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It seems to me that the spectrum is better described and represented horizontally, rather than vertically, as James tends to talk about players moving leftward and rightward on the spectrum, rather than up or down.
Why does the section dealing with the defensive spectrum in the late C19th and C20th still include the designated hitter? Seems an enormous anomaly to me. 88.96.139.45 11:26, 27 November 2006 (UTC)
- I just noticed that as well -- anyone care to shed some light on this? I think it should be removed. ~~ Meeples (talk)(email) 22:22, 27 November 2006 (UTC)
- I agree. It appears that someone rewrote the paragraph for a vertical orientation, but managed to leave one "left" reference in there. WHPratt (talk) 19:39, 18 June 2010 (UTC)
I had the impression that 1B was a much more important position in the early part of the century, as well, and would have moved it up past LF, at least. Is that not so? Playing infield was just much more important in the dead ball era. Do we have a reference or something for the sentence that the spectrum has only shifted once in history? Mcrawford620 05:59, 20 June 2007 (UTC).
Might be worth illustrating the shifts in position as a typical veteran ages with several examples such as:
- An aging center fielder who retains good offensive capacities but sees his defensive abilities, especially his speed, begin to decline may be shifted later in his career to left or right field. For instance, Kirby Puckett was a solid defensive center fielder for most of his career, but in the last couple years primarily played right field.
- Aging outfielders in general may be shifted to first base late in their careers, as it is the least physically demanding of the defensive positions. Some examples of famous outfielders who ended their careers mainly at first base include Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle.
- Similarly, aging middle infielders often shift to a less physically demanding corner infield position, or sometimes to the outfield. For example, Robin Yount played most of his career as a shortstop, but ended it as an outfielder. Cal Ripkin Jr. mostly played shortstop, but returned to his original position of third base for his final year. Ernie Banks began as a shortstop and ended as a first baseman. * Catchers seldom see their skills translate to other positions on the field (and vice versa), but occasionally an aging catcher will shift defensively late in his career. Examples include Johnny Bench (shifting to third base), Gil Hodges (shifting to first base) and Yogi Berra (shifting to the outfield).
- With the advent of the Designated Hitter rule, it is common for the DH position to be filled by a veteran whose defensive skills have deteriorated, or were never particularly strong to begin with. Seldom is the designated hitter also good fielder, except when a player is recovering from an injury or getting a partial "day off."
- It is exceptionally rare for a pitcher to take any other position on the field. The most notable counter-examples would be Babe Ruth, who was shifted primarily because of his offensive skills, and Rick Ankiel, who was shifted because his ability to pitch had plummeted. Occasionally a pitcher will be forced to play a game in the field due to injury or extended extra innings, however - often they will play either the corner outfield positions, or first base. For example, Fernando Valenzuela during his career appeared at first base, left field and right field, playing a total of two innings at the three positions during his career.
- Pete Rose traversed nearly the entire continuum over his career; he began at second base, shifted to the outfield, then became a third baseman, before ending as a first baseman.