Carlos Beltran and 15 Superstars Forced to Finish Careers at Other Positions
Carlos Beltran has had a fairly rough go of things with the New York Mets. In the final year of his contract, the Mets are now going to shift him to right field. This is despite the fact that Beltran has logged a grand total of three career games at right field. Angel Pagan will take over for him at center field.
While this is a disappointing setback for Beltran, it happens to the best athletes in baseball, as well as in other sports. In the same city, Derek Jeter was being tossed about as someone who would be changing positions as well, moving from shortstop to center field.
The point is, many greats change positions over the course of their careers. Here are 15 who had to make the change for one reason or another.
Honorable Mention: Derek Jeter
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I'll add in Jeter as an honorable mention because he was almost forced to move elsewhere, and the possibility is not completely gone.
About a month ago, there was talk about moving Jeter from shortstop to center field, and there were varied reactions to this. I didn't mind it personally because Jeter is not a very good shortstop anymore. Then again, if he was struggling at short fielding-wise, wouldn't those problems be magnified out in center?
Jeter remains the starting shortstop in MLB, and will likely remain there until retirement. Either way, he's not retired yet, so this is all speculation until then.
15. Omar Vizquel
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He may be 44 in April, but Omar Vizquel can somehow still play baseball. The man who spent over 20 years at shortstop was perhaps one of the best defensive shortstops at the time, though he's been overlooked by some due to an average bat.
After spending his whole career at shortstop, when he signed with the Texas Rangers in 2009, he split time between second base, third base, and shortstop. In 2010 with the Chicago White Sox, Vizquel now spends most of his time at third base since Alexei Ramirez is the team's everyday shortstop. At this point, Vizquel would probably just play wherever as long as a team wanted him.
14. Robin Yount
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Any list involving position changers automatically has to have Robin Yount on it. He spent the first half of his career as a shortstop for the Milwaukee Brewers, and was great in that role. However, shoulder surgery in 1984 nearly ended his career.
Since the injury cut down what he could do at shortstop, Yount was forced to find a new position to play in, and he became the team's center fielder for nearly a decade before wrapping up his career. He made it to the Hall of Fame, so it worked out for him.
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13. Johnny Bench
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The man who is almost synonymous with the catcher position changed spots later in his career. I was questioning whether or not to put him in this list because nobody forced him to move; rather, his legs would not allow for everyday catching duty anymore, so due to his diminishing leg strength he was moved.
He spent the last three seasons of his career away from the catcher position, one at third base and two at first base. It's hard to think of him as anything else but a catcher, but sometimes a catcher has to make that move if they want an extra year in the big leagues.
12. Dustin Byfuglien
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Okay, so this guy is not at the end of his career, but I wanted to make sure I included one hockey player, and his role during the 2010 Stanley Cup race stands out in my mind. Yes, it's a recent one instead of historical, but it nonetheless works.
Byfuglien was originally a defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks when he made his NHL debut, but they moved him to the right wing position due to needing a larger body further up. He played the wing position through the 2010 season, and was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers in the offseason.
With Atlanta, he has since reverted back to the defense position. Time will tell if he again changes positions.
11. Ernie Banks
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Ernie Banks is another legend of the game who had to undergo a position change do to gradually increasing injuries. He spent the first half of his career as shortstop for the Cubs. He had a myriad of injuries which cut down on his range, but on top of that he was never much of a fielder.
As a result, he was moved over to first base, where he spent the second half of his career. He actually played better fielding-wise while at first base, and continued to be a great hitter throughout his career. The same injuries which moved him away from shortstop, however, eventually forced his retirement.
10. Rod Woodson
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One of the greatest cornerbacks of all time was actually not a cornerback for his whole career. In fact, he started off as a special teams player only before starting at cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1988.
A decade after proving himself as the elite cornerback in the NFL, he joined the Baltimore Ravens in 1998, his speed began to decline, and as a result, he was moved from the cornerback position to safety. He had five great seasons at that position for Baltimore and Oakland, so it worked out well on all fronts.
9. Willie Stargell
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Willie Stargell is perhaps synonymous with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and it's obvious why with his 21-year career, MVP win, among other things. He started his career in left field yet, like so many others on this list, had gradually weakening knees which forced a move to first base partway through his career.
