Tuesday, December 09, 2003
On the great position shift...
So the New York Mets have themselves a brand new starting shortstop, which necessitates their moving their current starting shortstop a few yards to his left. Taking your starting shortstop and moving him over to second base is a controversial and potentially problematic move. Some might say that doing so could reduce his defensive or even offensive value. It could screw up his development. It could put him at greater risk for injury. The decision has already been made and the only thing left to do is try to predict how this move will work out. Luckily for us, the year is 1995 and the players in question are Rey Ordonez and Jose Vizcaino. Yep, this Ordonez kid is on his way to Shea Stadium and Vizcaino's going to have to get out of his way. Next year Ordonez will be at short and Vizcaino will have to move to second base. Luckily for us, and for those who decided to move Vizcaino out of the spot he's occupied for the last two year, we can in fact look into the future. We can look all the way to 1996 and see that Mets starting second baseman Jose Vizcaino will put up the highest batting average, on base percentage and slugging percentage he's ever put up with an NY on his cap. In fact, we'll see that those numbers are all career highs. Looks like the guys who decided he had to move didn't screw things up too badly...
Okay, so the situation isn't precisely analogous. Vizcaino was 26 at the time and had played 55 games at second base over his first seven major league seasons. And then he got traded to Cleveland at the trading deadline of his peak year. So are there other examples of players who made the switch from shortstop to second base? How about Edgardo Alfonzo? Yep, another Met who had to move off of shortstop to find a spot alongside Rey Ordonez on the Mets' major league roster. Alfonzo, a shortstop in the minor leagues, took up both third base and second base to assure himself a spot in the Mets' starting lineup. And aside from his injury-dampened 2001 season and his unfortunate post-New York 2003 season in San Francisco, he turned out all right. Now it's true that Alfonzo has had trouble with his consistency and his health since making the switch and hitting the major leagues. But Alfonzo had neither as promising a minor league career as Reyes nor a major league season as good as Reyes' rookie year until his third year in the majors. And he still managed to put up a .315/.391/.432 season at the age of 23, a .304/.385/.502 season at 25, .324/.425/.542 at 26 and .308/.391/.459 at 28.
Not impressed by Alfonzo as an example of a move from shortstop to second base working out all right? How about Alfonso Soriano, who moved from shortstop to second base in the minors to avoid conflict with Derek Jeter. Soriano didn't exceed the .307 AVG, .334 OBP or .434 SLG that Reyes put up in his rookie year until his second full major league season, and fourth overall, at the age of 24, but I don't think there's much reason to conclude that the move from shortstop to second base at a young age has either stunted his offensive development or diminished his offensive value. Don't like Soriano? How about minor league shortstop turned Hall of Fame second baseman Roberto Alomar? How about the man who moved from shortstop to second base at the age of nineteen, the same year in which he was named MVP of the South Atlantic League, before going on to a major league career that would earn him the nickname "Hammerin'" Hank Aaron, as well as the major league record for career home runs? That's right, Aaron, who played third base and shortstop in high school, played shortstop for the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League in 1952 until he was sold to the Braves. He moved to shortstop for Jacksonville of the Sally League in 1953 before Bobby Thomson's broken ankle opened up a spot for him in left field.
Sure, there are counterexamples. There are certainly things that could go wrong with Jose Reyes' development or his body at second base. But if he's got the talent to become the Mets' franchise player in the upcoming years, he's probably got the talent to pull off the switch from shortstop to second base. All indications are that Reyes is fine with the decision to move him if it'll help the Mets get another bat in the lineup. And if Reyes himself doesn't mind, who are we to argue?
¶ joe | 8:57 PM |
So the New York Mets have themselves a brand new starting shortstop, which necessitates their moving their current starting shortstop a few yards to his left. Taking your starting shortstop and moving him over to second base is a controversial and potentially problematic move. Some might say that doing so could reduce his defensive or even offensive value. It could screw up his development. It could put him at greater risk for injury. The decision has already been made and the only thing left to do is try to predict how this move will work out. Luckily for us, the year is 1995 and the players in question are Rey Ordonez and Jose Vizcaino. Yep, this Ordonez kid is on his way to Shea Stadium and Vizcaino's going to have to get out of his way. Next year Ordonez will be at short and Vizcaino will have to move to second base. Luckily for us, and for those who decided to move Vizcaino out of the spot he's occupied for the last two year, we can in fact look into the future. We can look all the way to 1996 and see that Mets starting second baseman Jose Vizcaino will put up the highest batting average, on base percentage and slugging percentage he's ever put up with an NY on his cap. In fact, we'll see that those numbers are all career highs. Looks like the guys who decided he had to move didn't screw things up too badly...
Okay, so the situation isn't precisely analogous. Vizcaino was 26 at the time and had played 55 games at second base over his first seven major league seasons. And then he got traded to Cleveland at the trading deadline of his peak year. So are there other examples of players who made the switch from shortstop to second base? How about Edgardo Alfonzo? Yep, another Met who had to move off of shortstop to find a spot alongside Rey Ordonez on the Mets' major league roster. Alfonzo, a shortstop in the minor leagues, took up both third base and second base to assure himself a spot in the Mets' starting lineup. And aside from his injury-dampened 2001 season and his unfortunate post-New York 2003 season in San Francisco, he turned out all right. Now it's true that Alfonzo has had trouble with his consistency and his health since making the switch and hitting the major leagues. But Alfonzo had neither as promising a minor league career as Reyes nor a major league season as good as Reyes' rookie year until his third year in the majors. And he still managed to put up a .315/.391/.432 season at the age of 23, a .304/.385/.502 season at 25, .324/.425/.542 at 26 and .308/.391/.459 at 28.
Not impressed by Alfonzo as an example of a move from shortstop to second base working out all right? How about Alfonso Soriano, who moved from shortstop to second base in the minors to avoid conflict with Derek Jeter. Soriano didn't exceed the .307 AVG, .334 OBP or .434 SLG that Reyes put up in his rookie year until his second full major league season, and fourth overall, at the age of 24, but I don't think there's much reason to conclude that the move from shortstop to second base at a young age has either stunted his offensive development or diminished his offensive value. Don't like Soriano? How about minor league shortstop turned Hall of Fame second baseman Roberto Alomar? How about the man who moved from shortstop to second base at the age of nineteen, the same year in which he was named MVP of the South Atlantic League, before going on to a major league career that would earn him the nickname "Hammerin'" Hank Aaron, as well as the major league record for career home runs? That's right, Aaron, who played third base and shortstop in high school, played shortstop for the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League in 1952 until he was sold to the Braves. He moved to shortstop for Jacksonville of the Sally League in 1953 before Bobby Thomson's broken ankle opened up a spot for him in left field.
Sure, there are counterexamples. There are certainly things that could go wrong with Jose Reyes' development or his body at second base. But if he's got the talent to become the Mets' franchise player in the upcoming years, he's probably got the talent to pull off the switch from shortstop to second base. All indications are that Reyes is fine with the decision to move him if it'll help the Mets get another bat in the lineup. And if Reyes himself doesn't mind, who are we to argue?
¶ joe | 8:57 PM |
