Pittsburgh Pirates: Three More Forgotten Position Changes

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Players change positions for a multitude of different reasons, but you may have forgotten about these Pittsburgh Pirates who moved off their original position.

A good portion of Major League Baseball players can claim they played another position than their current primary home at one point in their careers. For example, almost every second baseman was a shortstop as an amateur or at some point in their minor league careers. Many first basemen also originally played different positions than first base. Many third basemen were shortstops as well.

A few months ago, we looked at six different times a Pittsburgh Pirates player changed positions that you may have forgotten about. Everyone knows that Willie Stargell went from left field to first base late in his career, but did you know that Honus Wagner didn’t play a game at shortstop until he was 27 and wouldn’t become a full-time starter at the position until he was 29?

There are plenty more where that came from, so let’s take a look at a few more position changes you may have forgotten about. (Note that we’re not looking at minor position changes. So, for example, a player moving to designated hitter more often or a left fielder becoming a right fielder isn’t going to be on this list. Utility men will also not be included, nor will players who learned a new position but still saw a good amount of time at their original position intermittently).

Johnny Lindell - Outfielder to Pitcher

When I wrote an article talking about two-way players in the Pirates’ franchise history, I forgot to include Johnny Lindell. Lindell spent ten of his 12-year major league career with the New York Yankees. He was a pretty solid hitter for the Pinstripes, slashing .275/.343/.428 with a 114 wRC+. Lindell originally came up as a pitcher in 1942 and was pretty decent. In 52.2 innings, he had a 3.76 ERA and 3.06 FIP.

But the Yankees and manager Joe McCarthy was concerned about his low strikeout rate of just 12.1%, which, even for the era, was above average (8.9% was the league average rate), but he did only have a 92 ERA+ (league average was 3.58). McCarthy and the Yankees were also concerned about Lindell’s diminished fastball. After 1942, Lindell moved to the outfield full-time and wouldn’t retake the mound until 1951 in the Pacific Coast League, but for a non-affiliated team in the league.

Instead of being a sinker/slider pitcher, Lindell returned to the mound as a knuckleballer and was fairly effective. In 190 innings, Lindell had a 3.03 ERA, despite allowing a significant amount more walks (112) than strikeouts (83). The Pirates signed him to the 1950s equivalent of a minor league deal, and he pitched 282.2 innings for the Pirate PCL affiliate. He cut his ERA down to just 2.52 but limited walks much better with 108 and had more strikeouts (190). Lindell would return to the Major League mound in 1953, but with little success.

In 175.2 innings, Lindell would work to a 4.71 ERA, 4.77 FIP, and 1.65 WHIP. Walks returned to haunt him again, dishing out 116 free passes and striking out only 102 batters. Lindell’s contract was eventually purchased by the Philadelphia Phillies, where he continued to struggle before being released in early-May 1954.

Ironically, despite his return to the mound, Lindell could still hit. In the 133 plate appearances he took with the Pirates and Phillies, Lindell slashed .303/.429/.495 with a league and park adjusted 141 OPS+ and 139 wRC+. He also had four home runs and seven doubles. Lindell took up a pinch-hit role in 1954 but only had one hit and two walks in seven plate appearances before his release.

Lindell is one of the more fascinating stories in the history of two-way players. With the new rules regarding how position players can be used, maybe we see a player try and make a late-career comeback as a knuckleballer and serve as a pinch-hitter/mop-up reliever.

Kevin Young - Third Base to First Base

Kevin Young is one of the longest-tenured first basemen in the Pirates’ history. He’s tied with Willie Stargell and Donn Clendon for the second most Opening Day starts in the team’s history. He’s also the last Pirate first baseman to have 3+ fWAR in a single season. Young spent almost all his career as a first baseman but was originally drafted as a hot corner defender.

Although he only batted .259/.324/.437 with a 95 wRC+, Young was mostly renowned for his defensive work at first base. He ended up as arguably the best defensive first baseman in the franchise’s history. Across 11 seasons in black and gold and 8198.2 innings at first, Young racked up an impressive +35 total zone runs amount.

