Quote:
Originally Posted by Syd Thrift
Not really. It’s pointing out that because first base is the last position on the end of the defensive spectrum, it’s not uncommon that bad 2nd and 3rd basemen become great 1st basemen. In fact, this is slightly reductive but basically all the great fielding 1B were either converted from another, tougher position (Garvey) or were left handers who due to their throwing hand could not play elsewhere in the infield (Keith Hernandez), and even in the latter case, lefties who can throw hard enough to play 3rd or short get taught to pitch at a very early age. John Olerud is a guy I like to bring up as a seeming exception to that because a. he was a pitcher in college (and a very good one at that) and b. he played first base in the majors because the Blue Jays wanted his bat in the lineup immediately and didn’t want to wait a couple years for him to learn how to pitch professionally or play in the outfield.
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A modern day example is Vladdy Guerrero Jr. He was never going to be any more than average if that at 3B but shows signs that he could be an above average to very good 1B.
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RichW
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Last edited by RchW; 06-11-2021 at 05:42 PM.
Reason: spelling
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