Illustration by Ali Bachmann
In 1929, the New York Yankees introduced the concept of putting numbers on the back of players’ jerseys. The numbers corresponded to each player’s spot in the batting order, hence Babe Ruth’s #3 and Lou Gehrig’s #4. In the century since then, players’ positions in the daily batting order have become much less certain. In recent years, their position on the diamond isn’t guaranteed, either.
Baseball has always had utility men, players who could fill in at multiple positions and provide flexibility for their managers. The Brewers are no strangers to this phenomenon: During his time in Milwaukee, Hernán Pérez played every position but catcher (and wanted to play there, too). Before him, Bill Hall played all over the infield and outfield, and Craig Counsell and Mark Loretta both appeared regularly at nearly every infield position.
In recent years, however, the kind of flexibility required for a utility role has become a more common expectation for most players, a phenomenon commonly referred to as “positionless baseball.” Eighteen position players (15 non-catchers) appeared in at least 10 games as Brewers in 2020, and 12 of them played more than one defensive position. Nine of them played three positions or more. Two different Brewers played positions they’d never played professionally before doing so in a major league game last summer. One of them, Mark Mathias, had never played the outfield at all before being called upon to do so 11 times.
Illustration by Ali Bachmann
On The Fly
The Brewers have developed a recent track record of asking players to try out new positions on the fly. In 2018, they moved Travis Shaw to second base, a position he had never played before, after acquiring Mike Moustakas during the season. In the spring of 2019, they signed Moustakas again but instead moved him to second base. This winter, they necessitated another sudden position change when they signed former Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong, moving incumbent Keston Hiura to a new position at first base.
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For infielders, at least, it’s worth noting that defensive positioning is in a near-constant state of flux anyway due to the advent of the shift. Baseball Savant’s data shows that the Brewers shifted their infield, playing a third defender either to the left or right of second base, on more than 44% of their opponents’ plate appearances in 2020. That’s the fourth most often in all of baseball and represents nearly 1,000 plays. The Brewers shifted their infield in nearly two-thirds of all plate appearances where they were facing a lefty batter, as compared to an MLB average around 50%.
That trend makes it increasingly important that infielders are used to fielding and throwing from all over the diamond, as they’ll likely be asked to play in and make plays from traditionally unusual places over the course of a season. It also makes it increasingly plausible to “hide” or reduce the number of defensive opportunities for a defender that is playing out of position, as the Brewers were widely credited with doing with Shaw in 2018.
Building Flexibility
The Brewers’ interest in continuing to build upon this flexibility was apparent nearly immediately this spring: On March 2, both Orlando Arcia and Daniel Robertson were in the starting lineup, but Arcia was playing third base, a position he’s never played in a regular season game, and Robertson was playing short, a position he’s only played sparingly. Two days later, Robertson was back in the lineup in left field, a position he’s played even less often.
Increased defensive flexibility also has an offensive impact, as it makes it easier for managers to mix and match their batting order to play matchups and get more left- or right-handed batters into the lineup on a given day. Having several players who can play any given position makes it easier to ensure players are getting appropriate rest and playing time; being able to cover all the positions with limited bench players can free up a roster spot for an extra reliever.
The Brewers’ additions this winter and spring showed a clear commitment to mixing and matching their lineups again in 2021: In addition to adding Wong and moving Hiura to first base, the Brewers signed a former Gold Glove-winning center fielder in Jackie Bradley Jr. and added him to a roster that already included another Gold Glove winner at the same position in Lorenzo Cain. With Christian Yelich clearly expected to receive regular playing time and the Brewers already committed to Avisail Garcia, Craig Counsell is left with an outfield that should provide excellent production but will also require consistent attention to manage playing time. This also isn’t new: Counsell was similarly tasked with dividing three outfield roles among four players when the Brewers had Cain, Yelich, Ryan Braun and Domingo Santana to start the 2018 season, at times while also juggling Eric Thames and Jesus Aguilar at first base.
Not that long ago, baseball fans could have a reasonable expectation that a manager would set a batting order and lineup on Opening Day and, barring major changes or injuries, trot something similar out there every day for the next six months. This year, for most clubs but especially for the Brewers, a lot of attention will be paid to an Opening Day lineup, but the lineup on April 2 will almost certainly be different, and it will likely change nearly every day between then and October.
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