His final eight seasons at first, however, were just as successful, and he was able to bring the Pirates to two World Series titles, one in 1971 and the other in 1979.
8. Rickey Jackson
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One of the greatest Saints of all time, as well as a great Hall of Fame linebacker, Rickey Jackson is one of the core group of New Orleans linebackers in the late 1980s and early 1990s that were just dominating, alongside Pat Swilling, Vaughan Johnson and Sam Mills.
Jackson spent 13 seasons as an outside linebacker for the Saints, notching over 100 sacks in his career. When he joined the San Francisco 49ers in 1994, they moved him to defensive end. He performed well in that role for the final two seasons of his career. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame this past year.
7. Rod Carew
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There's no question that Rod Carew was one of the greatest hitters of his era. He was a force with the bat for the Minnesota Twins at second base. The only problem was that he was never much of a fielder there. As a result, the Twins sent him over to first base.
He played the second half of his career with the Twins and Angels at first base, where he continued his great hitting, though his fielding did not improve all that much anyway.
6. Craig Biggio
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The Houston Astros legend is known for three things. He made it to 3,000 hits, he got hit by pitches very frequently, and he had to move around the plate later in his career. I tried to avoid using players who eventually moved back to positions on this list, but some mandate this.
He was the longtime second baseman of the Astros, but when the team signed Jeff Kent to play second, they forced Biggio to move to center field. When Kent signed with the Dodgers, they forced Biggio right back into second. It worked out for both sides though, since Biggio is a legend of the game.
5. Magic Johnson
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It's quite rare for a basketball player to change positions. After all, a lot of them are sorted roughly by height, so moving from a guard to a forward would not make much sense for many. Then again, Magic Johnson has always defied unwritten rules.
The 6'9" star for the Lakers spent much of his career as a point guard for the Lakers despite his height. When he retired from the sport in 1992, he has remained at the guard spot. When he made his return for one season in 1996, he was a power forward for a team that already had their point guard of the future in Nick Van Exel
4. Torii Hunter
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Torii Hunter's situation is almost entirely parallel to Carlos Beltran's. He spent most of his career in center field or the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Angels. He actually became one of the top center fielders in the game, winning a myriad of gold gloves in the process.
However, he did not remain the star center fielder for the Angels, and he was moved to right field to let Peter Bourjos play at center. This now looks to be a permanent move, especially with the addition of Vernon Wells in the Angels' lineup.
3. Cal Ripken, Jr.
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The Iron Man himself was not always the longtime shortstop, though that's how I remember him. He became the full-time shortstop of the Orioles in 1983, and also started up his games played streak. He was the team's shortstop for well over a decade, and continued it despite being forced elsewhere.
In 1997, the Orioles signed shortstop Mike Bordick, and as a result Ripken was forced to move to third. He nonetheless continues his games played streak, ending it at an astonishing 2,632 games. He ended his career at third base, playing the final few seasons of his career there.
2. Ronnie Lott
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Another of the greatest cornerbacks of all-time was Ronnie Lott, an instrumental force in the San Francisco 49ers dynasty of the 80s and early 90s. He spent the first few seasons of his career at cornerback, but was moved to the safety position in 1985.
Despite the move, Lott remained one of the toughest defenders in the NFL. He spent the next decade at the safety position, and one year recorded 10 interceptions. When he joined the Oakland Raiders, he moved to the free safety position before moving back to the strong safety spot in his final two years with the New York Jets.
1. George Blanda
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A football player with amazing longevity and a great arm and leg to boot, George Blanda was able to contribute on both offense and special teams, controlling a game almost by himself.
Blanda started his career on all three sides of the ball, playing a bit of linebacker, but later became a quarterback and kicker for the Chicago Bears in the 1950s. In 1958, George Halas forced Blands to become solely a kicker, and rather than do that, he retired at 31.
When the AFL was formed in 1960, he joined the Houston Oilers and resumed double duty, then joined the Oakland Raiders in 1967. Those Raiders already had a quarterback in Daryle Lamonica, so Blanda was solely a kicker in the final nine seasons of his career.
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