Archive of SportingNews.com's old SOM Baseball forum

There are some players who can give you some real versatility in the IF, like Vance Law (good at 2B and 3B), Oquendo (2B, SS). Drafting a player like that gives you a shot at filling either position if the other doesn't perform. Ex: You draft Law at 3B, your 2B doesn't hit, you can go out and get either a 2B or 3B, letting Law play the other position.

On that note, my question is, who's on the "All-versatility" squad? I'm speaking of two kinds of utility players: those who play many positions (Bailor) and those who play 2-3 positions well enough to start full time at the position if they hit.

Bailor: can start in the OF corners if he hits. Can PLT evrsus lefties on some years.

Oquendo: very good pick for 2B OR SS (2 at both positions)

Law: if a 2B, he his numbers are more valuable (he has very good power most years)

Others?

Gagne isn't the greatest but he can man SS or 2B equally well.

These guys are all 1M or less. Many of these guys can start, at least in a platoon role, in the right year.

To me, Mickey Hatcher is Mr Versatility--all 3 OFs, plus 1b & 3b. That's five of the 8 possible positions. Not really better than adequate at any slot, but won't kill you anywhere.
Jaime Quirk is Hatcher's rival--and his combo of 5 slots is more quirky: C, 1b, LF, 3b, SS. (What, no 2b, Jaime?) I guess I give the edge to Hatcher because, unlike Mickey, Quirk is not even passable at some of his positions (e.g. awful in the OF and at SS).

•Brookens also gives you an odd combo: 3b, ss, 2b, C (4 for him; with Brookens and Hatcher you've covered every base).
•Morrison can play any INF position--not well, but he can hit (4 for him)
•Engle gives you C, 3B, OF corners (4 for him)
•Collins, all 3 OFs plus 1b (4 for him)
•Royster, 2B, 3b, ss, LF (4 for him)
•Benzinger is a good 1b or rf and also can play LF
•Presley gives you 3B, 1B, SS--can be a starting platoon at first two positions vs LHP
•Riles is 2b, SS, 3B--can actually be a starter vs RHP at 3B. At least I've used him that way.
•Speier is more than decent at SS, 3b & 2b. Same for Foley.
•Fletcher is pretty good at both SS and 2B
•Wathan is OK at C, 1B, RF
Lots of guys can play all 3 OFs

Enough for now. I've probably missed some, but there's a lot of versatility out there.

My favorite guys off the bench are Wathan and Bailor. I've also used Sheets as a starting DH (when he hits) and backup catcher (effectively saving me the need to draft a real backup C).

Morrison can be VERY good as a starter, if you get the right card. Carmelo Martinez has some great hitting cards, but not much of a fielder.

Still think Bailor is best of the lot. Plays everywhere, can steal a base and platoon in several years. Wathan is good enough to start at C just about every year he has since, in bad years, you can place him at the bottom of the order as a second "lead off man."

I've never had Bailor before--and until recently had overlooked him, but somebody's comment about how well he hit lefties got me looking at his card and I finally realized his potential. I traded Samuel to get him onto a current team that's just started. It looks like I've got a slot for him, as a platoon starter in LF vs LHP. We'll see how he does. :-)

Luis Salazar almost always ends up starting for me, full time or platoon. His OB Pct. isn't great but for .75 mil you can't beat him. I've had him 4 seasons and he's hit .310, .330, .297 and .234 but with 9 HRs in 175 AB. In a current season he's hitting .380 as a full timer in 70 AB.

If you go beyond the cheapos, you have Grich a 2 at 2B, a 3 at 3B and he can also fill in at first.

Bill Almon has plugged a lot of gaps with his unusual mix of shortstop and first base, plus good speed and decent bat against lefties.

I have Bailor on my current team and can't complain, at least about Bailor. But Hal, on the other hand... I have a somewhat fragile Tommy Herr at 2nd, and every time he gets hurt Hal rushes Bailor and his 4e32 out to 2nd to butcher a few ground balls while Julio Cruz (2e18) is left on the bench to ponder the sound of one hand clapping. Another of Hal's misuses of versatility, which he has repeated a couple times and actually cost me a ballgame with it, is to replace an injured Ken Singleton in left by moving Lance Parrish from catcher to left field, where he's woeful, and bringing Wockenfuss off the bench to catch, where he's woeful.) Yo, Hal, why not just put Wockenfuss in left??!!? OK, I guess I can complain! Please excuse the rant, folks. But sometimes I've found myself wondering if the value of versatility is overrated, considering it only increases the chances that Hal is going to do something idiotic.

If you ignore money you have:

Harrah (3b, 2b, SS)
Eric Davis (all 3 OF 1 (-3))
Winfield (1 (-5) in LF and Rf, 3 in center)
Yount (LF, CF, SS)
Dale Murphy (all 3 OF 1(-3))
Howe (3b, 2b, 1b)


Cheapies:
Royster (second, SS, 3rd, LF)
Francona (first and third base, LF and RF)
Heep (all 3 OF plus first base)

To bad I am out of 80s credits, this could have been a cool idea for a team. A pitching staff of all S/R and all position players rated for 3 or more positions. :)

baracus makes a good point about HAL. You can't predict what he'll do. As far as versatility, though, I was trying to ID players who can be plugged into several lineup spots, produce without sacrificing too much D, and don't cost a lot (3M or less, I guess). I should've mentioned that up front, right? All the suggestions I've seen are great, though. I've definitely thought of drafting Grich for 3B (though his bat is more vaulable at 2B). I got unlucky with EDavis the one year I picked him up. Got a low performing card and he got injured.

Hey, has anyone ever had any luck playing scrapiron (Garner) all year long? What about Teufel?