MLB: Super utility players are baseball’s new trend

Utility players have been around baseball from inception. The habit of players starting at various defensive positions on the field has always existed. The 2010s have witnessed a promulgation of a new utility player. One that can field and hit enough to play everyday.

“Super utility players” are gaining popularity in the MLB each passing year. Martin Prado, Omar Infante, Emilio Bonifacio, Anthony Rendon, and Justin Turner are a few names who can play many positions for their respective teams. Ben Zobrist is the poster child for this expanding phenomenon. Josh Harrison’s 2014 All Star nomination only added credence to this kind of player.

Honus Wagner, Pete Rose, Gil McDougald, Craig Biggio, Bert Campaneris, Michael Young, or Alex Rodriguez would never be considered utility players even though all have played multiple positions. They are a collection of All

Stars and Hall of Fame players who played entire seasons at one position before rotating to another due to a variety of circumstances.

Current stars like Miguel Cabrera, Ryan Braun, Buster Posey, Joe Mauer, and Matt Carpenter have all moved from one position to another. Versatility instead of utility is the key for truly elite players. None of these players grew up honed in precisely at one base or outfield spot. Buster Posey played every position in one game while at Florida State.

With the advent of complicated statistical data, creative small market teams like Tampa Bay and Oakland have led a charge for maximizing their roster’s capacities. They aren’t going to match $100 million offers with large market teams for Robinson Cano to lock down second base. Ingenuity becomes a necessity.

Joe Maddon spent three decades in the Los Angeles Angels organization. He witnessed the likes of Tony Phillips and Chone Figgins display their athleticism at multiple positions. And they played more than once or twice a week.

Maddon and Zobrist’s careers in Tampa Bay began simultaneously in 2006. Zobrist spent the first two years at shortstop. By 2008, Maddon used Zobrist at several defensive spots. Now in his ninth MLB season, the two-time All Star has played 14 career games at first, 541 at second, four at third (Longoria effect), 225 at short, 59 in left field, 28 in centerfield, and 331 in right field.

Zobrist is Tampa’s only “super utility” projectby definition. Sean Rodriguez has played everywhere but centerfield forMaddon. Yet, his .227 career batting average has limited him to bench roles more so than starting ones. That’s where guys likesZobrist andHarrsion have separated themselves from other utility droves.

Using 2009 as a beginning point, the 33-year-old has played in at least 150 ballgames over this duration. Zobrist has interspersed two 90-RBI and three 70-plus RBI seasons. He’s knocked 20 balls over the fence in three seasons (27 being his peak), and he’s scored no fewer than 77 runs.

Pittsburgh unearthed a gem in 27-year-old Harrison, who has blossomed under manager Clint Hurdle. His .310 batting average, 133 hits, 13 home runs, and 46 RBI are career-bests. Harrison’s batting average is third highest in the National League. His .506 slugging percentage and .849 on-base plus slugging percentage are sixth and ninth-most among N.L. batters.

Harrison’s been a catalyst for a Pirates team which labors to score runs. He’s filled voids this season with injuries to Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte, and Pedro Alvarez’s third base problems.

His 123 games through August overhaul his previous high of 104 games set in 2012. Harrison has started double-digit ballgames at second, third, left, and right field. He’s pinch-hit 21 times and held down shortstop for seven games.

A third example is the Oakland Athletics triumvirate of catchers Derek Norris, John Jaso, and Stephen Vogt. Billy Beane’s innovation of maximizing a player’s value coincided with the Rays assembly of talents.

Beane pried Jaso and Vogt from Tampa. They, along with regular catcher Norris, present manager Bob Melvin with a bevy of lineup options. All three can play first base, hit well enough to be designated hitters, and Vogt’s range has been parlayed into corner outfield responsibilities.

These “super utility players” are a retort to a good seven years of scant offense. Imposing pitching, less PED usage, and further emphasis on defensive shifting has turned runs into a premium. Athletic players who can prevent runs with solid defense and be serviceable at the plate are hotter commodities than lumbering sluggers.

Zobrist and Harrison’s talents help win more games with teams’ focused more on run-prevention and pitching than hordes of juiced up balls or sluggers.

The 2007 season is a general marker for how offense has steadily depreciated. The 4.80 runs per game in 2007 is now down to 4.10 in 2014. In response to a cyclical stymie of MLB run production, an exigency amongst teams to generate coveted runs and defend leads has driven up an appreciation for versatile everyday players who can swing the bat. The “super utility player” isn’t a fad or one-hit wonder. It may not be permanent like many facets of the game, but it won’t promptly fizzle out.