11, 1988), nicknamed "The Brock Star", is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Washington Nat ...
of the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
was the first player ever to be selected to the All Star Game after starting at seven or more positions before the All-Star break.
Willians Astudillo Willians Astudillo (born October 14, 1991), nicknamed "La Tortuga", is a Venezuelan professional baseball utility player for the Centauros de La Guaira of the Venezuelan Major League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for t ...
of the Minnesota Twins has played every position except for shortstop in his major league career.


See also

*
Two-way player In sports that require a player to play on offense and defense (such as basketball and ice hockey), a two-way player refers to a player who excels at both. In sports where a player typically specializes on offense or defense (like American footb ...
*
All rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are cons ...


References

{{Baseball positions Baseball positions