Young played 116 and 127 games at third base in 1991 and 1992. With Jeff King on hand, who could play third base, Young transitioned over to third base. Granted, that doesn’t mean he never saw a game at third base in the major leagues. He still saw 656.1 innings at the hot corner throughout his career, but he never saw consistent playing time there. The most he played at third base was 383.1 innings in 1995.

Going from third base to first base may be one of the more common position transitions in the sport, but Young did it late into his minor league career when he was starting to get to the big leagues. Young is arguably the best, most recent first baseman the Pirates have had, which says a lot about their ability (or inability) to find a first baseman.

Manny Sanguillen - Catcher to First Base

Manny Sanguillen is arguably the best catcher in the Pirates’ history. He spent a dozen of his 13 years in the big leagues with the Pirates. Among all Pirates’ backstops, Sanguillen’s 27.3 fWAR is second to only Jason Kendall. Sanguillen was renowned for his defensive work behind the plate, but many forget his late-career transition to first base.

As a backstop, Sanguillen racked up +33 total zone runs while averaging out with a 35% caught stealing rate. He wasn’t overly impressive as a batter, slashing .296/.326/.398 with a .321 wOBA and 99 wRC+. But given his defensive value, Sanguillen had five seasons with an fWAR of 3.0 or greater.

Sanguillen’s transition off of catcher happened during his one-season stint in Oakland. This was in 1977 and in his age-33 campaign. He served as their catcher and designated hitter, splitting his time in about a 55/45 split. Sanguillen did not do great, posting a mediocre .275/.302/.354 line, .291 wOBA, and 81 wRC+. It was the first time he had a sub-2.0 fWAR in a season.

Sanguillen was then traded back to the Pirates in early 1978 and saw very little time behind the dish that season. He still had 126.2 frames caught, but he mostly played first base, seeing 322.1 innings at the corner infield position. This wasn't the first time the Pirates tried him out at another position other than catcher. In 1973, he played 523.2 innings in right field, and did pretty well. Despite the low amount of innings, he had +8 total zone runs. He rarely took the field in the following two years, serving as a pinch hitter. His last three years in Pittsburgh weren’t nearly as productive as his first eight, as he only hit .254/.285/.336 with a .274 wOBA and 65 wRC+.

Transitions Not With The Pirates

Jim Rooker - Outfielder to Pitcher

This transition didn’t happen in the Pirates’ system, but instead the Detroit Tigers’. Jim Rooker was a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates for eight years from 1973 to 1980. In total, Rooker pitched 1317.2 innings, working to the tune of a 3.29 ERA (111 ERA+), 3.71 FIP, and 1.295 WHIP. But Rooker started his pro career out as an outfielder for the Tigers. From 1961-1964, Rooker appeared as an outfielder/pitcher. He wasn’t terrible with the bat, posting an OPS of .790 or greater in three of the four seasons. But by 1965, he had fully transitioned to the mound. Rooker did make an appearance in the outfield, making a brief two-inning cameo in 1970 with the Kansas City Royals. He also hit four home runs the year prior, and batted over .300 with an OPS+ of 110 in 1974 with the Bucs.

Russell Martin - Third Base to Catcher

Most of the time, you see players get drafted as catchers and moved out of the position later on. Rarely does the opposite happen. But that’s the move Russell Martin took early in his pro career. Like Rooker, this wasn’t with the Pirates, but with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the early-2000s. In 2002, Martin took the field a total of 41 times: 40 times as a third baseman and once as a shortstop. But in 2003, he made the full transition to catcher. Martin then went on to become a four-time all-star catcher with a Gold Glove, +131 defensive runs saved (the second most by a catcher), and one of the most underrated catchers of the current generation. Martin appeared at a few games at third base (including with the Pirates), and a handful at the hot corner late in his career with the Toronto Blue Jays.

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